Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

I'm slowing starting to make my property more secure a little bit at a time...

Following my question about door locks, the issue of reinforcing the door jamb came up.


What do you guys recommend?
Please help me get started on my research.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Metal door, metal door jamb, nice big locks....

Had that in my barracks, and the lock mechanism broke, locking me in.... yes IN. Nobody could kick that thing in.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

50 cent solution, and first thing to do:

Get the 3 or 3 1/2 inch deck screws from the lumber store (NOT the drywall variety), remove 2 or more screws from each hinge from the door frame, and replace with these large screws. Do the same on the latch side.... remove the 2 screws from the deadbolt strike and from the doorknob strike and replace with these longer stronger deck screws.

They will fasten the door frame to the surrounding framing, dramatically improving door strength in just a few minutes.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

As a former building materials sales guy, all I can say is amazing idea. Some of the very best ideas are as simple as this. :applause_

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

we have been doing this for years on the hinge side.....keeps the door from sagging etc....

never had a cause to do it on the strike side....but it would certainly help a lot strikes are notoriously weak

it does never sease to amaze me how people think a house is secure......give me a large pry bar and i can be in 90% of your houses and/or commercial buildings in under 1 min no matter what type of door or jamb you have

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

You need to beef up the walls so they won't flex too, as pros use door jamb spreaders. Use 3/4 plywood inside and out. Also have your exterior doors swing out, as they are much more dificult to kick in with the door stop.

My house is a post and beam with T&G 2x8 inner walls. It will be very difficult to spread my door jambs with all that wood to prevent flexing, as compare to most modern houses with 2x6 studs, 3/8 vinyl covered plywood exterior and 1/2 drywall on the inside. Heck, you could probably kick right through the wall if you didn't hit a stud.

A secure door will only delay entry anyways.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

The problem is that you can insert a pry bar between the door and the jamb on the bolt side. The jamb will bend enough that the bolt no longer engages the plate. It doesn't even take a minute.

The fix involves a bit of work. The door is framed with a stud, but then there is a distance of several inches to the next stud. You have to open the wall to expose these studs and insert some wood to fill that space. Then repair the damage you have caused.

This forces a burglar to use "foot picking". He simply moves a foot and a half to one side of the door and kicks a hole through the wall. That might take him a few more minutes, and a dog in the house is the best deterrent in that case.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

lots of good ideas. I've been eaming to replace the screws for a while now. just keeps slipping my mind.

Here in florida, nearly all houses seem to be Concrete block construction now. Ours is, both floor and inbetween each unit(town house). Not much chance of kicking through a wall there, but I have lived in houses where its little more than plywood, plaster, dry wall and insulation.

Our door swings out as well, so with some of tech guys suggested screws, it would make a pretty good obsticle to delay entry. If it werent for the window a few feet from the front door, or the sliding glass doors in the back.......

I want to get the film they put on the window around here to make them hurricane resitant. I've seen that stuff at shows I used to do. You can take a crow bar or baseball bat to one for 15 minutes and not break through it. Tough stuff.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Thanks for bringing this up. A sliding door/windows are a problem.

If you find out what the film is, please post and let us know.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

I couldn't find any stainless steel screws longer than 3" at the local hardware store, so I bought some 4" steel deck screws on ebay from a seller named clubbee

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Ill have to look into it, cause i cant remember the name off the top of my head, but its not an uncommon thing.

It was funny, a few years ago i was reading a story of a guy/family that had had it installed after our really bad 04 and 05 hurricane seasons. Come to find out, for whatever reason, SWAT came knocking one night and there was either a stand-off or something, I dont entirley remember the actual details, but the point is that one of the SWAT officers went to throw a flash bang grenade through the window and it bounced off of it. So they tried again, IIRC and same result.

Not wanting to be defeated, they tried busting the window out, this is while another team was gaining entry through the front door or something, and they couldnt get through the window. Apparently this isnt a rare occurance down here. That and seeing live demonstrations kinda sold me on it as a good home defense line as well as hurricane resistance.

Sliding glass doors are known to almost ALWAYS been the weakest link in home security. They are just so redicuously easy to open they barley stall an experienced theif.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Once you reinforce the door, the next most weak point are the windows.

As a carpenter, and former window replacement guy, I can have the window sashes out of most houses before you can find the key to unlock your front door......the typical double hung window used in this country has aluminum tracks held in with a few short staples, and the lock mechanisms are a total joke. I can have the entire storm window off in 20 seconds, the lock jimmied on the double hung in 10 seconds and both sashes out in another 10-15 seconds....under a minute for the whole deal....did it day after day for years.

Back when I lived in town, lady down the street shows up one morning in her bathrobe ( yeah...still trying to get that image out of my mind ), wanting to call a locksmith....she managed to lock herself out while getting the morning newspaper. I told her I'd go let her in....so I picked up a few tools, and when down to her house. Walked up to the garage door, and observed it was wood with lockset that used two screws in the wood to hold the handle in place....remove the two screws, and even with the lockset locked, it would now rotate as though UNlocked, and raised the garage door to let her in.....time: under a minute.

SO, naturally, she does it again a few months later, and shows up at our door. I go down again, and as I approach the garage door, she says "Oh....Chuck fixed that.....he put two screwdrivers in the track so you can't raise the door without going inside and removing them"....ok....so I walk around looking, and stop at the sliding glass door....to which she says "No...see that broomstick....you can't slide the door unless you're on the inside and remove it."

I go over to the FIXED panel, observe whoever installed it did NOT put the little clip on it to hold it in place, put both hands flat on the glass and bump the panel sideways toward the rolling panel so it opens....and remarked not to trip over that fool broomstick on the way in......and maybe to quit locking her door when going after the paper as she is only fooling herself, and maybe some kids, about security, as there are probably 3 other ways I can get in the house BEFORE I start getting destructive. Time: 2 minutes of observation, 10 seconds to open the door.

She appeared at our door no more. :biggrin:

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Few residential doors are 100% secure. What you're buying with a high security lock and door reinforcement is time to get to your guns and cover.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

i think this is called a " New York Stop ", used by drug dealers ?


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/mj247/NYstop.jpg

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Locks only keep honest people out. Own dogs and guns and put up signs indicating such.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Why? You don't want em to come in shooting do ya? :-)

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

For instructions on how NOT to do this refer to the movie "The Big Lebowski".

When i installed my doors I used the long screws as suggested previously on the hinge side and used aftermarket strike plates that are extra long and 1/8" thick steel. Also, behind the strike plate I installed continous shims between the jamb and framing.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Just get two sets of locking bolt steel doors like Norad uses.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Window film goes on the inside of a window. This means with a double-paned window, the outside window is going to shatter; the interior window will break but stay intact (no flying glass). Window film is primary used for safety against hurricanes, bomb blasts, etc. They're not meant to be bullet-proof or 100% burglar-proof.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Yep security only slows down the dumb and hopefully long enough for them to seek easier targets...

my favorite break in story was/is we were building a bank building and had put in a modular bank vault but the door wasnt installed yet so we used it as a tool storage area and installed extremely heavy plywood door we had built pretty pretty darned solid......it got broke into by the thieves somehow attaching a chain to the door ran the chain out a rough framed window and tied it to a vehicle got a running start pulled the door out of the vault and through the window and wall.....probably didnt take them over a couple of minutes....

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Is it just hte inside? I thought it was both, but I guess that would make sense.

When I talked to the guy at the show (we were both running booths near each other) he told me that while it wouldnt stop a bullet, it would stop a 2x4 being hurled at 90 miles an hour and the subsequent demonstrations convinced me he was right. I dont remember the cost, but it seems like its worth it, I just dont want to invest the money in our current residence since we may not be here much longer.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

If it's a double-paned window, how would you get the film inside the exterior pane? You'd have to break the seal. As for the outside of the exterior pane, it's not advised since weather (heat, cold, wind, rain, etc.) will break it down and render it ineffective after a while.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Thats what I meant, outside as in exterior:emotions16: But I suppose youre right, in an area, like florida, where you would need weather proof windows, putting things on the outside would probably be a bad idea.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Warning:

Torque these just enough to secure and watch your frame... If you torque as far as it will go, you will deform your door frame, and cause a ton of problems.

Pilot holes are also not a bad idea.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

For self-installation:
http://www.diywindowsecurity.com/pro...307e66a69ac54f

or

http://www.securityprousa.com/sefistbufiex.html

also

http://www.co-opdirect.com/shattersafebysquarefeet.html

There are also many companies that do installations such as:

http://www.armorcoatfilms.com/

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

QFT

If the door is too difficult to bust open, they'll go for the window. Or maybe even the wall.

Have your shotgun or rifle at the ready for a "surprise" if they bust through. Build yourself cover (not just concealment) inside the house.

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

I don't have a 1/16" drill bit that is good for a 4 inch pilot hole.

my house is 48 years (or so) old and the studs are really hard.

On some door hinge and strike locations I had to run in a deck screw until the screw started to deform, then back it out and throw the screw away. Then try another and run it in the full 4 inches. On a few I needed three trys. On a few I destroyed the screw head and had to clamp on vice-grips and twist the deck screw back out.

That's how you know your steel screws are sunk into hard wood past the door frame.


:bear_cry:

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

Another option is 3M. Just stay away from tinted security film on double-paned windows: reflected heat could cause seal failure.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...3MWindowFilms/

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

QWAK,RossL,There are a couple tricks that may help -- For both screws and nails -- keep an old bar of soap around -- wet the bar of soap and rup the screw threads or the nail with it -- you will be amased at how much easier the screw or nail goes in! :ok: In a pinch you can use some greese. For NAILS -- turn the nail up side down and hit the POINT with the hammer -- it BLUNTS the nail and cuts the wood fibers rather than just sliding between them! :23_30_104:

As for securing the door -- in the old days befor people could afford to buy door locks a 2x4 across the door with a "h" keeper on either side made from 3/8th" steel on both sides works very well!:23_28_100s: If you want you can even drill a hole in the door and and atach a LATCH STRING so it can be pulled from the OUT SIDE -- IF you leave the "LATCH STRING" out! :s9::thumb.aspx:

the DUCK :15_1_70v:

Re: Door Jamb Reinforcement...
 

I worked for a window manufacturer for a while.

Even though our windows were very high quality and expensive they could not be sold in Miami FL.

Dade county required special high strength windows. These might help slow down an intruder.