Tag: Steel Door

residential security door

The Importance of Security Doors in Your Home

Henleys

The importance of security doors in your home is often significantly overlooked by a homeowner. But the truth is that if you want to protect your residence from a potentially aggravated burglary, it’s important to have at least one strong secure door to create a safe space.

There are many reasons why these physical security measures are an important investment for your home, the main reason is to help keep intruders out and provide peace of mind that you, your loved ones, and your valuables are safe while you wait for help to arrive.

They are not just for homes. They can also be for businesses, schools, museums, high-end retail shops, luxury hotels, private members’ clubs, prisons, etc…

Safe doors have been around since ancient times. The first known locks found in Mesopotamia date back to 4000 BC. People still use these locks today but with much more advanced technology than what was used back then.

How do Residential Security Doors work?

Reinforced domestic doors have locking mechanisms that secure into the steel frame bolting the door shut and are designed to safeguard people and everything they value within their homes.

They should have three basic parts: a secure frame, locks, and hinges.

The frame should be steel. The locking mechanisms should extend into the frame sufficiently that firmly secure the door when locked. The hinges are used to allow the door to open and close easily in both directions while offering security. The hinges also support the weight of the door.

Choosing the Best Safety Door for Your Home

Choosing the right safety door for your home is a very important decision. For you to choose confidently, you should know the different types of doors available, what they offer in terms of security and how they fit into your daily home life.

Below we will cover the pros and cons of Henleys Security Doors, which have a steel core with a timber finish and Security Doors and are made & finished with steel that other companies offer.

Timber Security Doors with a Steel Core

Pros

Henleys’ timber doors with a concealed steel core are just as strong as non-clad reinforced doors and in most cases stronger. The main difference is that the timber finish hides the steel core and steel frame. These timber-clad doors are purposely manufactured and designed to blend into a home without standing out as a safety door as there is no steel showing. With our bespoke service, doors can be manufactured in almost any size, design and finish to suit individual needs.

Cons

Timber-clad steel doors are more expensive than standard steel security doors as they are made completely bespoke to each customer’s requirements. They also take more time to manufacture and install due to the level of detail and care put into the construction of the product.

Cheaper Steel Security Doors

Pros

Plain steel security doors that some other companies offer can have similar accreditations.

Cons

A steel finish is not considered aesthetically pleasing by most buyers. Especially as an interior feature as they may draw attention to the home which in turn could provoke a burglary. Steel security doors are usually much thicker than domestic timber ones (timber starts from 52mm & steel starts from approximately 85mm). Timber doors are also often manufactured in bulk meaning the design choices are limited, making it difficult to match the style of a home.

Conclusion:

It’s entirely your choice when it comes to choosing the style of a burglar resistance door you desire. It usually comes down to your main priority, whether that be budget, security, aesthetics, or both aesthetics and security. However, the level of reinforcement required to protect you and everything you love will depend on a few other factors.

Read How to Choose the Best Security Door for Your Home to learn more.

How to Choose the Best Security Door for Your Home

Henleys

One of the most important decisions you’ll make when choosing a home security system is selecting the best security door for your home. However, without security expertise, it can be difficult to decide which one is best for you and your family.

In this article, we will help you decide which safe room door is best for your home and give you some tips on how to choose the perfect one for your needs.

The Security Triangle

The Security Triangle is the strategy we use to determine the requirements of a safe area. If the 3 layers of security mentioned below work together, it should give you the best chance of preventing an attacker from forcing entry into your home whilst keeping you, your loved ones, and valuables safe.

protection response detection

  • Detection: Electronic Security such as CCTV & Alarms Systems
  • Response Time: Police authorities, Private Security
  • Protection: Physical Security such as doors, windows, and walling

For example. If you live next door to the police, often there is no point in building a bulletproof retreat room. Conversely, if the police response time in your area is an hour, a security door that will fail after 15 minutes would not be of much use in keeping you safe.

Safe Room Rules

  1. You must reach the safe room before the intruder reaches you.
  2. The safe area must be able to protect you for long enough until the police arrive or close protection officers handle the threat.

safe room examples

Rule 1 – Can you reach safety before the attacker reaches you?

Take a look at the above images. Why would Property A benefit more than Property B by including security cameras and alarms in their overall security solutions?

Property A

Due to the distance from the perimeter of the property to the access points being a fair distance, Property A would benefit more from investing in a good CCTV & alarm system as this will alert the homeowners once the intruder steps onto the property grounds. The alert should give the homeowners enough time to reach the safe area before the intruder reaches them.

Property B

Whereas a London Townhouse or similar, would benefit more from physical security measures, such as security doors and windows to delay access to the property. This will give enough time for potential victims to get to their safe area. If there was a camera and alarm system on this property, it’s likely an intruder will have already accessed the home by the time the homeowner was alerted, without giving enough time to get away.

CCTV and alarm systems detect intruders and aid in the solving of the crime. However, in our experience, they do not physically stop an intruder from entering a property. So you need both, a good CCTV & alarm system to detect & hopefully deter criminals and a strong door to physically protect.

Rule 2 – Will you be safe for long enough?

The security level you need will depend on the results of your risk assessment and the response time of either the police or the security team you have in place.

A safe room door that has accreditation will indicate how long it can withstand a specific attack. We have listed the security categories and attack resistance times below. We have also given examples of how we use this to determine the security level required.

door-attack tools aggressive intruder

Example 1 

A family lives in a well-built-up affluent area in a nice property, 10 minutes from the police station. The family has no known grievances against them, but a neighbour has recently been broken into.

What level of security door would they need?

In this case, if you guessed level 2 then you were correct. A level 2 burglar resistance door is accredited for 15 minutes but can withstand an attack for much longer. So if there is an attempted burglary, the family will remain safe behind their strong door long enough until the police arrive.

Example 2

This family lives in Chelsea, Central London and they own a few art collections and luxury cars. The family also has had past protection concerns, so they now have live-in executive protection officers.

What level of security door would they need?

In this situation, based on the value of the items and the location of the residents, we would recommend installing a Level 4 burglar resistance door. Potential attackers are more likely to be sophisticated and will have already scoped out the property beforehand so they can prepare to bring advanced tools & weapons to force entry.

A security door would give the on-site security team more time to think, react and diffuse a threat, knowing their clients are safe behind a security door in their fortified space.

In conclusion, choosing the right physical security for your home is essential in ensuring your safety and peace of mind. By consulting with a security expert, you can make an informed decision and be confident that your security doors and windows are tailored to your specific needs, blending into your daily family life.

Complete the contact form and we’ll get in touch with you to discuss your individual situation in more detail.