Between 60 and 70% of burglars gain access to your property using your front door. Unbelievably around 20% of the time the door is unlocked and the burglar literally just walks through the door. In this article we will discuss the different types of doors commonly seen on the average British home, in addition to there security weaknesses.
We will follow this up by discussing the techniques criminals use to bypass your doors security and what you can do to protect your home.
Firstly we will examine the typical types of doors seen on the average home. These can be split into a number of categories. These are as follows
UPVC Doors
Unplasticised Poly Vinyl Chloride or more commonly known as UPVC is a relatively new material used heavily in Europe and America and has become very popular for a number of reasons.
- Costs – UPVC tends to be considerably cheaper when compared to wooden and composite doors, while also providing additional benefits.
- Durability – UPVC is resistant to corrosion, fading, and rotting.
- Fire Safety – Unlike wooden doors UPVC is fire resistant.
- Energy Efficiency – UPVC is widely known for its insulating properties, both heat and sound insulation.
- High Security – UPVC doors come as standard with a Multi point locking system. The multi point locking system is usually operated by a euro cylinder, this type of door, when used properly is highly secure.
Wooden Doors
Wooden doors used to be seen up and down the UK on every door but with the invention of cheaper UPVC and more durable Composite doors, the day of the wooden door has come to an end. Wooden doors tend to be more expensive, less durable, and have a lower life expectancy compared to UPVC or Composite doors. Wooden doors are typically fitted with a latch and a deadlock.
Composite Doors
Composite doors are made using a number of materials which are glued together and then combined under high pressure. Composite doors are very similar to UPVC in almost every way but tend to be more durable and come in a number of designs. Composite doors tend to be more extensive than UPVC. Security wise Composite and UPVC are very similar and like UPVC, composite doors come with a multi point locking system as standard.
Now we have examined the types of doors typically fitted to the average home we can examine the types of locks fitted to these doors and how criminals bypass them.
Types of Locks
In the UK we typically have three types of doors: Wooden, UPVC and Composite. The three doors typically use three types of locks.
- Euro Cylinders –
Commonly Used on – UPVC Doors & Composite Doors
Vulnerable to – Lock Snapping, Lock Picking, Lock Bumping, Hooking, Fishing, Door Popping
- Night Latch –
Commonly Used on – Wooden Doors
Vulnerable to – Lock Picking, Lock Bumping, Brute Force, Sliding
- Mortice Lock –
Commonly Used on – Wooden Doors
Vulnerable to – Lock Picking, Lock Bumping, Brute Force, Sliding
Euro Cylinders
Night Latch
Mortice Lock
We have examined the types of doors typically seen on the average home as well as the lock systems typically fitted to each door. Now we will examine the tactics used by criminals to gain access to your home and what you can do to stop them.
Criminal Tactics
Criminals use a variety of tactics to bypass your doors’ security. These are just some of the measures criminals use to gain access to your home.
- Lock Picking – Lock picking involves manipulating the internal components of the lock without using a key. This can be done with lock picks which can be brought very easily.
- Sliding – This involves using something very flexible and thin in order to slide between the lock and the door frame removing the tension from the latch and opening the door.
- Lock Snapping – This involves using simple DIY tools such as a hammer or pliers to snap an external part of a Euro Cylinder. Lock Snapping can be achieved in as little as 10 seconds.
- Fishing – Criminals use a hook to push through the letterbox or open window to lift any keys left exposed.
- Lock Bumping – Is a method used by criminals to open a lock using a special made bump key by bumping the pins into place and consequently opening the door.
- Brute Forces – This involves using physical force to break the door, the hinges or the door frame.
- Hooking– Burglars push a hook through the letterbox and with some careful handy work can open your door from within. This is a particular vulnerability with UPVC and composite doors.
- Door Popping – Using a type of spade or chisel and a specially designed air pillow criminals can create a gap in the door using the air pillows while then using the spade or chisel to wedge the door until it pops open.
So What Door Is Best?
By examining all the evidence and from our own experience as locksmiths, we have come to the conclusion it doesn’t really matter UPVC, Wooden or Composite they can all provide an excellent security if used correctly with the correct components, it all really depends on how deep your pockets are.
UPVC Doors tend to be the cheapest but are typically the least aesthetically pleasing to the eye and are perhaps the least secure but not with any margin which is worth worrying about.
Wooden doors are usually more expensive but the price can vary greatly as the selection of wooden doors is huge. The biggest downside of a wooden doors is that they tend to have higher maintenance costs compared their UVC or Composite counterparts.
Composite doors are the most modem the strongest and come in a variety of designs and colours but are also the most expensive.
All three types of doors can provide an excellent level of security. It primarily depends on how the door is utilised and the security features fitted to the door. The type of door you pick comes more down to taste and how much you are wiling to pay.
In the next section we will examine what you can do to increase the security on your front door whether it be UPVC, Composite or Wooden.
Increasing Security On Your Front Door
Double Locking – This is by far the easiest and cheapest way to dramatically increase the security of your door. Double locking means simply locking your door with your key and not relying on the latch.
On UPVC and Composite doors this involves inserting your key into the Euro Cylinder, lifting the handle and locking the lock initiating the bolts and hooks. By double locking you dramatically enhance the doors force resistance, and making it impossible to use a hook to open the door from within while also making it impossible to pop open the door.
Upgrading your UPVC & Composite Locks – High quality locks is one of the best ways to increase the security on any door. High quality and high security locks such as ABS locks by Avocet, Banham Locks, or Ultion locks by Bristant will do wonders for your doors security. High security locks meet BS 3621 in addition to having the best security rating which is 3 stars which are both recommended by both Insurance companies and the Police.
High Quality locks are designed to counter any attempt to bypass them.
They do this by
- Security Pins & Magnets – Anti Bump And Anti Pick Pins are located within the lock. These pins make it much harder to pick and almost impossible to bump.
- Stronger Materials and Anti Drill Pins – Using stronger materials such as Molybdenum and anti drill plates and pins to withstand drilling for longer.
- Sacrificial Section – A sacrificial section of a lock can be seen on the external section and will easily break off in the event of a lock snapping attempt, leaving the remainder of the lock safely within the door.
Simple Door Additions – Small simple additions to your such as a letterbox cage, door chains, peep hole can make a big difference to your security. The vast majority of burglars are opportunists and it’s not uncommon for a burglar to actually knock on the person’s door before committing a crime. Letter box cages act to prevent burglars from tampering with your locks through the letterbox using hooks.Door chains allow you to talk to people without actually opening the door exposing yourself and your home
Wooden Doors
Upgrading your Wooden Door Locks – As discussed earlier wooden doors typically have 2 locks. One lock is a night latch the two highest security latches on the market are a double locking night latch or an automatic locking night latch, the latter will automatically deadlock when shut, making sliding impossible.
The second lock is the deadlock the highest security deadlocks are 5 leavers and meet British standard 321. But if you want the best level of security possible you can always get a detainer lock installed which are similar to deadlocks but are much more resistant when compared to a normal deadlock but are also much more expensive.
London & Birmingham Bars – Wooden doors in particular are vulnerable to forceful attacks, one way to enhance the force resistance of your door is to install a London and Birmingham bar to your door frame.
Summary
To summarise the type of door you have is not too important, it is more to do with how you use the door and what security features you have. A door with all the security additions we discussed, utilising a high security lock and used in the correct manner is a formidable barrier for any criminal.
