This is one thing I don’t understand- I was looking at getting a door replaced and they looked at me like I had two heads when I asked about reinforcement to make it difficult to kick in.
I’ve read the weak point is generally the jamb and of course it’s only thin wood. Steel reinforcement behind the jamb could make a huge difference, so why isn’t it common?
I’m not paranoid enough to do this with existing doors and of course don’t want the ugliness of a visible lock plate, but when I’m replacing a door, I want the option of one that is more difficult to kick in, rather than just a cheap cookie cutter install
we went with a fiberglass type that was suppose to have have bounce to it, so more force would return then be absorbed. It also had to open outwards and that made it weird for a long time.
That’s the standard: cheap and easy. Every lock I’ve bought since I’ve owned a house has had this. Done.
But not enough. One of my doors was clearly kicked in for a previous owner, yet I saw long screws into the frame. That doesn’t guarantee they were there at the time but they might have.
Regardless, the jamb is thin wood not really supported by anything. Screwing the strike plate into the framing helps, but that doesn’t keep the jamb from buckling and breaking until the door is no longer held by the strike plate. Reinforcing that jamb can make a huge difference against a standard burglar.
Over here (UK) it’s pretty common for doors to be multi point locking, so you shut the door and lift the handle which engages a series of extra bolts between the door and frame, most commonly one at the handle then one at the top and bottom of the frame. The early PVC doors that introduced multi point locking did have an issue (poor construction) where people could kick out the middle panel leaving the frame in place, newer ones have improved it, and there are more expensive doors which are made of different materials, but will almost always feature multi point locking.
I’ve seen that in moves but never in real life, nor have I seen hardware for it at any home center I’ve been to
Our exterior doors are usually steel or more expensive are a heavy fiberglass, antique are wood, but always heavy duty. I guess I’ve seen flimsy doors in cottages or apartment conversions but I can’t imagine that passing building code for any permitted construction
This is one thing I don’t understand- I was looking at getting a door replaced and they looked at me like I had two heads when I asked about reinforcement to make it difficult to kick in.
I’ve read the weak point is generally the jamb and of course it’s only thin wood. Steel reinforcement behind the jamb could make a huge difference, so why isn’t it common?
I’m not paranoid enough to do this with existing doors and of course don’t want the ugliness of a visible lock plate, but when I’m replacing a door, I want the option of one that is more difficult to kick in, rather than just a cheap cookie cutter install
Because the average consumer is an idiot and does not think about the various technicalities associated with their purchases.
we went with a fiberglass type that was suppose to have have bounce to it, so more force would return then be absorbed. It also had to open outwards and that made it weird for a long time.
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That’s the standard: cheap and easy. Every lock I’ve bought since I’ve owned a house has had this. Done.
But not enough. One of my doors was clearly kicked in for a previous owner, yet I saw long screws into the frame. That doesn’t guarantee they were there at the time but they might have.
Regardless, the jamb is thin wood not really supported by anything. Screwing the strike plate into the framing helps, but that doesn’t keep the jamb from buckling and breaking until the door is no longer held by the strike plate. Reinforcing that jamb can make a huge difference against a standard burglar.
How about a 60” steel reinforcement?
Or here are some good ideas - residential doors already have some of these covered by opening inward, rather than out
Over here (UK) it’s pretty common for doors to be multi point locking, so you shut the door and lift the handle which engages a series of extra bolts between the door and frame, most commonly one at the handle then one at the top and bottom of the frame. The early PVC doors that introduced multi point locking did have an issue (poor construction) where people could kick out the middle panel leaving the frame in place, newer ones have improved it, and there are more expensive doors which are made of different materials, but will almost always feature multi point locking.
That’s a great idea too.
I’ve seen that in moves but never in real life, nor have I seen hardware for it at any home center I’ve been to
Our exterior doors are usually steel or more expensive are a heavy fiberglass, antique are wood, but always heavy duty. I guess I’ve seen flimsy doors in cottages or apartment conversions but I can’t imagine that passing building code for any permitted construction