Front Door Security #2 – Hinges

Front Door Security #1 – The Front Door

Each door component plays an important part in the security of your home, and each should be considered carefully to avoid weaknesses that leave your home vulnerable to attacks. In the first post on front door security, the role of the main door surface was covered.

Hinges can be one of the most vulnerable points of your front door, especially if your door opens outwards with external hinges. Standard hinges often allows the pin to be easily removed, freeing your door from the frame and providing access. Modern security hinges tend to have some form of protection added to the hinge to make the removal of the pin more difficult. Such protection can come in the form of riveted pins – the pins used are longer than the hinge, with the exposed ends turned into a rivet which prevents removal of the pin; security studs – a stud on one side of the hinge which fits into a hole on the other side, even when the pin is removed the door cannot be removed as the stud holds it in place; non-removable pins – a screw holds the pin into place preventing the removal of the pin when the door is closed.

Hinge bolts reinforce hinges by providing additional protection against the front door being ripped from its hinges.