Front Door Security – Reinforcing Your Deadbolt Strike Plate

If you’ve been unfortunate enough to experience a break-in to your home or business, you know how distressing that can be. Not to mention the headache of cataloging damages and stolen items, tracking down insurance, filing claims, and the list goes on. It’s a headache that we all want to avoid. And with some easy reinforcements on your strike plate, you can make it a lot more difficult for burglars to get in through a doorway.

In this article, we’ll show you in just a few minutes how to dramatically increase the strength of your front door and deadbolt. In addition, we’ll also show you the next level upgrade to your exterior doors by discussing the installation of a larger, dual lock strike plate. So, read on, and let’s get your home, and business security improved starting with the strike plates.

Why A Deadbolt With A Good Strike Plate Installed?

According to statistics found at Statistica¹, about 3.7 percent of people experienced a burglary in 2018. That’s a pretty big number, and that’s why it’s essential to make sure that your home or business is secure and safe. You might think that your existing deadbolt and security strike plate is adequate. Have you ever heard the expression that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link? It is true for home security, just as it is in the case of the chain. The weakest point is the one which breaks first.

So, you have this strong steel deadbolt on your door, offering you great security. That may not be the weak link we are talking about. Then you have your strike plate. It is the metal plate fastened to your door jamb.  The question is how secure is the strike plate?  What is holding it in place?  Would the strike place hold if a would be burglar kicked your front door? 

How To Reinforce A Standard Security Strike Plate

Strike plates are usually one of the significant points of weakness. It is the installation commonly found to be a point of weakness, not the plate itself. Consider that wood is used for building most homes. As you are aware, wood is more susceptible to breaking than steel. If you ever broke a stick over your knee as a kid, you’ll know what I mean. 

Imagine someone wants to kick in your door. Sure, the deadbolt is strong, and the security plate is also strong, but how were they installed? What I recommend you do is stop what you are doing, remove one of the screws for the security plate on your door, and return to this article (don’t worry, it’ll be here when you return).

Now that you’ve removed the screw, take a good look at it. How long is it? Well, if it’s anything less than three inches, we need to get on the case of reinforcing this thing.

Here’s what you are most likely going to need for this procedure:

• Screwdriver (the one you used to remove the screw)
• Drill with ⅛” bit
• 2 x 3” general construction screws
• Screwdriver or a bit for the new screws

Strike Plate Reinforcement Procedure And Tips

The first thing you will need to do is to replace the original screw that you removed to check the length.  Taking your drill with a ⅛” drill bit, drill into the existing hole where the old screw was. Next, take one of your new 3” screws and tighten it down in the hole. Repeat the removal, drilling, and installation of a new 3” screw to the other hole next.  Straight forward, right? Just make sure you do one screw at a time, leaving your security strike plate in place. This will help prevent the plate shifting and causing problems with latching your lock.

Remember what we talked about earlier with regards to the weakest link. A longer screw will embed deep into the frame behind the door jamb. Wooden door jambs are typically only about an inch thick, not anywhere near enough wood to hold the door in place if kicked.

Security Strike Plate Installation

Most standard strike plates are only a thin piece of steel with 2 screws holding the plate in place. But, upgrading with a double strike plate is an even better solution.  The double strike plate will give you additional strength by dramatically increasing the number of screws holding it in place compared to a standard strike plate. Take a look at the below video, where I show you all the details of installing the double security strike plate.

As you’ve seen in the video, this security strike plate is massive compared to the tiny little standard strike plates that come with most of the locksets you’ll find at an average hardware store. And installation is pretty easy if you just follow along in the video. But, there are a few things you’re going to need.

Tools & materials needed to install a security strike plate

• Double strike plate kit
• Long straight edge (at least 18 inches)
• Pencil and sharpie
• Drill and ⅛” bit
• Sharp wood chisel
• Hammer

With this short list of tools and materials, you can easily replace your strike plates on all your exterior doors. It will add a considerable level of security and strengthen up that weakest link we talked about earlier.

Time Saver Tip:  Make sure you measure the distance between the center of your deadbolt and the center of your door latch. They are usually around 5” – 6” apart. Write down your measurement and have it handy when you buy your double strike plate to make sure you get the correct size.

What If My Deadbolt Won’t Line Up?

A common problem you might encounter with deadbolts is that sometimes they don’t line up. Whether it’s a seasonal change and the house has shifted or because you just installed a new strike plate and now the door won’t lock. Don’t worry; I’ve got the fix for that! Here are simple procedures and a list of things you’ll need to fix the issue.

• Some kind of marking material (this will make more sense later)
• A metal file.
• Possibly a chisel, but we’ll see.

The first thing you’re going to do is to take the marking material and goop it all over the end of the deadbolt. If you need to see what I’m talking about, just take a look at this video where I describe and show the entire process of how to fix a misaligned deadbolt.

Once you’ve covered the end of the deadbolt with the marking material, close the door as you would normally and try to lock it. But, don’t push or pull on the door. It is best in the ‘natural’ position. Next, open the door, and you can wipe off the marker substance from the deadbolt. Observe your strike plate. You will see the marking material on it where the deadbolt was hitting.  You can easily take your file and file down the strike plate where the marks were left.  This easy fix helped me when I had to fix my doors, and I hope it will help you.

Are Deadbolts That Strong?

Okay, so you’ve upgraded your strike plate, and the screws are deeply embedded into the frame. All secure, right? Maybe not. The type of deadbolt is also a massive factor in the security of the entranceway. Did you know there are different grades of deadbolt? There are three elementary grades of a deadbolt. Grade 1 is the strongest. It is a superior grade deadbolt and is the best standard deadbolt one can buy. The next grade, which is the grade 2 type of deadbolt, is the most commonly used. These deadbolts are not as strong as grade 1, but still offer a decent level of protection. The final grade, which is grade 3 deadbolts, are quite poor in quality, in my opinion. According to United Locksmith², a grade 3 deadbolt is only rated to withstand 2, 75-lb strikes, or a 1, 150-lb strike. 

Let’s just stop and think about that for a minute. A grade 3 lock can withstand a single blow of 150-lb of force. But how much force does a human kick have?  Let’s assume that the average criminal who performs a break and enter is a man of medium size and build. Not to say that ladies wouldn’t take part. But, it’s more likely (statistically speaking) that a man is an alleged criminal in this case. So, we will use an average man for our example.  Studies show that a trained martial artist can deliver a kick with up to about 9000 newtons of force³. It is equivalent to about 2000-lbs of force. So, that is 13 times more force than is needed to break the door lock.

Okay, so I was using a trained martial artist. Let’s say an average criminal can kick with half that force. That’s still six times more than is needed to break a grade 3 lock. That will make you think twice about buying the cheapest lock in the store.

Sources

1. Reported burglary rate in the United States from 1990 to 2018, Statistics, https://www.statista.com/statistics/191243/reported-burglary-rate-in-the-us-since-1990/, Accessed May 21, 2020.
2. How Much Force Can Your Deadbolt Withstand, United Locksmith, https://unitedlocksmith.net/blog/how-much-force-can-your-deadbolt-withstand, Accessed May 21, 2020.
3. Choi, Charles Q., Brute Force: Humans Can Sure Take A Punch, Live Science, https://www.livescience.com/6040-brute-force-humans-punch.html, Accessed May 21, 2020.