Protecting your home from burglaries: how to secure joinery?

Last Updated on July 6, 2022 by Jonathan Lopez

In a house, openings such as windows and the front door can be security weaknesses. Indeed, as they allow access to the interior of your home, they are the preferred target of burglars! So how do you make your carpentry are practical barriers against break-in attempts? What are the openings to be reinforced in priority? Here’s everything you need to know to improve the security of your home!

Improve the resistance of your front door as a priority
Secure your home’s window units for property protection
Reinforce your garage door against break-in attempts: a point not to be overlooked

Improve the resistance of its front door as a priority

As the central opening, the front door is the carpentry that you must secure first. Indeed, 50% of burglars go through the front door of a house, and only 20% through the windows. To achieve their ends, the latter generally seek to unhinge the door using a crowbar or break the glazing if it is a glass door.

Intrusion detection alarm, surveillance camera… Apart from the classic devices, the equipment below makes it possible to reinforce the security of your joinery and concerns the entire door unit (frame, hardware, and panel).

The locking system (closing and opening points)

Several options of lock, handle, and cylinder aim to improve the locking system of your door, namely:

The 5-point lock prevents unhinging during break-in attempts.
The automatic lock with mushroom rollers (delays break-ins) orbit locks (prevents sawing).
The lock with an electric pull strike automatically locks the door when it is de-energized.
The barrel with ownership card, avoiding the fraudulent reproduction of sets of keys.
The Secustik handles, a secure window handle preventing any rotation from the outside.

Hardware

Regarding hardware, know that you can equip your front door with one or more of the following devices:

The door stay, which locks the door in the ajar position.

The digital peephole records a video each time it rings. This equipment can be helpful insofar as burglars sometimes ring the bell before intervening to ensure that the accommodation is empty.

The anti-unhinging security reinforces the hinges and delays forced attempts from the outside.

The glazing

Is your front door partially or fully glazed? In this case, it is recommended to opt for SP10 laminated glazing! More resistant than conventional double glazing, it delays break-ins as much as possible.

According to the EN356 standard, laminated glazing classified P5A (10 mm thick) or between P6B and P8B (10 to 27 mm thick) are the models offering the highest degree of safety.

Choose a secure door model

All entrance doors are equipped with a hook lock with 5 locking points and a 5-key cylinder with an ownership card. You can also opt for the A2P* mushroom roller pack to benefit from an A2P* certified lock and barrel.

The A2P certification assesses the resistance of your locks to a break-in attempt. For example, the A2P* qualification designates 5 to 10 min resistance. It is an additional protection that acts as an effective deterrent for most break-ins.

Securing the windows of your home for the protection of property

The second opening to secure after the front door? The window unit, that is to say, the window as well as its shutters! Indeed, the windows offer easy access to your accommodation, primarily if they are located on the ground floor or directly overlook the street.

Anti-burglary glazing, latch… How to effectively lock and secure your windows and patio doors against burglary?

As second privileged access by burglars, the windows of your home must be reinforced. Most insurance companies only cover the most exposed windows (located on the ground floor, etc.) if they comply with a certain level of performance!

Therefore, here is some equipment that can deter criminals from unhinging or breaking the glass of the windows:

Multipoint lock
Secustik handle
Anti-unhinging safety
SP10 laminated glazing (anti-burglary)
Anti-burglary bar (to be installed on the shutters)
Rolling shutters

Furthermore, it is recommended to prioritize aluminum windows or wood, which is more resistant than PVC windows. Finally, about the openings, give preference to casement windows rather than the sliding windows!

Does your accommodation have windows? Opt for a miter lock or additional locking points fixed on the vertical upright of the interior leaf. For its part, the barrel allows you to close the joinery from the inside and the outside.

In addition, you can fit the windows with a “Lock Kit,” thanks to which you can lock them!

How to deter burglars by improving the resistance of shutters?

To effectively secure a window, it is also necessary to reinforce its shutters. Therefore, the appropriate equipment depends on the type of shutter concerned!

If the roller shutters are resistant, they do not in themselves constitute an effective barrier against burglary attempts. This maneuver allows you to simulate your presence when you are not in your accommodation!

Specific indices allow you to assess the degree of resistance of your shutters:

– The Pressure Resistance Index (IRP), with a scale from 0 to 150. The higher the index, the more resistant the shutter.

– The Volet Roulant Sécurisé (VRS) label , attesting to a 10-minute resistance to an intrusion attempt.

Reinforce your garage door against break-in attempts: a point not to be overlooked

Whether attached to the house or independent, the garage door should not be neglected! Indeed, in the first case, your garage offers direct access to your home; in the second case, it can house valuables (cars, tractor-mower, etc.).

Thus, to prevent the locking system and the windows from becoming the weak points of your door, opt for a lock with 3 closing points or have grilles installed on your portholes.

Aluminum garage doors can be equipped with a Buzzer alarm from Somfy to protect you from intrusion!

Anti-burglary glazing, five-point lock, security bar, alarm… Many devices allow you to improve the resistance of your joinery to burglaries! Therefore, combining several safety devices to multiply the obstacles seems an effective solution. Anti-burglary glazing, five-point lock, security bar, alarm… Many devices allow you to improve the resistance of your joinery to burglaries! Therefore, combining several safety devices to multiply the obstacles and their dissuasive aspect seems to be an effective solution. Furthermore, the longer the break-in attempt is delayed, the better the chances of it being called off!

Don’t worry about installing locks just call locksmith Tampa.