In Europe we use upvc doors and frames. You can hit them with a battering ram and you’ll just bounce right off it. The UPVC doors also have multipoint locks so when you lift the handle prior to locking then this fires bolts in to the frame all around - like 2 at least on each side and top and bottom of the door in to the frame. Seems crazy the yanks have single point locks. You need bolts on all 4 sides of the door really
Wood Nerds - Maybe we get a lot more burglaries here in the UK so it’s a thing, I dunno. Also our doors tend to require a key to open them from the inside which Ive heard is against code in the US (for fire escape reasons) so maybe we need the beefed up security to prevent people climbing in a window and escaping via the door. Just guessing...
It's funny that you see people buy hundreds or even thousands of dollars of security equipment and cameras but never make this upgrade that costs less than $1. This simple upgrade plus a security door would be great upgrades for most homes I would think, but I'd never sneer at a good security system. Maybe future content could include security door or security system installation, I'd watch that.
I agree! That’s a good idea! Unfortunately like you mentioned they are expensive haha. I could probably weld up a security door or gate though. I’ll have to look into material costs for that. Likely a video for the winter since it’s likely going to be over 100 degrees for the remainder of the summer here.
Good tips if you don't have any other security. I spent years working prisons listening to crims talk. The best security is deterrence. A security door with deadbolts top, bottom and middle is a good idea. Crims want to get in and out quick, and they do their research on security, they'll see the triple bolt door and move on to the house without it.
QUESTION: There is a video published more than 10 years ago on long screws. I believe it was an experiment performed by the LA housing authority using apartments they were going to tear down. Ring a bell? The LAFD literally had to break the door to get entrance, the hardware and hardware points didn't fail. I cannot find that video! EDIT: Shoot. I don't think you saw the video. If you did, you'd put them in the deadbolt strike plate and barrel plate, too.
The new houses are surprisingly economical but I think you’re right about how robust they are. It’s cheaper to hit all the requirements and miss the security aspect of a dwelling.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Cool, already have this. And, waterproofed my shower so well my father said "cussword cussword!!!!! If it ever does leak, you won't know!!!!! Cuz it'll come out on the cussword ROOF!!!!! 😳" 😏🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 SORRY! But, when I build, I like to think of every "OMG" situation 😘
Good thinking! Keep that house safe and that shower waterproof haha! Trying to think of all the things that can go wrong isn’t easy but definitely a good step in planning your projects! Thanks for watching and sharing your story :)
Thank you for the home safety tip. My only concern is that the 4" screws might penetrate some wiring or piping? But I might just be talking nonsense. Thank you.
That’s always a concern of mine! It’s not typical to run wires in those areas of the door frame (all the boards being penetrated are sandwiched together so there wouldn’t be a place for a wire to run, same with piping.) good thinking though!
Great Tips! However quite surprising / amazing the difference we have among our countries... In Italy a good entrance door is made of a steel frame, and there are additional rod pins to prevent burglary. Additionally, there are at least three rabbets for noise / thermal insulation. Everytime I am surprised how many differences there are in our world
Meanwhile I'm just sitting at my PC and staring despondently at my aluminium and glass sliding door : / Guess I'll just run an electric current through the frame or something.
@@WoodNerds turns out it's just a video of me chasing an intruder down the street with a modified cattle prod jerry-rigged to a 0.25 farad capacitor in a backpack.
I've seen this recommended before -- but I don't buy it. The shear strength on screws is not great; certainly not enough to make a difference. Replacing the hinges might help but you are still going to be splitting the frame or breaking the door itself. Here is some detail from a Firefighter who breaks down doors for a living. www.reddit.com/r/lifehacks/comments/cprl7b/for_easy_extra_home_protection_replace_the_short/ewrfzzt/
Hey, thanks for watching! I respectfully disagree, the shear strength for 1 screw isn’t great, but several compounds the strength by more than I would be able to kick through. Outside of that most front doors now a days are thin metal with foam filling making it hard to break(bending more likely and perhaps warping enough to allow entry but by that time I’d be exhausted and everyone in the house would be prepared to defend). As for the frame, it’s pretty logical to say it’s a lot easier to split a 3/4” board (door jamb) than 3-3/4” of jamb, Jack, and king stud right? So perhaps an intruder could still make it in, but this would definitely give you more time to prepare, or maybe it would deter them from continuing the attempt when they find its substantially harder than previous doors they’ve tried? So surely you’d agree it’s still a worthy upgrade for minimal effort and money? Shoot, I bet you have the screws lying around to do this right now if you wanted.
I'm a firefighter also. I have 16 years on the job which includes 7 years on ladder companies. They are the crews who specialize in forcible entry and it's one of their primary responsibilities at fire scenes. I've also been a member of the urban search and rescue team for a decade. I have to disagree with some of the other firefighter's comments that were linked. He stated most doors can be forced with a strong kick. Sorry but that's BS. Not an exterior door. No way. further, I'd love to see him try, and I'll put money down that he can't kick an exterior residential door with a dead bolt. You can kick in an interior door. The strength of the door system doesn't rely on the shear strength of the screws holding the strike plates in, especially the dead bolt. Besides, the break-in attempt is not imparting shear forces at one single point. The screws are buried completely in the wood, so it's transferring the force along their entire length against the same thickness of wood at least an inch thick. But even with all that said, the door latch and dead bolt extend into their cavities by about 1/2" inch for the latch and about 7/8" for the dead bolt. Wood is pretty damn strong. I've been to car vs. tree accidents and the tree (even small ones) usually does just fine even when the car is up near interstate speeds. The plates are mortised into the jamb so any lateral (inward in our instance of discussion) movement is anchored by the lip of the mortise and thus the integrity of the jamb material. So, the longer screws are attempting to bolster the thickness of the jamb (~3/4" thick usually) with about 3" of Jack and king stud framing members. An attempt to force the door by your average burglar will likely be directly against the door near the knob. Again, you're not kicking in an exterior door, even with the little screws that come with the hardware. Look at videos of police sawt teams forcing doors with a battering ram (the hand held, not vehicle mounted). They need several good hits, and you'll find some videos of some pretty embarrassing entry attempts. When we force doors we use the irons, a flat head axe and a halligan bar. We pry the door and jamb apart to start a gap at the knob, between the door edge and the jamb surface. That's also about the mid point if the jamb opening and where you'll get the most flex the the jamb. With proper technique, you're spreading the door and the jamb apart to allow the latch and deadbolt to clear their catches. The technique also involves pushing inward as the pry with the halligan so typically you're also gaining space by collapsing the jamb into the void between in and the framing. Door jambs aren't installed flush with the rough opening. There is usually tearing of the jamb and trim where the wood fibers fail. So all of this is a long way of saying that the longer screws can help some I would say. Depending on how the system fails, we will usually do a temporary repair by using long deck screws so that the homeowner can secure their place untill they can call a carpenter..... In cases where we force entry for medical calls, etc. I'm actually interested now in building a door prop and using longer screws to see how they might or might not effect a forced entry attempt. My comments above are just theorizing how the longer screws would work based on what I've seen with the standard hardware. What will help MUCH more is a security buttress that anchors between the base of the knob and an anchor point on the floor.
Bob, thank you for taking the time to share your experience and also for putting your butt on the line! I would love to see some tests like that! Wish I had the cash to frame out some doors and point out the weak spots. If I was able, I think it would be fun to kick some doors in.
Again, if they are trying to kick down your door and failing, they will just move to the windows. The screws won't do anything other than piss them off a bit more.
@@MAGAMANNot always. Glass makes a lot of noise and they have to risk someone hearing it and getting injured by the glass. They would get frustrated and find another house. They usually do doors first, now if a window is open, and an easy entry, then that is where they will enter.
What kind of screws to you buy?
Being a fellow Phoenician (Ahwatukee), I'm fully aware of the burglary rate. I'll be purchasing my 4" screws this weekend.
Good call man! Stay safe! Who knows what’s going to happen within the coming months.
In Europe we use upvc doors and frames. You can hit them with a battering ram and you’ll just bounce right off it.
The UPVC doors also have multipoint locks so when you lift the handle prior to locking then this fires bolts in to the frame all around - like 2 at least on each side and top and bottom of the door in to the frame. Seems crazy the yanks have single point locks. You need bolts on all 4 sides of the door really
Being a yank, I have never heard of this haha. I’ll have to check those out! Sounds really cool though, thanks for sharing!
Wood Nerds - Maybe we get a lot more burglaries here in the UK so it’s a thing, I dunno. Also our doors tend to require a key to open them from the inside which Ive heard is against code in the US (for fire escape reasons) so maybe we need the beefed up security to prevent people climbing in a window and escaping via the door. Just guessing...
That makes sense! Dang! Well be safe out there! Wish worrying about that stuff wasn’t a problem.
It's funny that you see people buy hundreds or even thousands of dollars of security equipment and cameras but never make this upgrade that costs less than $1. This simple upgrade plus a security door would be great upgrades for most homes I would think, but I'd never sneer at a good security system. Maybe future content could include security door or security system installation, I'd watch that.
I agree! That’s a good idea! Unfortunately like you mentioned they are expensive haha. I could probably weld up a security door or gate though. I’ll have to look into material costs for that. Likely a video for the winter since it’s likely going to be over 100 degrees for the remainder of the summer here.
Good tips if you don't have any other security. I spent years working prisons listening to crims talk. The best security is deterrence. A security door with deadbolts top, bottom and middle is a good idea. Crims want to get in and out quick, and they do their research on security, they'll see the triple bolt door and move on to the house without it.
That’s good information! Thanks for sharing!
QUESTION: There is a video published more than 10 years ago on long screws. I believe it was an experiment performed by the LA housing authority using apartments they were going to tear down. Ring a bell? The LAFD literally had to break the door to get entrance, the hardware and hardware points didn't fail. I cannot find that video!
EDIT: Shoot. I don't think you saw the video. If you did, you'd put them in the deadbolt strike plate and barrel plate, too.
The way most of these homes are built, there’s probably some thin shims (or air) between the jamb and jack stud.
The new houses are surprisingly economical but I think you’re right about how robust they are. It’s cheaper to hit all the requirements and miss the security aspect of a dwelling.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Cool, already have this. And, waterproofed my shower so well my father said "cussword cussword!!!!! If it ever does leak, you won't know!!!!! Cuz it'll come out on the cussword ROOF!!!!! 😳" 😏🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
SORRY! But, when I build, I like to think of every "OMG" situation 😘
Good thinking! Keep that house safe and that shower waterproof haha! Trying to think of all the things that can go wrong isn’t easy but definitely a good step in planning your projects! Thanks for watching and sharing your story :)
They decided to go from the windows,not the door,lol
Dang! Sorry to hear that Tommy! I thought about that after I was done. Your door is only as effective as your window.
Thank you for the home safety tip. My only concern is that the 4" screws might penetrate some wiring or piping? But I might just be talking nonsense. Thank you.
That’s always a concern of mine! It’s not typical to run wires in those areas of the door frame (all the boards being penetrated are sandwiched together so there wouldn’t be a place for a wire to run, same with piping.) good thinking though!
@@WoodNerds OK Thanks, good to know
Of course! Happy to help.
Monster forearms!
Haha, I don’t think I would have a good time getting after those screws with a screwdriver.
I have that same metal sign stating the need for my garage time. Nerds!
danimalx23 haha! Glad you noticed! Nerds!
Great Tips! However quite surprising / amazing the difference we have among our countries... In Italy a good entrance door is made of a steel frame, and there are additional rod pins to prevent burglary. Additionally, there are at least three rabbets for noise / thermal insulation. Everytime I am surprised how many differences there are in our world
Thank you! I’ve heard of similar frames in the UK I believe! Thanks for sharing!
great information buddy!!!
Thanks Chris! Appreciate it brother!
Meanwhile I'm just sitting at my PC and staring despondently at my aluminium and glass sliding door : /
Guess I'll just run an electric current through the frame or something.
Delphaneux laCroix I’d watch every second of that video haha.
@@WoodNerds turns out it's just a video of me chasing an intruder down the street with a modified cattle prod jerry-rigged to a 0.25 farad capacitor in a backpack.
@@delphaneuxlacroix ....did you catch him??? LOL
I've seen this recommended before -- but I don't buy it. The shear strength on screws is not great; certainly not enough to make a difference. Replacing the hinges might help but you are still going to be splitting the frame or breaking the door itself.
Here is some detail from a Firefighter who breaks down doors for a living. www.reddit.com/r/lifehacks/comments/cprl7b/for_easy_extra_home_protection_replace_the_short/ewrfzzt/
Hey, thanks for watching! I respectfully disagree, the shear strength for 1 screw isn’t great, but several compounds the strength by more than I would be able to kick through. Outside of that most front doors now a days are thin metal with foam filling making it hard to break(bending more likely and perhaps warping enough to allow entry but by that time I’d be exhausted and everyone in the house would be prepared to defend). As for the frame, it’s pretty logical to say it’s a lot easier to split a 3/4” board (door jamb) than 3-3/4” of jamb, Jack, and king stud right? So perhaps an intruder could still make it in, but this would definitely give you more time to prepare, or maybe it would deter them from continuing the attempt when they find its substantially harder than previous doors they’ve tried? So surely you’d agree it’s still a worthy upgrade for minimal effort and money? Shoot, I bet you have the screws lying around to do this right now if you wanted.
I'm a firefighter also. I have 16 years on the job which includes 7 years on ladder companies. They are the crews who specialize in forcible entry and it's one of their primary responsibilities at fire scenes. I've also been a member of the urban search and rescue team for a decade. I have to disagree with some of the other firefighter's comments that were linked. He stated most doors can be forced with a strong kick. Sorry but that's BS. Not an exterior door. No way. further, I'd love to see him try, and I'll put money down that he can't kick an exterior residential door with a dead bolt. You can kick in an interior door.
The strength of the door system doesn't rely on the shear strength of the screws holding the strike plates in, especially the dead bolt. Besides, the break-in attempt is not imparting shear forces at one single point. The screws are buried completely in the wood, so it's transferring the force along their entire length against the same thickness of wood at least an inch thick. But even with all that said, the door latch and dead bolt extend into their cavities by about 1/2" inch for the latch and about 7/8" for the dead bolt. Wood is pretty damn strong. I've been to car vs. tree accidents and the tree (even small ones) usually does just fine even when the car is up near interstate speeds. The plates are mortised into the jamb so any lateral (inward in our instance of discussion) movement is anchored by the lip of the mortise and thus the integrity of the jamb material. So, the longer screws are attempting to bolster the thickness of the jamb (~3/4" thick usually) with about 3" of Jack and king stud framing members. An attempt to force the door by your average burglar will likely be directly against the door near the knob. Again, you're not kicking in an exterior door, even with the little screws that come with the hardware. Look at videos of police sawt teams forcing doors with a battering ram (the hand held, not vehicle mounted). They need several good hits, and you'll find some videos of some pretty embarrassing entry attempts.
When we force doors we use the irons, a flat head axe and a halligan bar. We pry the door and jamb apart to start a gap at the knob, between the door edge and the jamb surface. That's also about the mid point if the jamb opening and where you'll get the most flex the the jamb. With proper technique, you're spreading the door and the jamb apart to allow the latch and deadbolt to clear their catches. The technique also involves pushing inward as the pry with the halligan so typically you're also gaining space by collapsing the jamb into the void between in and the framing. Door jambs aren't installed flush with the rough opening. There is usually tearing of the jamb and trim where the wood fibers fail. So all of this is a long way of saying that the longer screws can help some I would say. Depending on how the system fails, we will usually do a temporary repair by using long deck screws so that the homeowner can secure their place untill they can call a carpenter..... In cases where we force entry for medical calls, etc.
I'm actually interested now in building a door prop and using longer screws to see how they might or might not effect a forced entry attempt. My comments above are just theorizing how the longer screws would work based on what I've seen with the standard hardware.
What will help MUCH more is a security buttress that anchors between the base of the knob and an anchor point on the floor.
Bob, thank you for taking the time to share your experience and also for putting your butt on the line!
I would love to see some tests like that! Wish I had the cash to frame out some doors and point out the weak spots. If I was able, I think it would be fun to kick some doors in.
Again, if they are trying to kick down your door and failing, they will just move to the windows. The screws won't do anything other than piss them off a bit more.
@@MAGAMANNot always. Glass makes a lot of noise and they have to risk someone hearing it and getting injured by the glass. They would get frustrated and find another house. They usually do doors first, now if a window is open, and an easy entry, then that is where they will enter.