The doors of your home help ensure that you are well protected from the elements and also helps ensure that you keep out what you do not want in your home. The trick here is to take some proper precautions to keep people out that you do not want in your home.

Tip 1. Get a good door that is sturdy and secure. A door that wiggles more than jello is not the ideal door for the entrance of your home. You need a door that is solid and safe. A door that is fragile or too old can be a security risk because someone could easily break in.

Tip 2. Ensure that you have locks on your doors and use them. Having locks is one thing, but many times people forget to actually use the locks. Regardless of the home security system that you have, without using your locks you are asking for trouble.

Tip 3. Any and all exterior doors to your home should have a deadbolt. There is no reason not to install a deadbolt, they are very reasonably priced and can be installed in less than 20 minutes. Not having a deadbolt is completely inexcusable for the safety that it provides.

Tip 4. Ensure that all of your locks have cylinder guards installed. This helps protect your home because a burglar is unable t remove the locking mechanism from the lock itself. This is a great feature to have a well worth the time and investment.

Tip 5. Check all strike plates for locks. Any that are loose or broken should be replaced. This could mean buying a heavy duty strike plate from your local home improvement store. If the strike plate needs replacing it generally takes about 2 minutes to replace.

Tip 6. Check all of your hinges for your doors. They should all be on the inside of your home, never the outside. If by chance your hinges are on the outside, you can easily replace the pins with non-removable pins that will make your home much safer.

Tip 7. Make sure that your doorframe is properly secured. The strongest door and lock in the world are not going to hold someone out if they kick down your door. A good strong doorframe will ensure they cannot get the door down easily.

Tip 8. A peephole should be your friend. Never open a door if you cannot see who is outside, and never allow someone in your home that you do not know. Ask for identification and refuse to allow them in until you verify their identity.

Tip 9. Try to stick to exterior doors that have no windows. If you insist upon glass in your door, at least insist upon reinforced glass that is shatter resistant. Windows that are flimsy and unprotected make the perfect opportunity for someone to come in. Some great shatterproof film available at security stores is clear and keeps someone from breaking the glass on your doors.

Tip 10. All sliding doors must be locked. Never rely simply on the lock on the handle either. This is a huge mistake as the doors are not very secure. Always use a Charlie bar on the door to keep it closed. If you are very tight on money use a broom handle, or even a piece of wood that is jammed snuggly into place to keep the door shut. This will help ensure that people stay out that are not welcome inside.