In my property management days, landlord seminars were offered to teach tenant management. For the uninitiated, property management really is tenant management. The property is easy to take care of. The tenants are usually what get the owner/manager down. The portfolio I managed had some pretty tough properties in marginal to scary neighborhoods. Tricks of the trade became survival for me. Those tricks have been passed on to my new investors and some apply to homeowners as well. The following is one such tidbit.
Have you ever looked at how a lockset and strike plate are installed? The lockset goes through the door and the strike plate is placed on the door jamb to reinforce where the latch bolt engages to prevent the door from opening. It's a great system with an overlooked weakness. There are itty bitty screws that hold the strike plate into the jamb, usually about 1/2" long. If the door is swiftly kicked, the strike plate screws easily cave into the pressure allowing easy entry. The truth of this has been demonstrated many times when I show distressed or rental properties. Many of them have cracked jambs at the strike plate area.
The solution is so easy, it should be standard procedure for all homes: LOOOONNNNGGGG screws. The police department recommended 3" screws or a length long enough to get beyond the door frame into the 2x4 or 2x6 of the framing wood on the house. The screws should be tempered so they don't sheer easily and flat head so they function as the itty bitty ones do to allow the door to smoothly close. Such a simple solution. Who "woulda thought"?
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