Security drop bar for a door

[JettaKnight]

The house I now own has an extremely weak back garage door. It's slightly secluded, no dead bolt and could be pushed in without much effort.

So rather than beef up the lock with another lock that could be picked, I want to secure it with a drop bar. Anyone have experiences? It seems pretty simple, but I'd like to hear some thoughts on properly designing and installing to avoid weaknesses.

 

[K_W]

New door. A drop bar would only stop the center of the door from being pushed in, not pushing in the bottom of the door, crawling in, removing the bar, and then opening the door.

 

[JettaKnight]

New door. A drop bar would only stop the center of the door from being pushed in, not pushing in the bottom of the door, crawling in, removing the bar, and then opening the door.

Well, it is a decent steel exterior door. Ti's just got the basic handle lock that's secured with weak screws (like the other doors in the this house. )

 

[K_W]

Well, it is a decent steel exterior door. Ti's just got the basic handle lock that's secured with weak screws (like the other doors in the this house. )

OK, so what is the weak spot? the door jamb or the wall?

 

[danimal]

If you just want a couple cheap fixes to help secure the door, try some of these

1 - get a strike plate for around the handle, preferably a 1 piece that will wrap around the door that you can carraige bolt through

2 - if you haven't already, make sure you have good, hardened 3+1/2" screws that secure (A) the latch plate and (B) the hinges all the way into the king and jack studs

3 - a couple of these and a 2x6 will make a perfect brace across the door for something that is infrequently used Strong-Tie at The Home Depot You can even double it up and have 2 braces 1/3 off the top and bottom if you're really worried. To screw securely into the studs, you will more than likely have to remove any moulding around the door, so be sure to have the window+door greatstuff foam and some silicone on hand to keep everything air tight. You can even upgrade the 2x6 to some square tubing for something really strong

4 - if you aren't very handy, you can always get one of these if you have the room in front of the door MasterLock at The Home Depot

 

[JettaKnight]

If you just want a couple cheap fixes to help secure the door, try some of these

1 - get a strike plate for around the handle, preferably a 1 piece that will wrap around the door that you can carraige bolt through

2 - if you haven't already, make sure you have good, hardened 3+1/2" screws that secure (A) the latch plate and (B) the hinges all the way into the king and jack studs

3 - a couple of these and a 2x6 will make a perfect brace across the door for something that is infrequently used Strong-Tie at The Home Depot You can even double it up and have 2 braces 1/3 off the top and bottom if you're really worried. To screw securely into the studs, you will more than likely have to remove any moulding around the door, so be sure to have the window+door greatstuff foam and some silicone on hand to keep everything air tight. You can even upgrade the 2x6 to some square tubing for something really strong

[STRIKE]4 - if you aren't very handy, you can always get one of these if you have the room in front of the door MasterLock at The Home Depot[/STRIKE]

I'm handy.


And I think I have some square tubing scraps....

Otherwise, I think I'll go with this:

http://www.menards.com/main/doors-w...4-steel-bar-holder-strap/p-1315977-c-7581.htm

 

[skulhedface]

If the hinge side and the door itself are secure enough, you could try

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001LR1YA6/