Door Chains

So the more I learn about these things, the more I realize I made a bad investment. Well, four bad investments actually. Brass, steel, wrought iron or stainless steel, it doesn’t matter what type of metal you choose because you should know you are just buying for decoration. Since these things came about in the 1950’s, they’ve slowed down potential intruders yet haven’t stopped them. The movies sure play it off don’t they? The bad guy reaching his thick arm thru the crack trying to reach his victim who’s standing there screaming, yet can’t get away. Classic.

In fact, this easy to-do-it-yourself method of home security isn’t even considered a security measure by most professionals. That’s right, you can find door chains in the home security department of any store, but please don’t think your protecting anybody by applying the 125mm, 3.5” or 4” chain across your front door.

You can pick up a kit which includes a spring, screws, bolts, and the infamous chain for under $10. Please don’t spend any more money than that. Besides, this useless device should be used in unison with other security measures such as deadbolts to at least get some back up plan. To me, I just figure it will take a second effort by the intruder if they ever were to come to my house, and it would give me the extra second to grab my baseball bat.

Now after all that there is a sliding door chain available on the market. Some come manually and some come automatically with a key mechanism to release the chain. You may lock it manually when you're leaving your residence with just a turn of a key. But when it comes to these items too, you might be better off adding a little more support like a wedge in between the back of the door and the wall.