Your home is your castle. It’s your safe haven – the place where you welcome family and friends, relax and unwind after a long day and even your means of protection when you put your head down on the pillow at night.
With us Brits spending an average of nine hours a day in the comfort of our own homes*, even pre-pandemic, it’s no surprise that we spend hundreds of pounds protecting our properties from criminals.
From burglar alarms, outdoor security lighting and CCTV, there are plenty of ways in which you can keep your home off a burglar’s ‘watch list’. But, did you know, your front door is most likely the prime entrance point for a criminal looking to gain access to your property?
According to recent figures from the Office of National Statistics, 76% of household burglaries in England and Wales occurred when the culprit accessed the home through a door**.
With these shocking statistics coming to light, it’s important that your door security is up to scratch to offer the best protection against these opportunistic criminals.
But how do you ensure your door is secure? Well, the experts at Eurocell Home are here to share their top tips to make sure your entrance area is the best line of defence for your humble abode.
If you’re in the process of updating your entrance area, you may be more concerned with the design, colour and price of your new front door. And although these are all important points to consider, we believe the security of your door should be an essential part of the selection process.
Both high-quality composite and uPVC doors perform in the security stakes. But composite doors offer a heightened level of protection, as the combination of materials used makes the door stronger, for a sturdy, durable, high quality finish.
Get a handle on your home security
As we’ve mentioned, a sturdy, durable door can do wonders to stop your home being a target of opportunistic attacks. But what you may not have considered is that your door handle and lock is also a key element of protecting your home against burglary attacks.
The modern-day burglar uses various attack methods to break a lock to gain easy access to a home. With this in mind, it’s essential that homeowners look for products that meet the recommended three-star security rating imposed by the British Standards Institution.
A three-star cylinder is in fact the maximum level of security for a lock and can protect against a range of known cylinder attacks including anti-pick, anti-bump, anti-drill and anti-snap to deter criminals from targeting a home.
At Eurocell Home, our door range features the highest security cylinders as standard, all undergoing rigorous testing to ensure you door will offer protection against known attack methods.
The Dales composite door collection, for example, also has the approval of the Police ‘Secured By Design’ scheme, along with PAS24 accreditation, providing peace of mind and reassurance to our customers.
Private eyes
Glass panels are a great way of adding interest and style to a traditional wooden or uPVC front door.
Not only can they make your entrance area look lighter and brighter, glass panels are also an effective way of keeping opportunistic thieves out and away from your property.
By choosing to opt for a design that features obscure glass, homeowners can feel safe and secure knowing that any criminals scoping out the property will most likely look for an easier target.
Think smart to defend your home
After you’ve selected your perfect front door, with a blend of security and style, you can look to add another level of defence to your home’s entrance by investing in a front door camera or smart doorbell.
This type of smart security technology is very popular for homeowner’s today, as it allows users to check in on their home when they’re out, speak to visitors remotely and keep an eye out for any suspicious activity anytime, anywhere.
Most opportunistic criminals are also very aware of this type of security solution and tend to avoid homes that invest in these high-tech gadgets. These thieves will see that your home is protected at the front and will therefore also assume that the rest of your home is just as secure, therefore moving on to an easier target.
With this type of smart security solution, a three-star, BSI-approved door lock and design-conscious privacy windows, your front door will not only be a welcomed sight to any visitors, but it will turn away any unwanted ones too.
David Prior
David Prior is the editor of Today News, responsible for the overall editorial strategy. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with over 20 years’ experience, and is also editor of the award-winning hyperlocal news title Altrincham Today. His LinkedIn profile is here.
