Deadbolts are one of the most important security features your house can have. Alarm systems are great and dogs can be a serious deterrent, but properly installed deadbolts provide an important basic level of security for your home or business. Breaking in a door requires great force, but this is the most common method burglars use to enter homes and businesses.
There are several types of deadbolts that you can install on the doors around your home. Usually, a single-cylinder deadbolt is used. This kind of deadbolt has a twist knob on the inside and requires a key on the exterior. If you have a door with glass panes in it, you may want to consider a double-cylinder deadbolt instead. This type of lock does not have any twist knobs and needs a key on either side of the door. This prevents the possibility of a thief breaking the glass part of the door and reaching inside to unlock the door. However, a key should be kept close to the lock at all times because of the risk of getting stuck inside the house in an emergency like a fire.
Another important part of deadbolt installation is making sure you have a strike plate in the door jamb. Usually, when a door is forced open, it is not the door itself that cracks first, but the door jamb around the door. A metal strike plate that is screwed to the door jamb with 3-inch screws helps prevent this from happening and substantially improves the security of your home or business.
