Better Home Security Products?

[Lex DeVille]

Last night I was chilling on the couch with my wife. Baby asleep in the bedroom. A normal evening until we were jarred alert by a sound at the front door. My wife looked to me and we both thought it was the wind. Until the handle rattled..

My heart stopped. Who the f*ck is it? We don't have people who show up unannounced. Definitely no one who would try to open the door. So I sprang to my feet, grabbed a weapon, and peered through the peep hole.

A man with dark dreadlocks, dressed in a shabby, white t-shirt and baggy pants hanging half-draped off his thighs rapped at the door with his keys. No idea who he was. Didn't ask what he wanted. Didn't want to give away that anyone was home.

I waited quietly. Looked to my wife who was also on her feet. There was a certain fear in her eyes. She was ready to protect the baby at any cost. All of this happened in less than a minute.

I waited a few seconds.

The man knocked again, hard. We keep the door locked, so he couldn't get in. I double checked the peep hole. He was on his phone talking to someone. Then he walked away, climbed back into a black Corolla and drove off.

We live on a suburban street, so I assume he just had the wrong address. But that doesn't change the way it made me feel. Brought me straight back to childhood when someone tried to break into my home while my parents were gone to work.

And all of this had me thinking..

Why don't we have better security for our doors and windows?

• We have an alarm.
• We have signs in the yard.
• We keep the doors locked.

But I want something more, so I searched for security doors and gates and windows and most of the stuff I found was DIY deterrent blogs.

I'm early in my search, so maybe somebody can chime in with resources, because so far I came up wanting.

Here's one company I found:
Security Doors Detroit, Security Screen Doors, Security Windows

But their website sucks, and it's not clear they have what I'm looking for.

Here's another one:
https://shadeandshutter.com/

This website is a little better, but their branding is terrible.

This one is the best so far:
Shield Security Doors - Home

Still room for improvement, and they don't offer everything I want.

Anyway, I was thinking there might be room for someone to come in as "the home security protection door and window" specialist. Someone to make a security-focused brand. Things I'm particularly interested in:

• Impenetrable front door with locks that can't be kicked in
• A front door gate that exists just before the front door so solicitors can't bother us
• Windows that don't break and can't be opened from the outside but can be opened quickly from the inside in the event of a fire
  

This could branch into panic rooms pretty easily, and I'm guessing that's a $20k to $100k project depending on the build. Not everyone buys stuff like this. But some people do. Those people will pay for security and peace of mind. I will.

Didn't get much sleep last night. Couldn't stop thinking about my baby in the other room. How easy it would be to get inside our house, even with standard deterrents, and that's a little troubling. Troubling enough that I'm looking for solutions. Seems like a good high-ticket industry for someone.

Example of the kind of door gate I have in mind:

 

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[Raoul Duke]

When I worked at Lowe's. I was a Sales Specialist in Millwork. Larson, in my opinion, is the best storm door on the market. Period.

They have a storm door, with security features. It is called Larson Secure Elegance. $344 if I remember correctly.

White was standard with Bronze, Brushed nickel and Aged bronze handle. Other colors were a special order. A bit more expensive.

 

[Lex DeVille]

When I worked at Lowe's. I was a Sales Specialist in Millwork. Larson, in my opinion, is the best storm door on the market. Period.

They have a storm door, with security features. It is called Larson Secure Elegance. $344 if I remember correctly.

White was standard with Bronze, Brushed nickel and Aged bronze handle. Other colors were a special order. A bit more expensive.

Awesome, thanks for sharing. That looks identical to the exterior door we have now (but a lot stronger). I'll look more into those.

Did you sell windows like this too?

 

[Raoul Duke]

Awesome, thanks for sharing. That looks identical to the exterior door we have now (but a lot stronger). I'll look more into those.

Did you sell windows like this too?

No. The windows were standard. Putting on those black bars were the only option.

Pella had a 350 series window that blocked road and air plane noise, etc... Triple pane glass.

For a long time, Pella was developing a hurricane window. I guess you could see it as a security measure. They were testing it by sending a two by four into it. That is all I can remember.

 

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[Thoelt53]

Check these guys out.

https://gssdoors.com/index.html

There is a plethora of high security options for commercial settings, but unfortunately not so much for residential. GSS is the only one I know of and fortunately their catalog is huge. I believe they also do windows.

I work for a commercial door company and will do some digging on Monday to see what else I can find.

High security doors and hardware are huge money, but the peace of mind can’t be beat, especially when you see how secure these doors really are.

I do agree that the residential openings market is completely underserved especially in comparison to commercial openings. This divide gets even worse when dealing with security-specific applications.

 

[Lex DeVille]

I do agree that the residential openings market is completely underserved especially in comparison to commercial openings. This divide gets even worse when dealing with security-specific applications.

It's weird because the prepper market is flooded with products. You can buy like 100,000 different kinds of weapons for protecting your home. I prefer deterrent vs direct contact. Don't need to engage someone who can't reach me in the first place.

This is a slightly different market from preppers. The products could be sold to them, but I think it's more for the low-key defender. "Grey man" might more accurately define the market. Not prepping for the apocalypse, but also not defenseless.

I want my home to be a fortress in disguise, not a castle with a mote and a drawbridge. Can't believe there's so few companies serving this area. Especially when preppers get stuff like this..

Starting at just $65,000..

Modular Square

 

[Frosting]

Arlo/Arlo Pro by Netgear. Camera which alerts you when there's movement, you can access the camera via your phone.

Also, 3m makes security film for windows/glass. There's also mesh options (very thin so not impacting visibility, you attach to windows, but strong and unbreakable)

 

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[Veloce Grey]

Arlo/Arlo Pro by Netgear. Camera which alerts you when there's movement, you can access the camera via your phone.

I use this too, with four cameras and find it very easy to use via smartphone. Complete with a nice loud screeching alarm to activate via phone. The cameras can be fixed in place or easily movable if desired. No wires needed-plug them into the wall about once a month to charge. Only downside is waking up in the morning to numerous video clips of cats walking across the back yard.