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Old April 13, 2012, 09:03 AM   #19
WV_gunner
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 14, 2011
Location: WV
Posts: 938
Something alot of people overlook, dead bolts and the door frame. Firstly, the longer the actual bolt of the lock is, the harder it is to bust open the door. The striker plate is another concern. The cheap little pieces of steel aren't strong at all. I don't want anything less than 1/8 steel that's at least 6 inches long held in with a handful of the best screws you can buy or even bolts if possible. I've heard of people having them the full length of the door frame. In my opinion, overkill is never bad when it comes to this. Another thing, the door hinges. Usually people don't even think about them. Use only quality hinges with good hardware. And another thing you can do is pin the hinges. And that is drilling holes in the hinges, putting a steel dowel rod in one side and then when the door is shut, the dowel rod is going through both sides of the hinge. By doing this, even if they break the hinges loose, there is a dowel rod holding them in place still. And I recommend atleast 3 hinges, more isn't bad. And lastly, the door casings themselves. Alot of them are made as cheaply as possible. People building new houses to sell don't use the expensive stuff, it's that simple. And when they are installed, let's say I've seen some questionable work. And especially interior doors. The interior doors are usually just thrown in there.I've seen some with an inch of shims so they fit. Not exactly strong, so don't expect your inside doors to hold up if someone wants to get in the room behind it. So my advice is, don't be afraid to reinforce everything.
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