Boosting Your Home’s Security with Modern Door Options

Upgrading your residential doors might seem like a simple thing, but it’s a great way to enhance the security of your Vestavia Hills, AL home. Modern doors have options that are more durable than doors have ever been and come with features that effectively deter intruders.

Upgrading Your Vestavia Hills, AL Residential Doors: Best Options

Materials

Steel is the best choice if home security is important to you because it’s extremely resistant to forced entry. Steel doors also don’t warp with temperature changes and come with a baked-on finish that is rust-resistant and won’t fade. Another solid door material option is fiberglass. You can get a fiberglass door that looks like wood, but it will offer much better resistance to impact. These doors are lightweight but strong, and fiberglass doesn’t expand and contract with the humidity. That means it stays snug in the frame.

And if you really want a wooden door, there are still some options. Solid hardwood doors are decently substantial, but make sure you’re looking at oak, mahogany, or walnut. Also look for wooden doors that have been reinforced with internal support.

Designs

Anything with a reinforced core is especially effective for security because the reinforcement distributes any force brought against it across the whole door, making it much harder to break through. You also want to minimize the use of glass on the door, because windows and glass are always a weak point.

For patio doors, look for interlocking rails and reinforced tracks so the door can’t just be lifted out or derailed. This is a big vulnerability in older sliding door models. French doors have a double panel and can now be had with heavy-duty hinges and a vertical strip that seals the gap between the panels for an extra defense layer.

Features

First, look at doors that have multipoint locking mechanisms integrated right into the door itself. The idea here is to engage locks at several places along the frame rather than just one. This makes it much harder to jimmy. Reinforced strike plates are also important. These attach to the frame of the door and secure the latch or the bolt, making it harder to kick the door in.

Make sure that if you have a peephole it has a wide-angle lens that lets you see visitors clearly without opening anything up. It’s also wise to look for a door that has a reinforced core around the view hole so it doesn’t become a weak point. If you do really want a glass in your door, make sure to get impact-resistant glazing. Finally, pay attention to the hinges. If your door swings outward, then the hinges are exposed, so you’ll want to get hinges with non-removable pins so the door can’t just be taken off.

For help choosing the right secure door for your home, contact us today at EcoView Windows & Doors in Birmingham, AL. We offer free quotes and can help you find the right door for your home and your peace of mind.

Tags: door replacement, entry door, security door
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