You may not be aware of it, however the average house door that has a traditional chain mechanism, dead bolt and lock takes just a couple of seconds and few swift kicks before it gives way and allows an intruder to break in. FBI Burglary Statistics show that 65 percent of house break-ins take place via the garage, rear, and front door entrances. Although this is a startling statistic, fortunately, you can boost your home’s security with just a couple of quality door hardware installations, upgrades and door reinforcements. You can find a cheap locksmith in Houston TX to help you with this.
So if you aren’t comfortable getting door reinforcements installed on your own, you can just get in touch with Pop-A-Lock Houston and one of our highly trained and experienced locksmiths will provide you with a range of solutions to choose from along with professional installation services for reinforcing the exterior doors on your home.
You technician will provide you with recommendations based on the kinds of locks and doors you currently have, However, usually, our residential locksmiths will recommend a combination of security hinge pins, latch protectors and security strike plates to protect against intruders making forced entries.
Door Security Strike Plates
One thing that can provide some extra security and comfort for your home is to install striking plates on doorways leading to exterior areas. Typically these implements get added to the wooden jamb on an in-swinging door. A high-quality strike plate helps with preventing unwanted visitors from obtaining access through the forcible entry.
The length of strike plates ranges from four inches all the way up to 18-inches and even longer at times. We frequently recommend getting over-sized strike plates installed, since the extra mounting screws and increased length secure the plate and make it harder for them to penetrate. Although they aren’t foolproof, they definitely are able to slow down criminals, which results in them moving on to find an easier target who has fewer door security measures implemented.
Residential Door Latch Protection
We can help with preventing your latches and deadbolts from being picked or pried open by installing security latch protector plates. There are options that are available for both out-swinging and in-swinging doors that are either aluminum, wood or hollow metal doors. Door security latch guards plates, reinforcement plates, and lock cylinder protectors cover bolts and latches completely, and are an affordable and ideal way of deterring home intrusions from occurring.
Protective Exterior Hinge Pins
Most doors, except for sliding glass models, are attached to a door frame with a pin and hinge setup. A majority of today’s doors are in-swinging and have hinge pins that are attached to the interior part of the door frame. There are still some older houses with outward swinging exterior doors where the hinge pins are typically left exposed.
Hinge pins have been designed to be easy to remove. Usually, all that is needed is a basic flathead screwdriver or you can hammer them out using a hammer and snub-nosed rod. That means that your door can be completely removed from its hinges by an intruder and can get inside your home in just a few minutes. When it comes to securing door hinges for an outward swinging point there are three main options that are available.
1. Setscrew Locks:
The hinge pins on set screw locks are on one side of the door hinges. Whenever the door is closed, you cannot see the setscrew which prevents being able to take the hinge pins out from outside of the house.
2. Stud Hinges:
The hardware on stud hinges has been designed to fit in holes that are on the opposite sides of the hinge plate. The studs make it possible to remove the hinge pins when necessary. However, whenever the door is closed, they help to prevent the door from being removed by intruders from the frame.
3. Non-Removable Hinge Pins:
The manufactured process for non-removable hinge pins results in the top and bottom of the hinge pins being flatted out, which makes them non-removable. There are only certain cases that we tend to recommend these for as a kind of last resort option since removing them frequently required help from an experienced professional.
Whether you are faced with an emergency situation like a lockout or your door security measures have been damaged by an intruder, Pop-A-Lock Houston is here on call on a 24/7 basis and ready to help you. Let us help prevent unwanted home burglaries and invasions with the professional door reinforcement services we provide so that you can sleep better at night.
We are happy to offer courteous service and free service estimates in the Houston area. Give Pop-a-Lock Houston a call today to learn more about the extensive locksmith services that we provide in Houston.