Burglar proof front doors: is any door really burglar proof?

No front door is completely burglar proof. What you can buy is a door that has been tested to resist a forced-entry attack for a measured length of time, with a named set of tools, and fitted so that it performs the way it did under test. That is what a security rating tells you, and it is the only honest way to compare one door with another.

“Burglar proof” is what most people type into Google, and it is a fair thing to want. But it is a promise, not a standard. A door that holds out for long enough, makes enough noise and looks hard enough to beat is a door most burglars will walk past. This guide explains what makes a front door hard to break into, how to read the ratings, and what you can do about the door you already have. For the full range of security front doors for London homes, our front doors guide covers each material in turn.

Is any front door truly burglar proof?

No. Given enough time, noise and the right tools, any door can be beaten. Security is about making the attack take longer than a burglar is willing to spend, and making it obvious from the street that it will.

That is why the standards measure time. A door tested to LPS 1175 is rated by how long it resisted attack, and with which category of tools. A door that holds out against a determined attacker with hand tools for several minutes is a very different product from one that gives way to a screwdriver in seconds, even if both are sold as secure. When a seller says burglar proof, ask which standard, which rating, and for the certificate.

How do burglars actually get through a front door?

Very few burglars attack the strongest part of a door. They look for the weakest, and on most front doors that is one of five places:

• The cylinder. A standard euro cylinder can be snapped, drilled or picked. Snapping it lets the lock be turned by hand.
• The lock side. A single lock, or a multi-point lock left on the latch, can be forced with a bar between the door and the frame.
• The hinge side. Exposed hinges can be attacked, and a door that relies only on its hinges to stay in the frame on that side can be levered out.
• The frame and threshold. A strong door in a weak frame fails at the frame. Pry bars go in at the threshold and at the frame edge.
• The glass and the letterplate. Ordinary glass can be broken to reach the inside handle, and some doors can be opened by reaching through the letterplate.

A secure front door closes every one of those routes. A strong lock in a weak frame, or a tough leaf with ordinary glass in it, only moves the attack somewhere else.

What makes a front door hard to break into?

The door is tested as a complete doorset, and every part of it has a job.

• The frame. A galvanised steel frame, fixed into the structure of the opening, gives the locking something to hold on to.
• The leaf. A reinforced, security-rated core resists cutting and impact, rather than a hollow or timber leaf that can be split.
• The locking. Multi-point locking engages the frame at the top, the side and the base at once, so there is no single point to force. Our page on multipoint locking and front door security shows what engages where.
• The cylinder. An anti-drill, anti-pick cylinder stops the lock being turned from outside once the cylinder is attacked.
• The hinges. Concealed hinges with hinge-side dog bolts hold the door in the frame on the hinge side even if the hinges themselves were attacked.
• The threshold and glass. A rebated steel threshold resists pry bars at the base, and laminated security glass stays in place when it is struck.

Which ratings tell you how burglar resistant a door is?

Three names come up, and they do different jobs.

PAS 24 is the baseline. It is a pass-or-fail test for enhanced security doorsets, and it is what the building regulations for new homes in England point to. A modern front door should meet it at the least.

LPS 1175 goes further. It rates a door from SR1 upwards by how long it resists attack and with which tools. SR1 covers a casual attack with improvised tools, SR2 a more sustained attack with standard tools, and SR3 a determined attack with a range of hand tools. Our explainer on what the LPS 1175 SR ratings mean sets out every level. Our steel security front doors are built and tested to SR3 / SR4, and our aluminium doors to RC3 to RC4.

Secured by Design is the police-run scheme that recognises products meeting these standards. It is not a test of its own. The standards, and what each one covers, are set out on our certifications page.

Steel, aluminium or composite: which is hardest to break into?

Steel can be tested to the highest levels, which is why it is the usual choice when security leads. A good composite door can reach PAS 24, the baseline, but composite doors are not generally tested to the LPS 1175 SR ratings that steel doors reach. Our comparison of composite and steel security ratings goes through the difference in detail.

Aluminium sits between them. Our aluminium doors are rated RC3 to RC4, and they suit houses that want more glass and a slimmer frame. The right choice depends on the house and on where your security priority sits as much as on the rating.

Why does the fitting matter as much as the door?

A certificate covers the door as it was tested. It does not cover how it was fitted. A tested doorset fixed loosely into a crumbling opening, packed out unevenly or fitted with gaps at the frame will not behave the way it did in the test.

That is why the survey matters. Before anything is made, the opening is measured, the structure around it is checked, and the frame fixing is planned for that wall. Ask any supplier who surveys the opening and who fits the door, and whether they are the same team.

How can I make my existing front door harder to break into?

If you are not ready to replace the door, a few changes close the most common routes in:

1. Fit an anti-snap cylinder. It is an inexpensive upgrade that closes the most common attack on a euro cylinder lock.
2. Lock it with the key. On a multi-point lock, lift the handle and turn the key every time. A door left on the latch is held by the latch alone.
3. Add hinge bolts if the door has none, so the hinge side cannot be levered out.
4. Fit a letterplate guard so the inside handle cannot be reached through the flap.
5. Check the frame. A loose or rotten frame undoes everything else.

If the door itself is old, untested or a hollow or timber leaf, add-ons only go so far. That is the point at which a replacement tested to a recognised standard does more than any upgrade.

Want a door that is genuinely hard to break into?

We survey the opening, talk through the level of security your home actually needs, and give you a written, itemised quote before anything is made. Book a free site survey and we will advise honestly, including when a lower rating is all you need.