Reddit reviews Prime-Line U 11026 Jamb Repair and Reinforcement Kit, 59-1/2” – Reinforce and Repair Door Jamb - Add Extra Security to Your Home to Help Prevent Forced Entry – Steel, Paintable White Finish
We found 4 Reddit comments about Prime-Line U 11026 Jamb Repair and Reinforcement Kit, 59-1/2” – Reinforce and Repair Door Jamb - Add Extra Security to Your Home to Help Prevent Forced Entry – Steel, Paintable White Finish. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
REINFORCE AND REPAIR DOORS – With Prime-Line’s Jamb Repair and Reinforcement Kit, you can easily reinforce weak spots and replace the smaller, vulnerable latch and deadbolt strikes commonly installed with entry door hardware.ADDITIONAL HOME SECURITY – Use of this reinforcing hardware provides increased security to the vulnerable areas of hinged entry door systems.PAINTABLE FINISH – The steel components in the jamb repair and reinforcement kit come in a white powder-coated finish that can be painted to match your door color.EASY INSTALLATION – The kit features six, easy-to-install section plates and two door edge guards. It installs with 10, number 8 x 3” screws. When fully installed, the kit provides up to 12-gauge thickness, at a total height of 59-1/2”.NON-HANDED – The hardware included with the door jamb repair and reinforcement kit is non-handed, allowing it to be used on left or right-handed, single and double hinged door systems.
Have they been breaking in one particular way? If so, maybe we could help prepare for their preferred way.
I always highly recommend hardening your home. It helps that you are in the second floor, that means they are less likely to target your windows (unless there is access to your windows). So, let's focus on the door. Doors (and their frames) are often quite vulnerable.
If your door doesn't have a deadbolt, get one and use it! A deadbolt is much, much stronger than the lock on the knob, but it doesn't do anything for you if you don't lock the deadbolt. It is slightly less convenient because you have to use a key to lock it when you leave, but the extra security far outweighs the slight inconvenience. Use your deadbolt.
You may be limited in what the landlord allows you to do, but I'd suggest you do some version of the following to reinforce the door. You can get a door reinforcement kit like this or this (I've sometimes seen the prime-line kit for sale at HD or Lowes for more like $25). These will reinforce the weak door frame and make it much harder to kick in the door. If that is too big of a change, maybe you'd be allowed to replace the strike plate with one like this. That would be a good step up from a standard strike plate. If you aren't allowed to do any of those, at a minimum you should replace the short screws that your strike plate and hinges likely have now, with longer screws (3-4 inch screws are good). The longer screws will anchor the strike plate not only to the weak door frame, but to the strong 2x4 structure behind the frame too. Also a few of those long screws on the hinge side of the door; stock hinge screws are often too short for good security too.
Reinforcing the door will make it much harder to kick in, so they will probably move on to a softer target. It would also take longer and make more noise, giving you more time to call for help, arm yourself, or escape.
If their preferred method is not to kick in the door, but to attack the lock (using a bump key or lock picks), I'd suggest switching to a high security lock like a medeco or assa/abloy. If you can't afford that, then a lock that uses a non-standard key would at least help some. Kwikset KW1 and Schlage SC1 are the most common keys, so those would be the most common bump keys carried by thieves. Getting a lock that doesn't use either of those would at least make them less likely to have the proper key handy.
What I wrote above can help keep people out; that is most important in my opinion. After that, some sort of alarm may make an intruder want to leave more quickly, or also give you extra warning.
Edit: I just wanted to add that many companies use the KW1 and SC1 keys, not just kwikset and schlage. So if you want a less common key, you have to do your due diligence to know what key it uses. For example, I think Baldwin uses either a KW1 or SC1; also, i think Defiant uses a KW1. And definitely avoid anything that uses Kwikset's "Smart Key". The Smart Key locks are just weak junk.
Don't have any answers, but get this installed during the work https://www.amazon.com/Defender-Security-11026-Reinforcement-Construction/dp/B00FB29LZW/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1526520586&sr=1-2&keywords=kick+plate+kit
You can buy the worlds greatest door lock and it won’t stop someone from simply kicking in your door. Exterior doors are quite weak where the lockset goes through the door jamb. You need to buy a door jamb reinforcement plate kit like this one.
Prime-Line U 11026 Jamb Repair and Reinforcement Kit, 59-1/2" - Reinforce and Repair Door Jamb - Add Extra Security to Your Home to Help Prevent Forced Entry - Steel, Paintable White Finish https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FB29LZW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_TsyTDbCS5YM9H
You can replace it with a high security door jam kit.The amazon reviews say that it helps repair and deter kick ins:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FB29LZW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER