Oftentimes the fasteners that builders use to attach the strike plates to the door frame are short 1" screws that can prove inadequate in the event an intruder chooses to kick the door in.

An itegral part of basic home defense work, we recommend the “Secure Strike” service to assist in reinforcing the strike areas of the exterior doors of the dwelling.  We remove those 1-inch screws, drill pilot holes using a 1/16" drill bit, and put in 3 1/4 inch screws (either #8 or #9 size, as large as will fit in the holes of your strike plates).

I recently swapped out 1" screws for 3 1/4" screws for all of a customer’s exterior doors, and the contrast in length between the stubby builder screws and real 3 1/4" screws is astonishing. The specific screws I upgraded to are: Spax brand, size #9, 3¼" long. Secure Strike is an ideal security upgrade should you be interested in a cheap and effective anti-intrusion security upgrade.