doors open outward? instead...

[ScottieG59]

No solutions that I see...

The best you can hope for is that your physical security controls will delay entry. In fact, that is how most security enclosures are rated. For example, a secure facility may take up to 10 hours to enter. The goal is that your emergency response plan allows for intervention is less time than it takes for the system to be overcome.

I agree that a secure door on a home is not a single solution. Homes have alternate pathways, such as windows, the garage, the walls, etc. You can only expect to frustrate the common occurrences and respond in time.
I work in a facility that would require hours to break into even with equipment. Of course, a shaped explosive would save time, but that is unlikely to occur unnoticed.

Some homes have things like the steel doors. This will slow down some of the typical teenagers who seem to make up the bulk of the break-ins in my rural area. Based on reports I have seen, they travel in groups and are usually armed to deal with dogs and people who may be at home. The homes being hit the most often are on larger properties where neighbors will not easily see what is going on. The city crooks have started to come to the rural areas thinking it will be easier to go unnoticed.

I have put a lot of thought to home security requirements and I am as stumped as anyone can be. Alarms will still allow a while for the burglars to steal. It can be a few minutes or hours. Dogs can be helpful if they are large, able to move around freely, are multiple in number and somewhat aggressive. Maybe neighborhood watches help, but in rural areas, it may be tough to do. Also, once the thieves are inside, you will not see anything unless you see them leave.

Most of the information online revolves around people trying to sell security of those who complain about how bad the security solutions they bought turned out to be. There is no doubt there is crime in my area and homes are regularly being broken into. The law enforcement is almost never in the area and people keep to themselves. I am armed and have three dogs who are very alert. There should be a better solution.

 

[MachIVshooter]

There should be a better solution.

IMO, the best way to prevent burglary is to stop the theif before he even tries.

The solutions I have:

Always make it appear that someone is home. Easy for me, since i have multiple vehicles of my own, in addition to cutomer cars. I don't drive the same one every day, either, so trying to guess by which one isn't present could be a fatal error. Of course, this may not be an option if you live in a covenant community or can't afford more than one car.

Leave a couple lights on, even a TV. My livingroom, for example. I'll draw the curtains to where you can see the television is on, but cannot see the chairs.

Keep an odd schedule. This also isn't a possibility for everyone, but since I work on my own property and have no set times that I do anything, it'd be impossible for someone casing my house to figure out when would be a good time. I might be leaving to go out of state for 4 days, or I might be running to the parts store and back in minutes.

If you have a garage, when you are loading up to go out of town, do it inside. Not hard to deduce that multiple bags and suitcases probably mean someone isn't just running out for a gallon of milk.

Security camera. Even if it doesn't work or isn't able to record, it's one helluva deterrent. The theif doesn't know that, and many of them try knocking on the door first to see if anyone's home before breaking in. They're not going to want to look like criminals in doing this in case someone is home, so their face will likely be visible. Once they realize that you might have just got their picture, they're probably not going to risk it. Be sure to post some sort or sticker on the door that blatently advertises this, too. They'll probably even look around for the camera

A real surveillance system with motion activation and remote recording. If the theif does come in anyway, he'll be looking for a VCR or DVR that has the footage. He's gonna get real nervous when he can't find it. This is my favorite.

Of course, none of this really applies to a home invader who intends to harm you, since they want you to be there.

 

[Stope Rat]

+1 for ScottieG59

ALL any security system does is buy time to go to "Plan B"

I have served warrants on "fortified houses" and trust me - as long as no one was shooting at me, they were not that hard to get into.

A 16-pound sledgehammer, a halligan tool, a selection of ladders and Bingo! Only once did I actually have to cut a new door through a wall.

Think of your house like a safe, and then think of the labels they put on safes. "One hour fire resistant" or "Resists attacks with common tools for 5 minutes."

Your doors, walls, windows etc need to hold up long enough for you to activate Plan B - whether that is to arm yourself, call 9-1-1, withdraw to a safe room, or run screaming out the back door into the night.

 

[Remo223]

^ I think all your locks do is make a crook think about another easier house instead. I've got a really old house with original doors and windows. My doors are the built-up kind with thin panels inside thicker frames. They are so old the panels are loose and rattle when you close the door. I think I could put a knee through them without even trying. my back door still takes a skeleton key. My windows don't even have locks

I have no plans to upgrade either the windows or doors. If I do anything, it will be to install interior motion sensors.

 

[kingcheese]

True it's because of fire safety, but not for the reason you state. It's because when panic ensues, and a mob of people run up to a door and push into it,

that way in the blinding smoke you can walk up to a door, try to open it, and if you cant open it away fromy you know to go a different way

kinda what i was getting at

 

[kingcheese]

the thing with stronger doors are that they will always have a week point, if you put in a residentail steel door and have it open outward, the door itself is the week point, a lot are just steel over wood, if you put in a commercail steel door that has a solid coor, then the wood structure that holds the door in place is the week point, and so on

if you a really worried about someone beating down your front door you should move to a more secure neighborhood where the people you live next to can see your house 24/7, but then you wont have a lot of space to play around with, and someone still might break in