Garage side-door security kit

The side door of a garage is usually the weakest entry on a property: a hollow slab, a Grade 3 knob lock, a two-screw strike, no viewer, and it opens into a space that connects to the house and holds the tools needed to get further in.

This kit is the Grade 1 deadbolt from plate 11, the strike reinforcement from plate 2, the 220° viewer from plate 33 and a set of hinge security pins, which together bring that door up to the standard of the front one. Bought separately, about $103.

Fitting and care. Start with the jamb. Garage side doors are usually the worst-fitted door on a property and often the frame needs packing or repair before any of this hardware is worth fitting. Do the strike reinforcement, then the deadbolt, then the viewer, then the hinge pins if the door opens outward. If the door slab is a hollow-core interior door — which is common — the hardware will only ever be as good as the slab, and replacing it should come first.