Reinforced Door Frame Installation in Brooklyn, NY — Stop Kick-Ins

Most break-ins in Brooklyn use a kick, not a lock pick. Your Grade 1 deadbolt will hold. Your door frame probably will not. We fix the frame.

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The Real Weak Point in Your Apartment Door

A standard residential door frame — in Brooklyn as everywhere — consists of wood framing with a decorative trim (door stop) attached to the face. The strike plate, the piece of hardware that receives the deadbolt, is typically screwed into the door stop with two 3/4-inch screws. Those screws do not reach the structural framing behind the trim.

A kick near the lock generates 150–200 lbs of force at a specific point. Those two small screws fail. The door stop splits. The frame around the strike plate cracks. The door is open. This takes one to three kicks — 2–5 seconds.

In Brooklyn's pre-war housing stock, where door frames are original wood construction from 80–100 years ago and have been repaired and patched multiple times, frame resistance is particularly low. We see post-kick-in calls regularly from buildings in Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, Flatbush, and Bushwick where well-maintained locks were bypassed entirely because the frames failed.

The fix is less expensive than you think

A heavy-duty strike plate with 3-inch screws costs $20–$40 in hardware and takes 20 minutes to install. This single upgrade — the screws that bypass the door stop into the structural framing — is the highest-value security upgrade in this price range. A full door frame reinforcement system runs $175–$350 installed. For context, the cost of replacing a kicked-in door frame is $500–$1,500.

Reinforcement System Components

Grade 1 deadbolt

The lock itself — 250,000 cycle tested

Reinforced strike plate

Steel plate with 3" screws into structural framing

Door frame wrap (Armor Max)

Steel sleeve over existing frame — full-length protection

Door edge guard

Steel reinforcement at the lock bore — prevents door edge splitting

Hinge bolts

Steel pins on hinge side prevent hinge-side pry attacks

Door sweep reinforcement

Bottom gap protection — also improves weather sealing

The Combination That Works

Maximum residential door security requires addressing both the lock and the frame. Upgrading only the lock leaves the frame vulnerability. Installing only frame reinforcement with a weak lock leaves the lock as the weak point.

ANSI Grade 1 deadbolt

Lock itself withstands attack

3" screw strike plate

Frame at the bolt holds against kick

Steel frame wrap

Full-length protection — no weak point left

Door Frame Reinforcement FAQ — Brooklyn Home Security

Reinforce Your Brooklyn Door Frame

Free assessment — we look at your door and frame and recommend the right reinforcement.

(347) 386-7164

Schedule a Door Security Assessment

We evaluate your door, frame, and locks — and recommend exactly what needs upgrading.

For emergencies: Call (347) 386-7164

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