How to secure your front door against break-ins

Where does a kicked door actually give way?

Look at the latch side of your door frame. The deadbolt goes into a hole in the jamb, and a small metal strike plate covers that hole. On a lot of houses, that plate is held by two short screws that only bite into the jamb itself, which is often a thin piece of softwood.

A hard kick doesn't snap the bolt. It tears that strip of wood away from the wall, and the door opens with the bolt still sticking out of it. That's why a new, expensive lock fitted into the same weak frame changes very little.

How do you anchor the strike plate to the house?

This is the upgrade worth doing first on almost any front door:

1. Swap the strike plate for a heavy-duty one. It's longer and thicker, so a blow is spread over more of the frame.
2. Fit long screws. They should pass through the jamb and the shim gap and bite into the stud behind. Now the strike is fixed to the house, not to trim.
3. Treat the hinge side the same way. Replace one short screw in each hinge with a long one into framing.
4. Check how the bolt lands. If the bolt only just catches the edge of the hole, the door needs adjusting so it lands centred.

On the coast, check the screws you take out. Salt air corrodes cheap hardware, and a rusted screw in a soft, damp jamb holds far less than it looks. Use corrosion-resistant screws for the replacements.

Is damp or freeze-thaw stopping your bolt short?

In Halifax the weather moves doors around. Long foggy, wet spells make wooden doors and frames swell, and freeze-thaw cycles through the winter can shift a frame slightly out of square. Older homes on the peninsula and in Dartmouth often have doors that have been planed, painted and rehung more than once.

Signs your bolt isn't seating properly:

• You have to push or pull the door to turn the deadbolt.
• The key turns stiffly in wet weather and easily in dry weather.
• The bolt stops short, and you can see it isn't fully out when the door is open.

A bolt that only half seats can be pushed back or levered out. Adjusting the strike, the hinges or the door edge so the bolt runs freely fixes both the annoyance and the weakness.

What makes a deadbolt worth fitting?

Look for three things:

• A full throw. The bolt should extend its full length into the frame, commonly about an inch. If the hole behind the strike is too shallow, the bolt can't go all the way out.
• A true deadbolt. The spring latch in a door handle can sometimes be slipped with a card. A deadbolt can't be pushed back without the key or the thumbturn.
• A published grade. Many locks are tested against ANSI/BHMA standards and graded 1 to 3, with Grade 1 the heaviest duty (Allegion on ANSI grades). The grade is usually on the packaging or the spec sheet.

A keyed cylinder on both sides (a double cylinder deadbolt) is sometimes suggested where there's glass, but it can slow everyone down getting out in a fire. If you have one, keep its key near the door in a spot the whole household knows, and check any rules that apply to your home before choosing one.

What should you do about glass near the lock?

Sidelights, glass panels in the door and storm doors with large glass all change the picture if someone can break a pane and reach the thumbturn.

• Test the reach. If an arm through the nearest pane could reach the deadbolt, treat the glass as part of the lock.
• Add security film on the inside so the glass holds together longer when struck.
• Fit an inside grille where the reach is short.
• Keep keys off hooks by the door, where they can be seen or grabbed through the glass.

How much do lighting and habits matter?

As much as the hardware, and they cost little:

• Light the step and the path, ideally with a motion sensor, and use a timer inside when you're away.
• Keep the entrance visible from the street. Cut back shrubs that hide the door.
• Lock up when you're home, especially the door you're not using while you're out in the yard.
• Retire the hidden spare. Under the mat, in the planter and above the frame are the first places anyone looks.
• Don't let parcels sit on the step while you're away. Ask a neighbour to collect them.

Is a smart lock a better choice for a front door?

It's as strong as its bolt and strike, the same as any deadbolt. What it changes is what you manage: batteries, codes, the app, and how the electronics live with sea air and damp. Our post on smart locks in Halifax weather covers salt, freeze-thaw and storm outages.

If you're replacing more than one lock, ask to have them keyed alike so a single key opens every outside door. Our guide on whether to rekey or replace your locks explains when new hardware is worth it.

What if someone has already forced the door?

Get safe, report it, photograph the damage, call your insurer, then secure the door for the night. Our guide on what to do after a break-in walks through the first day.

What's the quickest way to start?

Stand at your front door and check three things: how long the strike plate screws are and whether they're rusted, whether the deadbolt goes all the way out without you leaning on the door, and whether any glass puts the thumbturn within reach. If one of them fails, it's a small job to fix. We fit heavy-duty strikes, long screws and new deadbolts in one visit. See lock change and new deadbolts.

The printable move-in lock checklist below takes you round every outside door in one pass.