Security door installation, and the part that actually resists a kick

What is security door installation?

Security door installation covers two genuinely different products that the same searches mix together. A security screen door is a welded steel or aluminium frame with a steel mesh infill, fitted outside your existing entry door so you can open up and still be closed in. A reinforced entry door is a heavier steel slab that replaces the entry door itself. Both are only as strong as what they are fixed into - which is why the frame, hinges and strike matter more than the door.

Signs you need security door installation

• You want to leave the front door open for air without leaving the house open
• The entry has been forced, or a neighbour's has, and you want a physical barrier rather than an alert after the fact
• There is a lot of glass at or beside the entry - sidelites, a large lite in the door - within reach of the lock
• A ground-floor rear or side door is out of sight from the street and has a light hollow-core door on it
• You already have cameras and alarms and want something that delays entry rather than records it

Seeing something not on this list? Browse doors problems by symptom →

How security door installation actually works

1. 1

   Deciding screen door or reinforced entry door

   A security screen goes over what you have and keeps ventilation. A reinforced entry door replaces the slab and gives you a solid barrier but no airflow. Many homes end up with the screen, because the entry door is already adequate once the frame around it is sorted out.

   Watch forBeing quoted a full reinforced door when the actual weakness is a hollow jamb and short screws. Fix the fixings first and re-assess what the door needs to do.

2. 2

   Measuring, and checking what the frame is made of

   Standard door widths run roughly 28 to 36 inches at 80 inches tall, but the installer's more important job is establishing what the jamb is: solid wood into framing, a hollow metal frame, or a thin jamb packed out with shims.

   Watch forA heavy security door hung on a jamb nobody has tested. Weight plus force goes straight into the fixings, and a jamb that will not hold them makes the whole thing ornamental.

3. 3

   Frame construction - welded versus assembled

   A welded frame is fabricated as one piece and cannot be pulled apart at the corners. An assembled or screwed frame is cheaper and lighter, and the corners are the weak point. Local fabricators typically weld; imported retail units typically do not.

   Watch forCorner joints held by screws on a door being sold as security. Look at the corners before you look at the price.

4. 4

   Mesh, grille and glazing choices

   The infill is either a heavy steel mesh, a decorative steel grille, or perforated sheet. Denser mesh resists cutting and prying better and lets less light through; grilles look better and depend entirely on bar spacing.

   Watch forFly screen described as security mesh. Insect screen and structural mesh look similar from four feet away and are not remotely the same product.

5. 5

   Hinges, strike and the fixings that carry the load

   Hinges are through-fixed into the framing, not just the jamb. Out-swing doors - which most security screens are - need non-removable pins or hinge studs. The strike gets a reinforced plate with screws long enough to reach the stud behind the jamb.

   Watch forThe standard short screws supplied in the box. This is the single cheapest and most commonly skipped part of the entire job, and it is the difference between a door that holds and one that swings open with the jamb attached.

6. 6

   Locking, and the egress question

   Security doors are commonly fitted with a keyed lock on both sides so the door cannot be opened by reaching through the mesh. That decision has a consequence: nobody leaves in a hurry without a key.

   Watch forDouble-keyed locks on the only exit from a bedroom or a small apartment. If you fit one, the key lives somewhere everyone in the house knows and can reach in the dark. Check what your local fire code says before choosing.

What does security door installation cost?

Security doors span a wide band - commonly $400 to $4,000 installed. A retail steel screen door sits near the bottom, a locally welded custom frame or a reinforced entry slab near the top, and reinforcing the existing frame and strike is a small fraction of either.

See the full security door installation cost guide - by material, size and region →

If the number is the problem, here are the ways people pay for it →