Loads of recent break-ins...Need security door advice

[cpthnsolo]

I found out last week that another person on my street was broken into during the middle of the day. This is the second time this has happened in less than a year . Although I have plans of owning a place in the middle of no-where in a few years, for the moment I have to get by living in my cookie cutter neighborhood. I just ordered ADT signs, but I realize those are only going to convince the average crackhead to pass over my house.

For those of you who have updgraded your front door, what brand/style did you buy and why? I have a block home so with the right metal framing a good door should make my place a bit safer than the house next to me. I realize if someone wants to get in they could always bust a window, but considering both places had their door kicked in I'm thinking I need to upgrade my door sooner than later. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Professur]

You're going to want a substantial lock too. I'm a fan of this style Although the picture shown has the plate on backwards. A standard deadbolt can be defeated by jacking the door frame apart. This bad boy doesn't let go that easily.

[Goldhedge]

Install a storm door that has some kind of mesh on the front of it.

Also, if you get a metal door (stanley makes one, there are others) and replace the screws that hold
the hinges and the stop plate with 3 to 3.5" screws, that will make it more difficult. Those 3/4" screws are
next to worthless. You have to sink a screw into the studs.

You can also increase the strength of a wooden door with a metal 'U' bracket so the lock doesn't
bust out when kicked.

We're getting a storm door for the front. Liberty Home products is where I'm going to shop.

Window well covers with grates for the 5 wells we have. I'm going to get the ADT signs from ebay
as well, but I've heard some say that burglars who know how to defeat ADT see it as a welcome sign???

A video cam setup would be a good thing, but you'd have to hide the DVR where they can't just grab and go.

I think there's a way to live stream to an offsite cloud so if the DVR was taken you'd still have videos of the perps?

[Weatherman]

You might also want to look at the Burglar Bomb equipment. It will not keep a crook from kicking in your front door, but it will stop him cold when he tries to enter a protected area inside your house. This would be useful both when you are away during the day, and while you are sleeping at night, though caution would be needed if there are other people in your house.

[Juristic Person]

Get a couple pits or rotties.

[spacecase0]

you really want the kind of door lock you see on commercial buildings, the kind with a latch in the center and at the top and bottom of the door,
that way they have to kick the middle, top and bottom of the door to get in,
and they have to do it with something way heavier than a foot.

[Juristic Person]

you really want the kind of door lock you see on commercial buildings, the kind with a latch in the center and at the top and bottom of the door,
that way they have to kick the middle, top and bottom of the door to get in,
and they have to do it with something way heavier than a foot.

This retarded. If I want to break into your house, I'm not likely to come through the front door.

[Irons]

Unless you have already put bars over your windows don't waste time reinforcing your doors. A glass cutter over a window lock and they are in.

Pretty much if some thief wants in they are getting in, period. You have to look into the things that will keep your house off thier list.

[GOLDZILLA]

or strategically set out plastic bags that look like they have dope in em, but really have ant or rat poison.

[earplugs]

From what I've heard from people who were robbed, they've pretty much scoped out your place for weeks, maybe months. They know what kind of crap you have (ie, television, playstation, nintendo, computer, etc), when you're home, and what your routine is. I think the safest way to protect yourself and your home is not to have anything in it and keep your damn trap shut. Don't have any furniture, tv, computer, etc in your house. The less, the better imho.

This one guy I knew recently bought a brand new laptop. Guess what. He got robbed a few days later, and while he was asleep! That means they were watching his place and knew his routine. I guess he told them he took nyquil befoer going to bed or something. Plus, he lived on the bottom floor. If you can live on the upper floor, you're less likely to get robbed imho.

[newmisty]

I'd also look into alarms that use motion detection as well as those that go under the door mat. They aren't expensive, are easy to install and can panic an unsuspecting thief.

This thing is really cool and under $50.

21st century security device can save you hundreds of dollars a year in monitoring fees. It can "guard" your home or office seven days a week, 24 hours a day. If an intruder is detected it will sound a powerful 125 decibel to scare away the would-be intruder and alert those inside to the attempted entry (the alarm feature can be disabled if you prefer a silent alarm). Up to three phone numbers are automatically dialed and your pre-recorded message (up to six seconds long) is played. You could program it to call your neighbor, the police, and your cell phone and play a message like, "this is John Doe, an intruder has been detected in my home located at 123 Maple St." Features include simple operation (can be installed by anyone in only minutes), arms and disarms using a keypad (you set your own security code), and entry and exit delays help prevent false alarms. Two alarm system warning decals are included

http://www.specialtyalarms.com/site/...product/10-739

A picture of a (pressure sensitive) door mat alarm.

[Ishkabibble]

If it's the door your concerned about, this Ongard brace is easy and you could even whip one together if you've any crafting skills.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgg...ace-today_tech

Of course, you'll need to protect more than the door, as others have pointed out. I really like the alarmed doormat idea. It won't stop anyone from getting in, but I'll bet it scares the shyt out of someone and draws attention. For mid-day, that's what you want to do.

[hoarder]

Get the hell out of that neighborhood.

[Juristic Person]

Unless you have already put bars over your windows don't waste time reinforcing your doors. A glass cutter over a window lock and they are in.

Pretty much if some thief wants in they are getting in, period. You have to look into the things that will keep your house off thier list.

I'm more concerned with preventing them from leaving.

You can come in at your own peril. You're not getting out in one piece.

[~BS]

Unless you have already put bars over your windows don't waste time reinforcing your doors. A glass cutter over a window lock and they are in.

Pretty much if some thief wants in they are getting in, period. You have to look into the things that will keep your house off thier list.

This.

also do you have a fence? If so, once they jump the fence, they can take as long as they need to without anyone from the street seeing what they're doing.

[~BS]

I'd also look into alarms that use motion detection as well as those that go under the door mat. They aren't expensive, are easy to install and can panic an unsuspecting thief.

This thing is really cool and under $50.

21st century security device can save you hundreds of dollars a year in monitoring fees. It can "guard" your home or office seven days a week, 24 hours a day. If an intruder is detected it will sound a powerful 125 decibel to scare away the would-be intruder and alert those inside to the attempted entry (the alarm feature can be disabled if you prefer a silent alarm). Up to three phone numbers are automatically dialed and your pre-recorded message (up to six seconds long) is played. You could program it to call your neighbor, the police, and your cell phone and play a message like, "this is John Doe, an intruder has been detected in my home located at 123 Maple St." Features include simple operation (can be installed by anyone in only minutes), arms and disarms using a keypad (you set your own security code), and entry and exit delays help prevent false alarms. Two alarm system warning decals are included

http://www.specialtyalarms.com/site/...product/10-739

A picture of a (pressure sensitive) door mat alarm.

http://www.amazon.com/MA80-Motion-Ac.../dp/B000ZHXTDI

half the price at amazon.

[Book]

Get the hell out of that neighborhood.

Some just gotta stay put and go ghetto Hoarder.

[northfarmer]

Does anybody have an opinion of those kick down door openers that keep doors open?

Use them in reverse on a closed door?

[Pyramid]

The criminals are progressing much faster than the security of the rest of us, including Law Enforcement/Detectives that are trying to find these crooks. Agree with most of the above, if they want in, they will find it. Doesn't matter if it's an unlocked door/window (stupid on anyone's part), a reprogrammed garage door, a busted window, or a piece of crap patio door that can the lock can be busted/bypassed in 5 seconds. Chances are that the informant is an inside job to some extent...neighbor, mailman, etc.

A security system is a great idea, securing the perimiter a better one IFMO, a large dog(s) the best solution of all... wish that was my solution, but I'm working on it.

I hate reading personal accounts of hardship of GIM members. We are better than that, but the rest of "society" is not listening. Be careful out there and protect yourselves folks!

[WillieTheKid]

Medeco is the lockset of choice for real security. Consumer Reports ran an article on locksets recently and Medeco was head and shoulders above the others, with one exception, and it was above that as well. I think the difference in price tells the tale: the medeco is in the hundreds of dollars, and something normal like a Schlage is $30-$40. Security isn't cheap. Also, put a double deadbolt on your front door--the kind that is keyed on both sides. If you take your key with you when you leave, someone who breaks in through a window has to leave through the window and that is a hassle they don't want to deal with. Like someone else said, get a heavy metal screen-type door. They are only about $150 at Lowes. We put one on and we lock it in addition to the regular door. I think the screen would be much tougher to get through than the wood door.

We haven't done the Medeco thing yet, however, but plan to do that.

If you want to see something scary, check out the videos on YouTube where people use a special key blank and whack it with a hammer and instantly turn the lock. About 10 seconds and they are in. I think it is called "slamming" or "cramming" or something like that. Nah, neither of them came up with anything when I did a search on YouTube, maybe someone else will chime in with a video. It is downright scary how easy someone can get in. Anyway, Medeco is the only one that prevents this.

One of the best things is to have your neighbors watching out for you. We started a block watch and it seems to be working well. It also gets you closer to your neighbors and builds community.

We've had the same problems in our neighborhood with break-ins. So far, we haven't had any problems. But we don't have much of value in the house.

--Willie

[Book]

The criminals are progressing much faster than the security of the rest of us, including Law Enforcement/Detectives that are trying to find these crooks.

Nobody is looking for crooks in that kinda neighborhood. Many towns are laying off their police force and turning off the street lights due to budget cutbacks.

The OP said they are now KICKING DOWN THE DOOR in broad daylight.

[cpthnsolo]

Some just gotta stay put and go ghetto Hoarder.

Awwwe look, how cute... Intellectually inferior Book forgot he/she was banned the last time he/she insulted me directly, and yet here we are a month or two later and he/she finally had another chance to take a dig. Granted all Book is capable of is a pic or two and 10 words or less with an emoticon yet for some reason half the board, including myself, continues to indulge the Simpleton by responding to him/her.

LOL if that's really the best you're capable of Book ?

[Book]

was banned the last time he/she insulted me directly

Link please.

[Book]

[earplugs]

I'd also look into alarms that use motion detection as well as those that go under the door mat. They aren't expensive, are easy to install and can panic an unsuspecting thief.

You know what I do when I hear an alarm go off?



Oh, ain't my house, doopty doopty dooooo.....

[Goldhedge]

Awwwe look, how cute... Intellectually inferior Book forgot he/she was banned the last time he/she insulted me directly, and yet here we are a month or two later and he/she finally had another chance to take a dig. Granted all Book is capable of is a pic or two and 10 words or less with an emoticon yet for some reason half the board, including myself, continues to indulge the Simpleton by responding to him/her.

LOL if that's really the best you're capable of Book ?

Sticks n stones...

[Book]

half the board, including myself, continues to indulge the Simpleton by responding to him/her.

http://www.goldismoney2.com/showthre...018#post287018

17 members kindly thanked me for this active thread that currently has over 2,000 views.

[Ishkabibble]

Don't know the history here, but Book... you got a good laugh out of me with your ghetto maze door lock. I'd buy one for my house just as a conversation piece. It's awesome! And yeah, that redneck car doorlock. Been there, done that. Last week actually.

[Kenny]

http://www.goldismoney2.com/showthre...018#post287018

17 members kindly thanked me for this active thread that currently has over 2,000 views.

Honestly I have animals for security, they are super interested in loud noises like doors being kicked in and love to play keep away, so hold tight my pooch may just try to get that fleshlight back and let me tell ya when she starts playing you never get it back till you ignore her, and by then the all the cams would have some suitable pictures for me to find the a$$ THAT WRECKED MY DOOR. The I can retrieve a brand new door from his ass.

[cpthnsolo]

http://www.goldismoney2.com/showthre...018#post287018

17 members kindly thanked me for this active thread that currently has over 2,000 views.

Hey up petulant child! LOL this isn't a popularity contest, but the fact you're turning it into one makes you look foolish at best. FWIW I've actually thanked you on one or two occasions when I thought you contributed something relevant to a thread that I agreed with. However if you really want to make it a popularity contest I guess it's worth noting that I'm thanked more often than you are, so you LOSE . Let me know if you need help with math on that...

I'll let you have the last word though as I'm tired of going tit for tat with a teenager so please take a night off to come up with your absolute most clever response. Post it tomorrow knowing I'm not going to respond so please make sure to put me in my place. I honestly feel sorry for you if you truly view your GIM account as a popularity contest...

Hopefully if anyone else is still reading this thread at this point they'll consider posting if they have an opinion or information to share .

[Nickelless]

I found out last week that another person on my street was broken into during the middle of the day. This is the second time this has happened in less than a year . Although I have plans of owning a place in the middle of no-where in a few years, for the moment I have to get by living in my cookie cutter neighborhood. I just ordered ADT signs, but I realize those are only going to convince the average crackhead to pass over my house.

At the risk of being obvious, did you just order ADT signs, or do you actually have ADT service? I have ADT, and when the alarm goes off, you can kiss your hearing goodbye. That IMO is a pretty darn good deterrent.

[Bx3]

The lock bypass method mentioned earlier is called lock bumping. About 80-90% of household locks are susceptible to it. Think of layers when dealing with home security. Clear any shrubbery around windows and doors (except maybe the prickly kind around windows). Re enforce your your door hardware with larger plates and longer wood screws (4 in minimum). Door Jam Armor and StrikeMaster come to mind. There are deadbolts available now that are less vulnerable to bumping. The double key deadbolt is good, especially if there is is any glass near the door (which there shouldn't be). A solid locking safety latch (not the chain kind) is good to have in conjunction with a deadbolt. Safety film on windows and re enforced frames are available. Dogs are great to have and barking dogs are even better. Keep windows and shades closed as much as possible, especially when no one is home. Keep the garage door closed as much as possible. Motion sensor lights are good. Friendly neighbors who are willing to look out for each other is a plus. A quality gun safe that is bolted to the floor is good for all of your valuables. Properly secured firearms throughout the house is good. Home security alarms won't hurt but also won't keep the bad guys out either. Situational awareness and a family plan to cap it all off. As a recipient of an armed home invasion, I can tell you that if somebody really wants to get into your house, they will get in. The key is to buy yourself enough time to properly greet them. If you are not home but most of your prized possessions are properly secured then so much the better. Bx3

[newmisty]

Wow, may I ask how you handles the armed intruder? Were you well prepared at the time or was it the impetus needed to get educated and committed to becoming serious?

[Book]

Book... you got a good laugh out of me with your ghetto maze door lock.

thank you for your kind words Ishkabibble.

[~BS]

just imagine what happens when you forget to unchain your tires one day and try to drive off.

[~BS]

. Also, put a double deadbolt on your front door--the kind that is keyed on both sides.

Make sure you have a copy of the key hidden close by and where everyone knows the location to. In the event of a fire or other emergency, you don't want to be locked in the house youerself.

[namwalker]

You're going to want a substantial lock too. I'm a fan of this style Although the picture shown has the plate on backwards. A standard deadbolt can be defeated by jacking the door frame apart. This bad boy doesn't let go that easily.

I looked at the double barrel lock that you showed. I may be mistaked but we used to have that same lock on the back doors of the houses in my neighborhood when I was a kid was defeated by kicking the door right where the lock attaches. To my way of thinking the setup is correct as shown. If the plate was reversed the lock couldn't attached to the plate because the lock is surface mounted on the inside of the door. I may be mistaken but I don't think so.

On the other hand most cookie cutter neighborhoods really don't have a lot of security.

First most homes in Florida have their backyards protected by a stockade fence that provides good privacy for a thief breaking into the rear of the house. Get rid of the fence if you can.

Second, to increase the stability or integrity of a front door switch out the screws on both the front door and the door from the house to the garage to 3 1/2" or better screws.

Third, install a dead bolt on the door from the house to the garage. Fourth, if you don't use the garage to park you car in, put a "C" clamp on the running rails of the overhead door. Someone trying to defeat the door would have to lift up the whole house.

Fourth: Install a locking screen door on the front of the house, and lock it when you're not home. You can give a key to you kids. Replace the glass with tempered plastic that doesn't shatter. Slows a thief down.

Fifth: As you replace your windows, go to plastic. Again slows thieves down.

Sixth, become friends with you local retirees. I'm retired and when I'm home and working in my garage, the door is up and my dogs are right there with me. They will let me know if there is a problem.

Seventh, get a dog. A thief willl just go on further down the road to a house that has no dog. Not a small dog but something that barks and carrys on and is of a medium or large size.

Eighth, go ahead and put up an ADT sign. A thief doesn't know for sure that you do or don't have the service. However, if you decide to get a protection service you should be advised that if in the event that someone does enter your premises the service will call you to ensure that there is a problem before they call the police.

Finally, and I'm sure you do this already, don't advertise what you have and make sure that you wife and kids do the same.

I have a garage access service door that I have secured by and a steel bar.

Most of these suggestions don't cost a lot of money and little work on your part. You may think the local retiree is a busy body but they can help you out in a jamb. Also, most of us in today's climate don't take the time to get to know our neighbors. That can be a mistake. You don't have to be best buds but if you know someone you tend to look out after them moreso than someone you don't know.

I almost forgot, there is a front door security feature that may help also, install three deadbolts away from the jamb part of the door. One in the middle in the usual position and one on top and on the bottom that goes into the door sills. It really beefs up you security.

Good luck..................

PS: In the event that there is a fire in your house, the fireman will get in no matter what. In some departments they come equipped with a chain saw. However, burglar bars on windows have resulted in numerous deaths accross the country. So I don't recommend that unless you live in a real high crime neighborhood.

[namwalker]

I actually subscribe to the Buddist theory of home or building security. I have two male mastiffs and a small skittish and neurotic female dog of undetermined origins. The duty of the female is to alert the mastiffs that there is a problem and that they really need to come and check it out. Upon arriving on scene they will either scare the intruder away or take care of business and alert me to the fact that they are doing some good in return for their keep.

Believe it or not, the Buddist temples were protected by a system like this before China took over Tibet. It worked real well. They used a combination of a Llasha Apso and Tibetan mastiffs. They worked for their food.

The UPS driver, mailman, and pizza delivery man do not like coming to my house. The UPS driver actually used the phrase "That's ridiculous" when referring to my security system. But hey it works. I also believe in multi-tiered security.

[Alric]

Almost every house in my block as been robbed over the last few years as well, and I actually live in a pretty nice neighborhood. I think the main reason we never got robbed is because I live with another person and one of us is usually home, and we have pretty erratic schedules for the most part. There really isn't any time period where they could know ahead of time that we would both be gone for a long period of time.

I also had two dogs for several years living here, though they both died about a year ago, and I think that helped as well. I didn't really need to go with the Buddhist theory like namwalker suggested though. I had one neurotic labrador dalmatian mix. She is big enough to scare people off herself, and she was always alert. In fact, she barked any time someone walked by the house. Luckily my neighbors didn't hangout in their yards much, and we live at the top of a hill so there isn't to many people walking by.

[rad]

Just for price info - I recently had 7 Schlage commercial door knobs (or whatever you call them) with Medeco locks put on the house and outbuilding. It was 2400$

[newmisty]

I actually subscribe to the Buddist theory of home or building security. I have two male mastiffs and a small skittish and neurotic female dog of undetermined origins. The duty of the female is to alert the mastiffs that there is a problem and that they really need to come and check it out. Upon arriving on scene they will either scare the intruder away or take care of business and alert me to the fact that they are doing some good in return for their keep.

Believe it or not, the Buddist temples were protected by a system like this before China took over Tibet. It worked real well. They used a combination of a Llasha Apso and Tibetan mastiffs. They worked for their food.

The UPS driver, mailman, and pizza delivery man do not like coming to my house. The UPS driver actually used the phrase "That's ridiculous" when referring to my security system. But hey it works. I also believe in multi-tiered security.

Thanks for reminding me of that fact. BTW It's Buddhist.

[CiscoKid]

I have two male mastiffs and a small skittish and neurotic female dog of undetermined origins. The duty of the female is to alert the mastiffs that there is a problem and that they really need to come and check it out. Upon arriving on scene they will either scare the intruder away or take care of business and alert me to the fact that they are doing some good in return for their keep.

Clever fellow. Apparently I subscribe to that theory as well and wasn't aware that it was Buddhist.

[AceNZ]

For those of you who have updgraded your front door, what brand/style did you buy and why? I have a block home so with the right metal framing a good door should make my place a bit safer than the house next to me. I realize if someone wants to get in they could always bust a window, but considering both places had their door kicked in I'm thinking I need to upgrade my door sooner than later. Any advice would be appreciated.

The weak spot in most doors is the frame, so I'd start with a strong metal frame, securely anchored to the house framing.

A steel door is best, although good ones can be insanely expensive. Avoid having glass in the door, and avoid hollow-core wood doors.

For the hardware, you want both a deadbolt that sinks deeply into the frame, and a lock and latch mechanism that does the same. There are a number of good brands out there; a competent locksmith should be able to help.

You can also get secondary / backup security mechanisms, such on OnGuard (I think they have videos on YouTube). They can be a hassle to remember to use, but they work well when they're in-place.

Although most of my neighbors where I live in NZ don't bother locking their front doors, after living in the US for most of her life, my wife still insists we lock ours. We also have two very loud (though tiny) dogs with great hearing, who start howling the minute a car pulls up in the driveway. As others have said, I think the dogs are a better deterrent than the door.

[cpthnsolo]

Thanks for the excellent responses thus far guys, I truly appreciate it. It's bizarre that my neighborhood seems to be turning into high crime location. It's not a gated neighborhood, but most homes are 2400' two story homes so it's what most Americans shot for. My plan was to continue saving for some acreage over the next few years and eventually turn this into a rental, but I'm really not so sure now. I've been wanting to fence in the yard too, but at this point I doubt I'll go through with that until after I put multiple security cameras on each and every corner. Sure that may signal to some, "hey that house must have something to guard," but I honestly believe it will make people skip my house for the next. The wife drives a small $10,000 car and I drive a $1,000 truck so it certainly doesn't look like rich people live in my house from the outside. Heck if anything most of the neighborhood thinks I'm the poor one as I always have scrap in the back of my truck .

The main problem I have at the moment is that I don't have the funds to move now. Besides, who's to say the neighborhood 10 miles away isn't experiencing the same thing? Central Florida's unemployment rate is much higher than the national average due to all the lost construction jobs so it's definitely been an eye opener. If things are this bad now, how safe would I be if things got much worse? Anyway thanks again for the advice and comments.

Of course if anyone has 10 acres in Central Florida with a trailer on it and wants to trade for a few ounces of gold, let me know .

[SilverJeep]

The first thing I would find out is how all the other homes in your neighborhood were broken into. The front door? The windows? If you find that ALL the break-ins were through a back window, then leave your front door alone.

If it varies, sart with your weakest spot and improve accordingly. I seem to remember a thread like this (maybe on the old board) where TnAndy said he could remove the entire window from the house in less than 5 minutes. I imagine he coudl put it back to where they would never know how he got in.


OK HOW BIZARRE IS THIS! As I'm typing this, I get an email from a guy that's filling in for a guy that's a regular supplier of mine. Said my friend left work frantically yesterday because someone kicked his front door in. Stole TV's stereos, computers. This guy had all top notch stuff. No guns were taken, but I'm sure the lowlifes now know he has 3 large gun safes. ...and will be back. He lives in Charlotte, and always gives me updates to the ridiculous crime there. I always respond with "Dude, you need to move." So much so that I've shortened it to an acronym "DYNTM". Has always been kinda funny. Not so much now.

[cpthnsolo]

The first thing I would find out is how all the other homes in your neighborhood were broken into. The front door? The windows? If you find that ALL the break-ins were through a back window, then leave your front door alone.

Well I just found out the details from last week's break-in last night. Here's what I know:

1) House behind me was hit roughly 8 months ago. I live on a corner that turns into a culdesac and the house behind me is one of three houses with driveways on the culdesac. The guy who lived there (they moved out last month) was home as he works nights. His car was in the garage so it looked like no one was home at the time. He was sleeping on his couch when his very large black lab started barking at the door. The guy got up and as he was approaching the door he heard something, and then a split second later the door swung/busted open and there was a black male with a crow bar staring at him. Thankfully for my neighbor he's a HUGE dude so the crook saw him and the lab and immediately turned tail. Someone was waiting in a pickup outside so the crook literally jumped in through the window as the truck floored it in reverse to get out of there. Stupid ****ers spun around in front of my house and damaged a really sweet Yucca palm that I had planted months earlier. Homeowner never clearly saw their plate so they got away with it.

2) Guy five houses down on my other side has a brick wall for his back fence. It's roughly 6' and the type of brink wall used to segregate a neighborhood from the busy road 100' on the other side. Apparently the crooks hoped the wall, and then smashed one of his back windows to get in (without every actually opening the window). They got in and swiped jewelry and then spent a few minutes trying to rip his TV off the wall. Upon opening his door leading to the garage the alarm went off so the crooks went back out the same window and apparently carried a small stool from inside to help them hop back over the brick wall.

Obviously if someone wants to get into a house they're going to, but I'm looking for ways to at least improve my odds. The most surprising thing about all this is how calm my wife is. She acts like it's simply no big deal and I'm quite puzzled by it. She agreed to go to the range this week, but I haven't told her yet that I plan on buying more guns and keeping them loaded and accessible. We don't have kids, unfortunately, so at least I don't have to worry about keeping loaded weapons around (other than a bad guy finding them of course).

[Bx3]

Wow, may I ask how you handles the armed intruder? Were you well prepared at the time or was it the impetus needed to get educated and committed to becoming serious?

Happened about twenty years ago while I was visiting friends up at Lake Tahoe. I had a pistol in my bag in the guest bedroom. We were all in the living room when two armed men kicked in the front door. They were inside in under a second. My pistol might as well have been on the moon. We had to accept the fact that we had no real options. I didn't sleep for two days afterwards. I love it when people who have never been in a situation boast that they would have done this or done that. The reality is that when you are confronted by two armed professionals and you have no real options, you pretty much take it on their terms. I have been studying martial arts since I was ten years old and am no stranger to fighting. My biggest concern was that if I tried something that one of my friends would get injured or killed. I was never in a position to control both perps. I have a multitude of options now and never in another room. BTW, statistics show that front or rear/side doors are the primary entrance points to home dwellings. Hardening them first should be the priority. Simple 4in + wood screws in all the hardware at a minimum will at least buy you critical time. Bx3

[hernancortes]

Door jamb armor is great but it might be overkill if you can't afford it. Upon hearing of kick-down-the-door break ins in our area I bought a 6" strike plate that mounts to the frame w/ six 3" screws. Couple months later some 'youths' were unsuccesful in kicking it down and they had some big feets, I saw the footprints they left. My elderly neighbor saw it all happen, it was over in seconds and they moved onto the next house. The criminals in my area are dumb and unsophisticated and live an existance akin to animals.

[cpthnsolo]

Fifth: As you replace your windows, go to plastic. Again slows thieves down.

Forgive my ignorance, but how do vinyl windows slow thieves down? Ironically enough I had a guy from Home Depot come out last week for an estimate and plan on having a couple of smaller local companies give me estimates in the next week or two. Ultimately a big piece of glass is simple enough to defeat with a rock, but I'm all ears if anyone has suggestions on windows as the cheap 'builder's special' windows in my home are garbage (only a few open). D@mn home was built in '97 and has needed new windows since I moved in back in '08.

Sixth, become friends with you local retirees. I'm retired and when I'm home and working in my garage, the door is up and my dogs are right there with me.

Unfortunately for me there are no retirees in my neighborhood. That's definitely a reason why thieves would be drawn to it as they know most folks are at work. I'm very good friends with all my neighbors though, but if they're not home during the day either what good does that do :\?

[cpthnsolo]

Get a couple pits or rotties.

I have a mutt female that appears to be mostly lab, but with a bit of pit. She's over ten though and was never aggressive in the first place so she's not the most effective deterrent. If someone knocks on the door her bark is intimidating, but if someone climbs in they could easily throw her a piece of steak or simply take care of her...

Get the hell out...

That was always the goal, but clearly I need to re-evaluate the timeline I was originally considering.

did you just order ADT signs, or do you actually have ADT service?

I just ordered the signs for now. I'm not going to worry about security at the moment as I plan on going all out and spending a couple thousand or more next year on cameras. I'm computer/network savvy, but I have a lot of research to do before I go cutting holes in the soffits on every corner. That's potentially a subject for another thread I suppose...

Happened about twenty years ago while I was visiting friends up at Lake Tahoe

Thanks for sharing your story Bx3. It certainly gives me more to think about as I work on arming the place.

Door jamb armor is great but it might be overkill if you can't afford it. Upon hearing of kick-down-the-door break ins in our area I bought a 6" strike plate that mounts to the frame w/ six 3" screws. Couple months later some 'youths' were unsuccesful in kicking it down and they had some big feets, I saw the footprints they left. My elderly neighbor saw it all happen, it was over in seconds and they moved onto the next house. The criminals in my area are dumb and unsophisticated and live an existance akin to animals.

Wow HC! Talk about good timing... Sounds like you averted disaster by just a few months!