Most people believe that a firearm is the first and the best thing to help them fight home invaders. But that’s not entirely true. While a firearm is essential, a solid front door will do much more than save you bullets.
Moreover, if you’re from a state/country where the crime rate is higher than average, such as New Mexico, you are in high need of a front door you can rely on. A chat with a New Mexico criminal lawyer will have you know that preparation/planning is the best way to keep your home safe.
Naturally, it all starts with the front door!
The Right Material
Never go cheap, so to speak, when it comes to the material of your future front door. Also, don’t consider aesthetics more critical than its sturdiness.
For example, if you really want a glass front door, then it is wise to invest in one made of highly secured glass. Believe it or not, modern glass doors are often more reliable than simple wooden ones.
However, keep in mind that steel and wood remain the two most used and reliable materials. After all, you can’t go wrong with a sturdy, cherry, or oak door!
The Hanging Design
While the hanging design may not be of importance to some homesteads, careful homeowners can pair it with an alarm system, for example.
Nowadays, the hinges and pivot system of a door can be placed on both the right and left sides. This allows people to open a door just the way they want and, for security reasons, avoid blind spots or have intruders walk right into an alarm.
The Insulation
Insulation helps, first of all, with energy efficiency. But, if someone’s trying to break into your home (by picking a lock or rendering the bolt useless), insulation may also help you remain entirely quiet.
Namely, a properly insulated door allows you to move relatively freely through your home without being heard by someone outside your front door. As such, you can easily prepare to deter home invaders.
The Security
Even though the rest of the article tackles security in one way or another, we thought it essential to mention one fundamental fact.
Your front door may be extremely strong/durable, but your locking mechanism may fail you.
In most cases, home invaders won’t have a medieval ram to push through your door. Instead, they’ll fiddle with the locking mechanism. A reliable front door comes with a one-inch long (at least) deadbolt as well as with a reinforced metal strike plate. Moreover, the number of pins is also essential. Doors with up to six locking pins are pretty much unbreakable!
The Bottom Line
As you can see, one should consider more than appearances when choosing a front door. Even though you might be in love with the colored glass on that one door, you shouldn’t instantly buy it unless you make sure that the glass is both sledgehammer and bulletproof.
In the end, when it comes to a safe homestead, it is better to laugh at invaders trying to break in (unsuccessfully) rather than have a shootout in your living room.
