Best Door Reinforcement Kits for Home Security
A good door reinforcement kit is a huge upgrade for your home’s security. The most common break-in entry point is the front door, according to the Bureau of Justice. The best door reinforcement kit turns your door into an impenetrable barrier and improves your home security by leaps and bounds. There are several types, brands, and options to consider for door security.
This is where we come in. We’ve researched the best door reinforcement kits, tested them, and now the results are in: the overall best, a budget option, and a portable option. If you need to harden your door security, one of our picks will shore it up.
Contents (Jump to a Section)
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Best Door Reinforcement
Prime-Line Strike Plate
Inexpensive, Inconspicuous, and Easy to Install
A simple strike plate upgrade with longer screws exponentially improves your door jamb.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
The kit is a great improvement over a standard builder set-up and is constructed out of chrome-plated and stamped steel. The kit includes the 3″ screws to hold the latch plate solid. The plate won’t stop the most persistent intruders, but it is much better than a door setup without a security latch at all.
Specifications
- Contents: 11″ double strike plate, 6-count 3″ screws, 3-count 3/4″ screws
- Material: Stamped steel
- Finish Options: 3
- Reinforces: Latch bore (deadbolt kicks)
The Prime-Line Double Security Latch Kit is one of the cheapest strike plates you can get, making security affordable for anyone.
Budget Door Reinforcement
3″ Screw Kit
Renter-Friendly, Inexpensive, and Easy to Install
Just make all the screws longer for a quick, inexpensive upgrade.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
This kit is plain and simple, and you can even pick up your own at your local hardware store’s screw section. You’ll want size #8 or #9 screws in 3″ or 3.5″ lengths with recessed Phillips heads.
Specifications
- Contents: 16-count 3″ Screws (#9) with square bit
- Material: Zinc-coated steel
- Reinforces: Existing strike plate
Replace your strike plate and hinge screws (one at a time if you don’t want them falling). You may need to pre-drill some of the spots and make sure there is clearance for your screw length. My front door can’t have but 1.5″ screws on the inside due to windows beside the door, but the outside screws easily had clearance.
The 3″ Screw Door Reinforcement Kit is a great non-permanent option for those who are unable to install a door kit. Renters stand to benefit from this quick and inexpensive upgrade, and it works for any homeowner’s budget.
Upgrade Door Reinforcement Kit
Door Armor MAX
Easy Installation, Strong, and Durable
Upgrade your door security with the best kit out there that reinforces both the jamb and hinges.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
The door reinforcement kit is constructed from powder-coated galvanized steel. The punch-out plates allow you to adapt it to virtually any external door, even if there are extra deadbolts. Other kits may deter or stall break-ins, but this kit prevents them completely.
Specifications
- Contents: 5 reinforcement plates, 17-count 3.5″ screws, 4-count 2.5″ screws, 1 Torx bit
- Material: 16-gauge steel
- Finish Options: 3
- Reinforces: Entire door perimeter (latches and hinges)
Door Armor even puts their money on the line with the guarantee: if you experience a break-in from product failure, they will pay your home insurance deductible and give you a new Door Armor kit for free.
The Door Armor MAX kit takes the top spot as the best door reinforcement kit. It reinforces every weak spot of a traditional door and frame to make it a nightmare for an intruder.
Comparison Table
| Door Reinforcement | Recommendation | Price* | Type | Reinforced Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Line Strike Plate | Best Overall | $10 | Double plate | Latch bore |
| 3″ Screw Kit | Best for Budgets | $9 | Screws | Strike plate |
| Door Armor MAX | Best for High Security | $99 | Door perimeter | Entire door |
What is a Door Reinforcement Kit?
A door reinforcement kit is a smart way to reinforce a door. Standard exterior and interior doors are designed simply to be entry points and do not provide as much security as you may think. The purpose of any door reinforcement is to improve security by either bracing the door or replacing components around the door.
The latch plate is one of the easiest ways to reinforce a door. Replacing this standard component is cheap and fast. There are many things to consider when upgrading a latch plate, such as:
- Latch plate size – the size of the latch plate determines how any force on the latch is distributed. The larger the plate, the better. Once it gets a certain length, the distributed force trails off, and length matters less. If a plate spans multiple latches (such as the doorknob latch and the deadbolt) it will be even stronger.
- Length of screws used – Longer screws hold the latch plate on better than shorter screws.
- The number of attachment points – The more points a latch plate is attached to, the stronger it will be. A standard door latch strike is only attached with two screws.
A door reinforcement kit is superior to a door brace in that the door being reinforced is still operational. When you use a brace system to reinforce a door, you must do so from the inside.
Some reinforcement kits include bracing for other components of the door, and not just the latch plates. While the latch plate is typically the weak spot and the target for a break-in, when it is reinforced, other points of the door become the new weak spot.
If an intruder cannot kick in a door due to a reinforced latch, they kick a few more times with enough force, and they can kick the deadbolt out of the door. This is why some kits also reinforce the door side of the latches.
If an intruder cannot kick in a door on the handle side, they can kick the hinges off the door if they are large and strong enough. This is why some kits reinforce the hinges as well.
The best-tested kit we installed uses all of these reinforcement points to make a door impossible to get through… unless, of course, you have the key.
How to Install a Door Reinforcement Kit
Depending on the kit, installing your door reinforcement can be time-consuming, tough, or even require specialty tools. This affected consideration for our picks, since installing a door reinforcement kit shouldn’t be as hard as getting through a reinforced door.
Most door reinforcement kits include a latch plate (at least) and longer screws to attach the latch plate. These kits will require some run-of-the-mill tools, including:
- Screwdriver– Most kits include Phillips head screws, although some kits may use security screws.
- Drill– A drill can cut down on the installation time and prevent issues with the frame.
- Drill Bits – A pilot hole where additional screws are being placed can prevent a headache.
If you are having trouble getting a reinforcement kit to fit, you may also need to consider using a:
- Sanding Block– On doors that are a tight fit, you may need to add some clearance to add a kit.
- Reciprocating Saw / Dremel Tool / Oscillating Saw– Some doors are just stubborn and require a lot of modification to add reinforcement bracing. Any of these tools you should have handy can quickly remove more material than a sanding block.
Installation on our best-tested kit came out under 30 minutes for the entire installation. We are not carpenters or handymen for a living, but the installation is pretty straightforward.
Who Needs a Door Reinforcement Kit?
Anyone who lives behind a door can benefit from better door security. A door reinforcement kit is the best way to do this for a home or bug-out location. This is because the door is still reinforced while you are away.
If you rent or live in an apartment, you may not be able to install a reinforcement kit. That is where a portable or temporary solution can work. It may only reinforce a door while you are behind it, but bracing a door is a tried-and-true method of better security.
Pairing low-tech practical solutions with high-tech systems is the best way to make a comprehensive security system. Comparing a door reinforcement kit against an alarm system is ultimately a bad move since they both independently improve your security. The best comprehensive security plan involves planning first and foremost, and a combination of high and low-tech solutions.
The best low-tech solution is a door reinforcement kit. High-security steel exterior doors start at thousands of dollars and quickly go up. Unless you have an extreme budget, your money is probably better invested in a door reinforcement kit.
Why Reinforce Your Door?
Security alarms work great. They can deter intruders and let everyone know when somebody breaks in. But they don’t do anything to actually keep anyone from getting in.
Reinforcing a door is the tried and true method of home security.
People have been barring doors since doors were invented, and similarly, people have been breaking through doors. Unfortunately, people never stopped breaking through doors.
80% of break-ins occur through a door. Most burglaries also occur while most people are out of the house: between 10 am and 3 pm. If you don’t want someone rummaging through your stuff while you are out, you should reinforce your door. You can’t place a door bar or brace on the opposite side of the door you left through, so a door and frame that is reinforced is the best bet for security.
Break-ins occur with even more frequency when disasters and emergencies happen. Communities can band together during tough times, but the unfortunate and lesser-known truth is that opportunists show themselves as well.
Having a disaster or emergency get even worse with a home invasion is the last thing you want happening to you and your family.
How We Review Products: We research thoroughly before selecting the best products to review. We have vast prepping and survival experience and bring in outside experts when needed. Hours on end are spent testing gear in stressful conditions and using specialized testing gear to verify claims. We assign performance criteria and impartially rate each tested item. Learn more about how we test.
Sources & References
All of our experience and the testing we do to determine the best door reinforcement kit is useless without listing our research sources and references. We leaned on these for the book knowledge that we paired with our hands-on testing and practical military and prepping experience:
Bureau of Justice. (2019). Burglary. Bureau of Justice Statistics. (Source)
Forcaell, E., et al. (2014). Study of structural capacity and serviceability affecting the obstruction of residential doors. Latin American Journal of Solids and Structures. Volume 11. Issue 3. (Source)
SecurAlert. (2013). Home Burglary Awareness and Prevention. Jacksonville State University. (Source)
Conclusion
Doors have been broken through for as long as doors have been around. If you have been a victim of a break-in, you know that it is a harrowing experience. Even if you are not present at your home at the time of the break-in, the thought of someone violating your privacy and safety can be maddening.
Don’t fall victim to complacency and ‘standard’ security. Small, incremental upgrades and knowing the possible threats can go a long way to keeping you both safe and prepared. Knock a project out and sleep soundly that night by installing a door security kit.
If you found this helpful, here are some other articles our readers liked:
- Preventing Garage Door Break-Ins – The 6-Second Break-In
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The size of the optimum door reinforcement lock must be considered by each purchase. It must match the width, height, and thickness of your door. If it doesn’t, the lock will be rendered worthless and will have been a waste of money.
How do you reinforce a cheap mobile home and an out swing door?