I’ve been living in an area that has made me more security conscious — didn’t know when I moved here that it’s a high crime area and can’t wait to move again. Anyway — I’ve discovered some low-cost interesting ideas.

I watched the video at Super Grip Lock where they mentioned bump keys. Bump keys? A quick search led me all too quickly to YouTube where an ass jerk young man explained in-depth how easy bump keys are to make and use and how most home owners are too stupid to know about them. Just peachy. Glad to know we’re educating our criminals.

Now I really want to further secure my deadbolts

First step to secure deadbolts

The first thing you should do is check the screws and strike plates for your deadbolts. Most locks come with screws that are too short and flimsy strike plates. Replace screws with at least 3″ screws that will go through the door frame and well into the studs that frame the door. Screws are cheap.

I prefer a strike plate with a metal pocket. It will need a hole chiseled out of the door frame for the pocket to fit in. That’s a little bit of work to that, but in my opinion it’s more than worth it. The strike plate should also be secured with screws that are long enough to go through the door frame and into the studs.

Both the long screws and the better strike plate will slow down or stop kicking  a door in, but we all know if someone really wants in they find a way. These ideas are to make another, easier house more appealing so maybe they’ll leave mine alone.

Deadbolts with screws on inside

I stumbled across Simlock and it took me about 2 seconds to decide to order one. Right now they have a 2 for 1 sale so I got 2 for $9.98. They describe it as “SIMLock installs as a secondary lock on a current deadbolt”.

Takes more time to get the screwdriver than to install the device. When it’s in position your key, a bump key, or whatever is not going to be able to turn the lock and unlock the door. What a great, simple idea. The deadbolt is a little harder to unlock since it now drags across the top of the screw, but I can live with that.

Deadbolts without screws on inside

As I have 3 deadbolts. One has screws on the inside. Two do not. So how to secure those without screws?

As mentioned above I ran across an article about Super Grip Lock. I like this idea not just for my doors at home, but what a great thing to carry as a woman traveling alone.

There were a couple negative comments on Amazon about it not being long enough if your deadbolt and handle aren’t close together. Mine are close, but since I have a ton of Velcro on hand I decided to make my own. After watching the video on the Super Grip Lock website it didn’t look too hard to do so I made two for the doors that couldn’t use the SimLock since no screws on the inside.

I have a tutorial here on how I made mine.

Patio Doors

At my previous house I had French doors that both opened in from the middle. One side had slide locks that went into the top and bottom of the door frame and no knob since it was supposed to be fixed most of the time. The other just locked with a double keyed deadbolt. I knew if some just pushed fairly hard the door would probably open. The local police did vacation watches and they didn’t like those doors for the same reason.

It didn’t concern me too much when I was at home because there was a motion detector alarm that would go off. After paying an alarm company for years I had disconnected from their service, so the alarm would scare people, but not call the police. The one time I had the alarm go off at 4:00 AM (for absolutely no reason) I hit speed dial for 911 and the police were there in minutes.

What worried me was when I was gone for extended periods (I’ve done a couple two month trips) and people could empty my house through those doors that faced the backyard. I came up with a solution, but it wasn’t pretty. I didn’t care because it was only there when I was out-of-town for long periods.

I went to one of the big box stores where they sell stainless steel cable. I had them cut a length that would reach from the door frame next to the fixed door to the door knob on the door that opened with extra for wrapping around the knob. They helped me bend loops on each end and secure with crimps.

I had what I regard as a huge eye bolt – 4″ long with an 1″ eye. I sank that bolt all the way up to the eye into the studs along the door frame. When I was going to leave I hooked one end of the cable on the eye bolt, pulled it tight across to the door knob, wrapped it around the knob until I just had enough cable to barely get back to the eye bolt. Then I put a pad lock through both loops of the cable and the eye bolt. Here’s a sketch of the general idea.

When the cable was installed the door would open, but just barely. The opening wasn’t big enough for a person to fit through. Again — if someone really wanted in they could just break the glass out of the french doors. This was to make trying to get in unappealing.

A couple of people asked what the eye bolt was for. No big deal. Before I put the house up for sale I removed the eye bolt, filled the hole, touched up the paint and no one knew it had ever been there.

Avoiding paranoia

Life only makes you as miserable as you let it. I do what I think keeps me reasonably safe and then let it go hoping for the best from life. But I have never been broken into and felt the violation that comes with that experience and sympathize with those who have. These ideas just make me go back to sleep a little bit more easily when things go bump in the night.