Kick Burglars

[NM_Shooter]

We've had a rash of kick burglars in my neighborhood lately.  One happened 300 yards from my house, and many more on the south side of my little village.  The thugs knock on the door.  If you answer, they force their way in and rob you.  If you don't answer, they kick in the door and burglarize.  Sad day when you have to start wearing a weapon in your own house. 

I need to beef up my doors with braces.  Anything to slow them down just a little bit would help. 

[MountainDon]

Pit Bull

[peternap]

  Anything to slow them down just a little bit would help. 

[Whitlock]

I fixed that problem. I know if there is anyone within a half mile-

[MountainDon]

I love the graphic almost as much as the shells.... maybe more.   

[MountainDon]

http://www.katybar.com/home-security.html


Amazon won't let me steal their image   ... click below

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Lock-265DCCSEN-Dual-Function-Security/dp/B0002YUX8I

[glenn kangiser]

Sure they will - but I didn't know which one you wanted.

[MountainDon]

Sure they will - but I didn't know which one you wanted.

Thanks.... but by "steal" I meant hot linking... I was feeling too lazy to actually save and upload them... 


I remember seeing steel bar locks similar to those for apartment doors in places like NYC many years ago. They had a flange bolted/screwed to the floor that the lower end of the bar fit into. Then another steel piece on the door.

[RainDog]

 Fox Police locks, yeah. I had one for my door in my Greenwich Village apartment in NYC back before it got gentrified there.

It was one of those that went to the floor, like in Glenn's post and that MountainDon mentioned, though much more solid. Heavy. When I did an image search I just came up with the door-bar type.

Here it is:

[NM_Shooter]

Fox Police locks, yeah. I had one for my door in my Greenwich Village apartment in NYC back before it got gentrified there.

It was one of those that went to the floor, like in Glenn's post and that MountainDon mentioned, though much more solid. Heavy. When I did an image search I just came up with the door-bar type.

Here it is:

That's what I'm looking for.  I bought the masterlock version and I have not been too confident in it.  The rubber in the foot seems to compress too easily, and I suspect that the foot itself will vibrate off the floor and skid if someone gives the door a few good kicks

[Redoverfarm]

The majority of "kick-in" entrys are a failure of (1) door material, (2) door jamb material & (3) lock construction.  Easiest entry is a wooden door with a wooden factory jamb.  Steel door and steel jamb it would be lock construction.  Your best defense would be a steel door, steel jamb and good high quality lock.  Haven seen hundreds the main failure is the wooden jamb which splits out.  Have also seen 6 panel wood doors with the individual panels broken.

You can beef up your wooden door jamb by adding a steel re-enforced insert which is attached to the door rough framing rather than the door jamb.

Although unsightly there is the heavy barrel locks which travel into the door framing (not jamb). 

If all else fails install a game cam to use in identification.

[RainDog]

 Takes a certain type of person to commit those kinds of crime. A particularly scary type. Ultimately, someone who wants in is going to get in unless you live in a fortress. Loaded firearm by the door, I guess.

What else ya gonna do?

Sure thing is that you couldn't feel too guilty about pullin' the trigger on someone like that.

[StinkerBell]

Just a heads up on sliding patio doors. The one window that seems stationay...Well, unless it is welded or bolted down it can be popped easily for a screw driver. I have personally done it myself. That window is on a track like the sliding door and people think they are all stationary, but not all are. 

[peternap]

In the burg house, Jane has a little wicker basket on the front door. I keep a little 357 in it and can keep a hand on it while talking to someone on the porch.

[peternap]

I love the graphic almost as much as the shells.... maybe more.   

Thank you Don!

I got the idea from the new Dukes of Hazzard Movie. There were only two things in the movie worth looking at. Daisy Duke and the Whammy shells.

[glenn kangiser]

Sure they will - but I didn't know which one you wanted.

Thanks.... but by "steal" I meant hot linking... I was feeling too lazy to actually save and upload them... 


I remember seeing steel bar locks similar to those for apartment doors in places like NYC many years ago. They had a flange bolted/screwed to the floor that the lower end of the bar fit into. Then another steel piece on the door.

I'm always worried that they will either remove or change the pix or substitute a dirty pix in place of the one I linked to.  That has been a problem in some places though we have not seen much of it.

[glenn kangiser]

Just a heads up on sliding patio doors. The one window that seems stationay...Well, unless it is welded or bolted down it can be popped easily for a screw driver. I have personally done it myself. That window is on a track like the sliding door and people think they are all stationary, but not all are. 

You lead a double life, Stinky? hmm 

[StinkerBell]

I on many occasions broke into my grandparents house. I was a horrible kid who could not keep my key on me. Ironic thing is they had an alarm too and it was pretty simple to beat the alarm and the attemts gramps made to lock me out or I should say teach me a lesson. I still do these things in my mind, work around an issue and I love puzzles. I do make the hubs mad because I use tools in ways as he says they were not meant to be used. But he is usually surprised at the results I get and yest sometimes I break his tool.

Like the latest terrorist airplane event, I all ready in my mind figured out how I would do something, not to take down a plane that is just evil, but if I wanted to get something past security my mind goes to puzzle solving mode. IMO The key to beating airport security is chemistry......thats all I am saying.

[glenn kangiser]

So ....great, Stinky.... Keep us in suspense.


All of us here are aware that the alleged terrorist event was carried out by inserting the explosives into his underwear lining and pouring a liquid into his crotch that thereby was supposed to set off the explosives.....  hmm


Something went wrong and instead of an explosion we simply got a would be terrorist with medium rare genitalia and, a cabin and cockpit full of scorched pubic hair smoke.  



I am very curious to know how you would improve upon that.....

PS... please take it easier on the hubbies tool.

[bayview]

   I had noticed unfamiliar footprints around our buildings. . . Not a problem now that I installed surveillance cameras . . .


/

[StinkerBell]

Well I can not say in open forum. What if I inspire some nut? The Guilt!

[glenn kangiser]

Like you have never inspired some nut before, eh?, Stink?   

[StinkerBell]

Yes, but nowadays I would be sued and jailed spend 100's of thousand's of dollars lose a decade of my life before the courts decide to reaffirm my right to free speech. I do not have any desire to waste my time with that.

[glenn kangiser]

As I read it there is no longer anyway to get representation or rights if one of the parasites say you were a bad girl....I can see why you feel you must censor yourself ... welcome to China.

http://thomaspainescorner.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/on-a-parents-death-and-minding-your-tongue-in-the-u-s-a/

[muldoon]

thats a terrible situation your in, but I do not think one should feel the need to be armed in their own house.  home is like base, when your home your safe -- and you should feel that way.  I understand the concerns you listed, and it seems to me what you really need is ample warning to react to a bad situation so that you can feel safe otherwise. 

the primary entry points are doors and windows. 
for doors, the above is good advice.  doors fail in a few ways, mostly at the deadbolt and strike plate where the jamb will give out and splinter in when kicked.  this can be corrected with larger screws and beefier jamb.  going all steel is great, but just using quality hardware will give you plenty of reaction time as well.  doors also fail down the middle (especially hollow doors), and the pretty doors with glass faces are vulnerable where someone can smash the glass and reach in to trn the bolt.  I use keyed deadbolts (key on both sides) all the way around the house. 

for windows, take a look at the 3M security/hurricane film.  It's a polymer that goes on like tinting and protects against easy smash and grab attacks.  when paired with correct anchoring and caulking it is also rated as hurricane winds.  (ie 2x4 at 70 miles per hour still does not break window).  You can have it professionally installed, but you can diy as well.  I bought the film on the internet and put it up over the weekend.  yes, it was kinda crappy to do but its done and I feel alot better about it.  Just like the doors, it's not about keeping a determined person out.  its making damn sure he will not surprise you in the act of getting in.  someone hitting your sliding glass door with a hammer 15 times before it gives in will give you plenty of time to assesss the threat, call for help and load a firearm should he actually penetrate the perimeter and become a more serious threat. 

dogs are great.  another part of a layered security system.  they can alert you to dangers well before you realize they are there.  they are also a loving family pet.  consider investing a few hundred dollars in your pets for training, not only will they be happier and better behaved, but their skills could be very useful. 

another part of layered security system are the lighting, you want low cost high visibility lights.  something that detects movement and can flood a yard when needed.  you want some natural barriers.  for example, outside of my childrens windows are huge thorny bushes.  my wifes tells me to cut them back but I wont.  it is a deterrent in its own way as to access that window the person would have to be very determined - more likely they would simply move on to another target.  another example, on the side of the house I built a shed that completely blocks access from the front of the fence to the side.  along the back of the fence I have trellices and other things that make navigating difficult.  the idea is that the "likely" entry / exit places are covered with lights, and quite visible.  By itself, this is nothing - but again as part of a layered approach it adds to the security by making your house less and less of a desirable target. 

you specifically mentioned kick burglers, but something that is gaining in frequency here is ambush robberies.  they wait until the person comes home and opens the garage door.  then they come out and surprise the person when the doors are unlocked.  be very aware of your surroundings, when exiting or entering, try to scan the scene and look for danger before opening doors and locks. 

it's a damn shame we even have to talk about stuff like this isnt it?