Will Door barricades slow down a battering ram?

[Laughingman]

Thanks for the insight people, The question actually originates with my mother after seeing a documentary about the issue. She came to the conclusion that several of the cases in question, if door had been physically stronger and taken 15 to 20 seconds to breach, the homeowner would have realized it was police battering down there door and not a break-in.

 

[U8395279]

Your mother watches too much TV. What is on television these days often does not reflect reality.

An easy and useful security upgrade is to simply have an external, swing-out steel security door, added on the outside. Not a plain screen door, but one that is stronger, and meant to provide extra security.

You can find these at places like Home Depot and Jerry's. Something along the lines of this door:

Unique Home Designs 36 in. x 80 in. Sylvan White Surface Mount Outswing Steel Security Door with Insect Screen-IDR12500362010 - The Home Depot

Have an extra door like that installed for your mom, and she could then answer her front door, and still feel safe. For the external security door would be between her and any visitors. If she is living alone, it would giver her more peace of mind, in answering her front door. And the extra door would be an additional obstacle, that any intruder would also have to deal with, in order to break in.

These external security doors really are not that expensive to purchase and install. Take a look at the video on the above page that I gave a link to.

 

[HB of CJ]

Realistically there is very little a homeowner can do to beef up his home points of entry. There will always be another way in. Concentrating this discussion on the front and rear doors only there are PASSIVE non lethal things you can do to slow down the bad guy or guys. You can not prevent forced entry ... you can only slow them down.

Greatly reinforcing the door jamb, lock area door and door frame are doable? Long lag bolts tying into the framing of the structure. Multiple long screws trying the jamb to the door frame. Piano type hinges running the entire length of the door. New construction can handle this quite easily. Retro door strengthening is probably a forlorn hope.

Once inside then what? You can slow the bad guys down. Small steel cable trip wires? Very bright strobe lighting. Very very loud sonic screamers or wobble alarms. Long entry ways beckon all sorts of ways to stall a bad guy multiple perp home invasion. Your intent is to make them change their minds and bugler or rob somebody else.

Multiple fall back positions in the home also buys time. Hall way. Bathroom hall way. Bedroom hallway. Stairs going up to the bedrooms. Reinforced bedroom doors. Last resort would be some sort of lethal device to stop the home invaders lethal intent. All of this is for home invasion. No knock warrant less dynamic entry by law enforcement?

Oh boy. Hopefully more sane minds would be in control of the illegal entry by law enforcement. An oxymoro?. Be sure to check local ordnances and laws detailing exactly what is legal and what is not. Perhaps some time with the family lawyer might be a good idea. You have a right to defend your home castle. Goes back to old English Common Law.,

 

[Carbon]

You could always build one of these inside your house.

 

[NCW_Robert]

Your mother watches too much TV. What is on television these days often does not reflect reality.

An easy and useful security upgrade is to simply have an external, swing-out steel security door, added on the outside. Not a plain screen door, but one that is stronger, and meant to provide extra security.

You can find these at places like Home Depot and Jerry's. Something along the lines of this door:

Unique Home Designs 36 in. x 80 in. Sylvan White Surface Mount Outswing Steel Security Door with Insect Screen-IDR12500362010 - The Home Depot

Have an extra door like that installed for your mom, and she could then answer her front door, and still feel safe. For the external security door would be between her and any visitors. If she is living alone, it would giver her more peace of mind, in answering her front door. And the extra door would be an additional obstacle, that any intruder would also have to deal with, in order to break in.

These external security doors really are not that expensive to purchase and install. Take a look at the video on the above page that I gave a link to.

I can attest that these doors do work. I had a attempted forced entry by a hespanic who knocked on my door, demanded he be let in, then when I said no, he first tried to yank it open then he tried to kick it in. Granted he was just a punk, but had he been able to push or brake in and enter the house no telling where or what would have happened to me due to this. It was down in commie-fornia and I had a SW 629 .44 in my right hand hid behind the door. If the dude would have come in, I was going to back up, draw down on him and demand he leave, if he did not I would have fired.

Guy had a 3 ft pipe he was holding behind him while using his other hand and foot to attempt entry, so it would have been justified, at least to me. I'm glad the security door held though as I might have just now been gaining freedom as it was 25 plus yrs ago.

~

 

[Certaindeaf]

Got a question for you tactical ex-police types... Are commercial off the self "door barricades" capable of slowing down the hand held battering rams customarily used in No knock warrants? I keep hearing about badly executed No knock warrants that end in tragedy, and am looking for a door hardening device that would slow down a breaching team long enough for a armed home owner to realize that the police are breaking down his door in a case of mistaken identity (or address) and not someone intent on causing you harm. Any ideas?

No. Siege fortifications were invariably effected with powerful spells with great success for thousands of years.
good talk

 

[kamaaina1]

We have this device at our entry door. Pretty solid.
Security Door Brace. The OnGARD OnGUARD Prevents Burglaries & Home Invasions

 

[The Heretic]

IMO it has to be a system.

A security door (google it) made of steel with purpose built components. A security frame. Security locks and hinges.

All that and right next to the door is a typical residential window - like my house has, and the intruder (LEO or criminal) will just choose to come thru the path of least resistance. You pretty much need to harden the whole house, and to do that properly, you really need to consider that before the house is built. Which is what I am planning to do when I retire, move and build a new place from scratch (ICF reinforced with rebar, a front stone facade, security doors, security grates over security windows with security film on them, and the whole thing earth bermed).

 

[kamaaina1]

FWIW,
We did install a Larsen security storm door as well. Flippin' Solid! 3-point latch system with laminated security glass.

Product Details

 

[ma96782]

You can buy steel frames and then have a lock bar across it.

LOL....Then, the walls and glass windows on either side of the door and frame? Humm......

Aloha, Mark

 

[DuneHopper]

LOL....Then, the walls and glass windows on either side of the door and frame? Humm......

Aloha, Mark

Well ya, you got add some style LOL

 

[P7M13]

Simple changes as mentioned above, their effectiveness shown in this video:

 

[Tangent123123]

Your mother watches too much TV. What is on television these days often does not reflect reality.

An easy and useful security upgrade is to simply have an external, swing-out steel security door, added on the outside. Not a plain screen door, but one that is stronger, and meant to provide extra security.

You can find these at places like Home Depot and Jerry's. Something along the lines of this door:

Unique Home Designs 36 in. x 80 in. Sylvan White Surface Mount Outswing Steel Security Door with Insect Screen-IDR12500362010 - The Home Depot

Have an extra door like that installed for your mom, and she could then answer her front door, and still feel safe. For the external security door would be between her and any visitors. If she is living alone, it would giver her more peace of mind, in answering her front door. And the extra door would be an additional obstacle, that any intruder would also have to deal with, in order to break in.

These external security doors really are not that expensive to purchase and install. Take a look at the video on the above page that I gave a link to.

We installed one of these on the front of our house and they are awesome. The wife can leave the main door open and allow air to flow through the house while still feeling safe. It also allows her to answer the door and clearly see and speak to whoever is outside without putting herself at risk. The peace of mind is well worth the cost of the door. They look pretty good as well.

 

[Laughingman]

Your mother watches too much TV. What is on television these days often does not reflect reality.

An easy and useful security upgrade is to simply have an external, swing-out steel security door, added on the outside. Not a plain screen door, but one that is stronger, and meant to provide extra security.

You can find these at places like Home Depot and Jerry's. Something along the lines of this door:

Unique Home Designs 36 in. x 80 in. Sylvan White Surface Mount Outswing Steel Security Door with Insect Screen-IDR12500362010 - The Home Depot

Have an extra door like that installed for your mom, and she could then answer her front door, and still feel safe. For the external security door would be between her and any visitors. If she is living alone, it would giver her more peace of mind, in answering her front door. And the extra door would be an additional obstacle, that any intruder would also have to deal with, in order to break in.

These external security doors really are not that expensive to purchase and install. Take a look at the video on the above page that I gave a link to.

Fair enough, The Documentary in question i believe was Peace Officer about former lawman William "Dub" Lawrence longstanding project regarding the misuse of SWAT Teams. She's not really worried about herself, she worried about her boyfriend, whom might be a little hard of hearing and what my mothers describes as "well armed"...

Side question, how common are Home invasions via Fake warrant/Police search? You here about it occasionally but its generally corrupt cops shaking down drug dealers or the like. From what I've read it was a real problem in Miami-Dade county in the early 1980s, but was never really prevalent elsewhere...

 

[Rick Shaw]

This reply doesn't speak specifically to the "no knock warrant" but I do believe it covers forcible entry through your inward opening front door.

We experienced a rash of "door kick " burglaries in our area. Bad guys we're going up to your door and ringing the doorbell to a degree that would make any homeowner who HAPPENED to be HOME, angry! When no angry homeowner appeared, they booted the door open.

We found the Masterlock Door Bar (about $25at the local *Mart, or a bit less online) Its an adjustable mechanical bar that has a cradle on one end that goes under your doorknob, and an angled rubber "foot" on the other end that rests on the floor. Believe me, even if your door was unlocked with this bar in place, the harder one pushes, the more that bar is driven in place. Chances are, the door itself will splinter before the bar or knob fails. And the hooked knob cradle can be removed should you decide to use the bar or a sliding glass door. This is truly a must have device at under $25.

And it's so easy to put on and remove, our 8year Old is in charge of putting it in place at night, and removing it in the morning. So no worries about being trapped inside when you need to quickly remove it. It literally installs and removes in one second! We sleep well knowing this will alert us if burglars come to visit.

When I'm on the road. I always have a small door wedge in my toiletry bag. It is a door stopper with a built in alarm. About $10 on fleabay. It gives peace of mind when staying at hotels/ motels.

Cheers!

Rick

 

[Siglvr]

As a landlord of many years, who learned to put in Stanley prefab steel doors any time a door went in, I will say that the weak point in a door is the frame. They fail where the latch strike plate is. Putting in longer screws makes the tear out of the door frame larger, doesn't seem to do much else. I live in an old home and the thing I have not seen noted yet are the 2 things I've done here.

1st) Rebuild the door frame with solid Oregon old growth White Oak. This was easier than it sounds. I'd picked the wood up from a fella milling it out by Clackamas area. He was kind enough to let me pick what I wanted and I wound up with so much great looking oak that I was too busy at work to play with it (making bookcases etc). I gave a bunch away, now people owe me big.

As noted above, good advice to make sure you use long beefy screws on both sides, hinges (all 3, not 2, add a 3rd if you need to) and strike plate. Also, if you have a single point of contact, say the latch at the door knob: add another point. Like a dead bolt. Then up high add something you can slide across. There's a lot of these and I didn't find the kind I was thinking of which slip into lock easily at night time and slip back just as fast when you want. I put a couple of pics of another type just as an example in pictures below. Regardless, put it up high enough that a bad guys shoulder is lower than point of impact. If it's the cops bashing the door in, then it's at a rental house, not yours. You should have evicted the low lifes long before (Experience takin here). The police will NOT pay for your door, shame on you (me) for not kicking the POS out sooner. Junkies will lie to you. Repeatedly. Fact. And as a normie, you give folks the benefit of the doubt and don't think ill of folks. Later you learn the facts.





Lastly, get a camera that connects to your smart phone. When you wake up dead tired in the cold dark night with the Ring camera on your phone humming, you roll over and look: "OH Fuche, I wish that was the police with a battering ram" but instead it's some well armed hooded bubblegum head.........And there you are with your phone in your hand calling 911 before the door gets breached.

You can help your mom by also being on her call list/notification list. Then the camera will buzz all day long at work at ya cause you have it on vibrate. And everytime everyone in the office turns and looks at you as the phone hums you'll think: "hey, I'm helping my mom out".

 

[NW Backpacker]

Something along the lines of this door:

Unique Home Designs 36 in. x 80 in. Sylvan White Surface Mount Outswing Steel Security Door with Insect Screen-IDR12500362010 - The Home Depot

These external security doors really are not that expensive to purchase and install. Take a look at the video on the above page that I gave a link to.

That door would be good as long as the screen is something tough (like expanded metal) and hard to cut, otherwise they can cut it, reach in and turn the lock, unless it requires a key on both sides, then that's a safety issue if you want out and can't find a key.

As others said, I'd go with long screws in the deadbolt strike plate and door hinges, with metal wrap-around door reinforcer at the locks. Then, if possible, place a 2 x 4 on the floor between the door and a wall - even if they have a key, they aren't coming thru the door. Then they'll just come thru the window. By then, you'll be ready.

If you have the $$, security doors are available. Impact resistant doors are required in areas that get hurricanes like Miami-Dade County.
miami dade county approved entry doors at DuckDuckGo

This steel door is probably tougher than your average door. I'd guess that steel would be best in a location protected from rain.
Legacy Steel Exterior Doors | Security Doors | ProVia

 

[billdeserthills]

LOL....Then, the walls and glass windows on either side of the door and frame? Humm......

Aloha, Mark

Window security film will fix that window problem