Do you love solid wood doors, hallow-core doors, French doors, screen doors, security doors, garage doors or any other type of door? If you said yes, we have that in common. Hello. My name is Pat, and I take doors seriously. Whether I'm hanging a bedroom door for my kids, buying new doors for my rental properties or advising a real estate client on new doors, I take the task seriously, and I spend a lot of time researching. After years reading about and testing multiple types of doors, I have decided to share my wealth of knowledge. Please explore, and I hope you like what you find.
The idea behind installing a security door for your home is to have an aesthetically pleasing yet structurally sound door to protect your external entryways from unwanted access by intruders. Before deciding to pick any particular door and installing it, the following are important questions to ask yourself and your supplier:
1. Which is the best installation method?
A door is only as good as its hinges and frames. Talk to the door supplier about installation according to the standard AS5040 which covers security door installation. Flush-mounted installation is more natural and given better sealing compared with tube-frame mounting. In addition, the door should be installed in such a way as to open outwards, so that an intruder cannot kick it in when trying to gain entry. Your security door should be fitted with hinge bolts piercing the frame from multiple angles, making it impossible to pull the leaf from the sockets. The bigger the bolts used, the better.
2. Which material should be used for the door frame?
Security doors are usually made of metal alloys, aluminium or steel, with steel being the strongest of the three. You can make up for this difference by making your metal alloy or aluminium doors wider. However, steel is more prone to corrosion than the rest. Ensure steel security door is properly treated followed by powder-coating which lasts longer than simple paint jobs. In addition, check that the door is reinforced at the corners e.g. using internal corner stakes. While invisible, these make the corner joints much stronger.
3. What type of locks and bolts will I need?
Choosing the door frame itself is just one part; you need to have secure locking mechanisms to fortify the entire structure. All external doors should have a deadbolt. Consider having a single-sided deadbolt to provide additional protection when you are in the house – it cannot be picked from the outside. If you have a letterbox, have a cage fitted on the door to prevent an intruder from inserting tools through that opening to manipulate the bolt from the inside.
4. What guarantees/warranty do I have?
Ask the supplier/installer what provisions they have as warranty/guarantee for their product. You should have clear direction for what will happen in case of break-ins or malfunctions like handles coming loose. They should tell you how long your door will work correctly under standard conditions, and what can be done if the door becomes misaligned as the house settles. They should also offer some guarantee on the installation labour.
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