Door Security?

Dear Ferfal,
I just finished your new book, Bugging Out and Relocating, which I
finished in about 3 days. Thanks as always for the thoughtful, practical
advice.
In your book, you mention the reinforced security door you installed and
how it helped prevent a break in. Do you have any advice on selecting or
installing security doors? Should I replace the wooden door frames as
well? I cannot find any reliable information on preparedness sites, and
there do not seem to be any installation specialists near me.
Right now, the best I have been able to find are some aluminum security
doors from Lowes or Home Depot.
That does not inspire a lot of confidence in me. However, that would be
a big step up from our old wood doors that could be broken into within
seconds.
Thanks in advance,
Curtis
.
Hello Curtis,
I'm glad you liked my book. You’re right in being worried. The main exterior door is the entrance point in 80-90% of home invasions. Pretty often, the door is forced with a large screwdriver, prybar or simply kicked opened. A solid kick will send most doors flying open instantly.
The door I had in Argentina was an armored door, custom made by a local company. It was made of soldered steel with a special locking system. In America you’ll probably have to pay a couple thousand dollars for something like that. Its extremely heavy as well and wouldn’t make sense to install something like that in a wooden frame house.
If you already have or can get a solid door you might want to try installing a security upgrade kit such as EZ Armor.

EZ Armor Ultimate Door Security Combo Set $57.95

Its simple enough and not that expensive. For 58 bucks you can install it yourself with basic DIY.  It reinforces with metal inserts the most fragile parts of the door and frame. Its usually the wooden frame the one that cracks when the door is kicked. While it sure isn’t a bomb proof steel door like the one I had, it should provide some extra peace of mind and a few more valuable minutes to get ready in case someone tries to break in. From a security point of view, its about being a harder target than your neighbor. A door that can’t be easily broken in, an alarm and motion sensor floodlights should go a long way into making you a far less desirable target.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.