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Security doors, available in most large home improvement centers, will give you peace of mind that your home is safe and sound when locked. While many homes have glass or other ornamental front doors, these are not always ideal for keeping prowlers away. While a security door is an unwelcome sign for burglars, most come in a variety of styles and colors, making them attractive additions to the home.
Doors usually come in either 36 or 38-inch widths. Measure your doorway frame before you go to the store. Most of these doors have a frame that mounts to the outside of your doorway, so the only time you’d really have a problem is with a doorway that is more than 38 inches wide. In that case, you would need to build onto the existing frame so that you would have somewhere to mount the security door’s frame. Get your measurements and talk to the folks at your hardware or home improvement store.
Choose a door that fits the décor of your house and remember, the door is going to be permanent. You should get the best one you can--with sturdy, barred construction and metal mesh. You’ll also need a lockset—both a doorknob and a deadbolt. You can usually find a set to match your other ones and the store will key it to your existing key for a small fee. You should also consider the clearance between the doors and their knobs. If your existing door handle is large or odd-shaped, it may interfere with the security door or its knob. Again, assess your situation, take the measurements and come up with a door and knob that will work.
Most of these doors come with fairly simple instructions. Read through them before you start in on the project, making sure you’ll be able to follow them correctly. Typically, you’ll put the posts of the frame up one by one, starting with the hinged side. The trick here is to put the frame up with the door in place to make sure it fits and is level. The screws, to be screwed in permanently, can be unforgiving. One thing that can help is using regular screws to temporarily hold the frame in place. The screws are also long and sometimes difficult to turn, so try rubbing them on a bar of soap. It’ll help them turn in easier. You might also want to use locking pliers instead of a screwdriver.
Once you get the hinge side installed correctly, you can put up the other parts of the frame based on that. It’s still a good idea to check the door with each piece, making sure it will open and close properly. It can really help to have someone who can help hold the door in place, but you can use wood at the bottom of the door to boost it.
You’ll probably have a wide clearance at the bottom of the new security door—about three to five inches. This is OK. If you want to keep insects and the like out, you can be a strip that will attach to the bottom of your new security door that will fill the gap.
Once the door is up, you can install your knobs and you’re set. You can file at the latch holes if things aren’t fitting 100 percent, but not too much. If everything was installed correctly, is should line up. You may also want some kind of stopper if you don’t want your security door to slam. It is pretty heavy and can make a crash.
You’ll be enjoying your new door right form the start, so clean up your mess, let the breeze flow in and take pride in a job well done.
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