The 50-cent fix

How would you like to be watching from inside your house as a large man kicks in your door – or tries to. Would you spend 50 cents to keep him from getting in?

We gathered at Roanoke's soon to be torn down Hurt Park apartments -- to kick in some doors and to demonstrate one of the weakest parts of almost everyone's home.

Carlin: This door is typical of what most people have in their homes. What do you expect is gonna happen?

Mike Woody: It should go pretty easy. The door should bust open, the back of the door jam should explode out.

Mike Woody is part of a crew of locksmiths from Medeco in Salem -- who agreed to help us demonstrate the "Fifity Cent Fix."

As Mike throws his 225 pounds into a door that's locked the same way yours is, it smashed open almost without resistance.

Carlin: Scale of one to ten, what was your effort on that one?

Mike Woody: Maybe a two.

Carlin (demonstrating): The back part of the frame blew out. … the latch plate and everything is gone.

Roanoke Crime Prevention officer, Bryan Lawrence isn't surprised.

Lawrence: People do kick in doors.

You might think it only happens in Hollywood. But even here in Roanoke, police say 25 to 30 percent of the time, when someone breaks into a house, a door has been kicked in.

And here's why it's so easy. Most locks come only with short screws, maybe ½ inch to ¾ inch in length -- meaning the lock is only attached to the trim.

Lawrence: Most door frames are made of pine and it's soft wood. It's only in the door frame, so if you kick the door, it's going to break the door frame.

And sure enough -- when we inspect the damage, that's the obvious weakness.

If we look down here we can see that even with a slightly longer screw that didn't hold.
Mike Woody: No Sir.

Carlin: You think if this screw would have been a little bit longer it would have held better?
Mike Woody: Yes Sir

Here's why it makes so much difference. The long screws go through the trim and into the solid wood behind it, instead of stopping in the soft trim which gives easily.

But at Hurt Park, the doors were so old even our experts couldn't secure them. Because there was often no door frame for the longer screws to reach. (The apartments were secure when people lived there – they actually had superior metal door frames – which we removed for our test.)

In order to get a more accurate test, we do a second round at Roanoke's Habitat store.

We hang a door and add a deadbolt -- this time with long screws

Carlin: What do you expect is going to happen right here when you kick that door?
Mike Woody: It's going to be difficult to get it open.

After three strong kicks, Woody gets in, but it’s obvious he’s had to exert more effort than with the short screws.

Carlin: The screws held. It was the frame that gave way right?
Mike Woody: Yes sir.

How hard was that effort compared to the short screws?
Mike Woody: Very difficult.
Carlin: On a scale of one to ten what was that?
Mike Woody: Seven.

It's almost impossible to keep a door from being kicked in -- you can easily add get a whole lot more strength -- a shot at discouraging an intruder, and some peace of mind. Where else can you get that for 50 cents?

If you want to spend just a little more there are all kinds of things you can do to secure your doors. For about $10.00, there are numerous reinforced strike plates available at most hardware stores and home centers. Locksmiths may be a bit more expensive but offer additional upgrades.