I couple of years ago A friend of mine had a run-in with a couple of bikers trying to kick down his door (wrong address). Luckily for him and his familly he had reinforced the door and frame to the house. <br>Does anyone have any links to good sites on how to secure your house against forced entry ?<br><br>There seems to be lots of sites that say get a good dead bolt, but that won't stop anyone with who dosn't care about noise or has a gun. <br><br>Any thoughts ??<br>-p

Reinforcing the door and door-frame is a good start but if there are groundfloor windows without bars then the door will not be the point of entry anyway. A good solid door with a police-bar lock will hold against a very determined attack. Master lock sells one that props between the door handle and the floor - these are week and useless against a smooth floor. A good locksmith can sell you one which bolts to the floor and the center of the door and gets easily out of the way when opened. If you can install one of these you will be safe at that entry point. Make sure that the bar is a single piece of steel not some collapsable telescoping alluminium thing. Also make sure that the fixture bolts onto the center of the door and the floor no friction fits. this arrangement is very secure for the door. Again if you have only glass protecting your windows on the ground floor then you are wasting your money with anything stronger than a deadbolt on the door.

we use reinforsed glass instead of steel bars round here. it's not as strong as steel bars, but in some emergencies you need to break the glass to go out, so that could be a consideration. besides it looks beter :P

Any device that will keep an intruder outside, will keep you inside. The high crime areas of Los Angeles are often the scene of whole families immolated in a home fire because the window bars,locks et al impeded any speedy escape. Landscaping can provide uneccessary cover. Cacti and thorned plants are natural deterents and reduce water use.

<br>> Any thoughts?<br><br>Yeah, get a shotgun or move to a safer area.<br>

Well, guys, you are talking to the right person. I happen to live in the crime capital of the world, viz. Johannesburg, South Africa. Our homes are like Fort Knox here.<br><br>Here is a thought for ultimate home security:<br>1. Firstly prevent anyone from entering your property from a remote gate to electric fencing and vicious dogs.<br>2. Burglar proff all doors and windows, including fixed windows.<br>3. Alarm system connected to an armed response in the area with a response time of 30 seconds!!!! Yes 30 seconds<br>4. Yes then have an internal arsenal at your disposal<br>5. In South Africa, we do not have the fire hazard in our homes that you have in the USA becuase we do not use gas at all. Only electricity.<br>5. Passive and active infrared beams inside and outside.<br><br>I would be happy to provide any further info on home <br>security.<br><br>The main thing in South Africa is that nobody can access anybody's property from the street.

get a shotgun AND move to a safer area

A security storm door is an attractive alternative to big steel doors. Other members of my family have used them very successfully. See link below. I don't know if these are the same ones they use but they look similar. Make sure you get one that has a bolt that extends on both sided of the door! Not just the door handle side but ALSO the hinge side. These are more expensive and more difficult to install but well worth it. A huge bolt lock will not help if the hinges come off the frame.<br><br>In my NYC apt. I am in a high rise so the risk of window entry is nullified but we do use Steel door frames. Considerably more secure than wood! Of course I also have a doorman that won't let anyone past his bat - lol.<br><br><br>http://secure.ashoppingcart.com/robsecure/eshop/10browse.asp?category=security+door<br>