A front door to your home is a way to welcome people in, as well as a way to make a statement about your home. It can be decorative, it can be simple, it can be some combination of both. But what it needs to be, above all else, is secure. How do you select a door that fits your style as well as your unique home security concerns? Fortunately, there are tons of secure exterior doors on the market with a variety of looks so you can find and install the perfect door for whatever statement you want to make.
The options for exterior doors can be a bit overwhelming so first settle on what you’re looking for. A solid wood door? Fiberglass? Metal? Which style would go best with your house? All of these options are secure and can withstand a lot of damage. Fiberglass and wood can withstand the same amount of damage with a minimum of scratches while metal, though incredibly strong, shows dings and dents after it’s been hit or kicked. This means if there was a security threat or someone was trying to break in the door, all three could stand up to it but metal would look the worse for wear afterwards.
Solid-core doors of any material are more secure than hollow doors. You can hear if a door is hollow by knocking on it and listening for an echo. Solid-core doors have no echo when you knock on them. Again, wood, fiberglass, and metal doors are all available in hollow and solid-core options so you can keep with the style you want and get the strength you need. Security doors and other home security features can often lower your homeowner’s insurance quotes, which means they’re good for more than protection and peace of mind.
Now that you’ve got your door, you need to install it properly. An improperly installed door serves about as much purpose as a screen when it comes to home security. If you feel more comfortable hiring a contractor to do it then go ahead. When it comes to you and your family’s well-being, it’s best to be safe than sorry. If you think you can handle it yourself, there are a few things to keep in mind. You need to know if the door you purchased is a pre-hung or a slab door, meaning does it come with a door frame (pre-hung) or is it just the door (slab). You don’t want to get yourself ready to install only to realize that you don’t have everything you need.
With the right door and all the materials ready to go, you can do the installation then reinforce all the locks and deadbolts. Change any lockset plates that show a lot of wear and add new deadbolts to doors that don’t have them. Exterior doors with only one lock, especially one situated in the middle of the doorknob, are not very secure. A deadbolt or other forms of additional locks can upgrade your home security from decent to great.
Aside from having a solid-core door that’s been properly installed and a strong new deadbolt, there are other ways of bolstering your home security. An insurance agent providing a homeowner with an insurance quote will look for things like motion-sensor lights, home security systems, and that all exterior doors are reinforced with proper locks. If you’ve got a back door, side door, kitchen door, or even a decorative door that enters into one of the bedrooms, those all need to be checked and made secure either with security doors or strong locks.
Keeping your home and loved ones safe is affordable and simple. Plus with tons of varieties in solid-core doors, it can be stylish as well. Secure, simple, stylish. What more could you ask for?