Door Jamb Armor experience

All the threads on door jamb armor seem a few years old. Anyone here have any experience with door jamb armor?

Door kick-ins to burglarize a home are increasing in Oak-town (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/02/BAAL1NSN74.DTL&tsp=1), I've been meaning to do this for years but never have. Time to find the time, and my first thought was "I'll bet there's more than one cocooner to have done this".

I actually just ordered some, examined it, and sent it back. There are two issues, 1 is the lip at the front ruins the finished appearance of the door. You will have to cut the caulk on the edge and probably re-caulk and paint. Additionally the door strike for the door knob will hit the metal and wear off the paint in no time. Two minor issues.

But after thinking about it, I decided to go to Lowes and buy the 6in brass door plates. I think they will be just as effective, much cheaper (a few dollars a piece), and look better. I don't see why a 4' plate is any better than the 6" installed with long screws. All the stress of a kick will be delivered to the same point, I don't know that a few extra screws at the top and bottom will do much better. I think DJ Armor is kind of a gimmick.

Interesting. Is it visually apparent that the door is armored?

I ask as our front door is actually behind a "mud door", aka the outer entrance to our house is a cheap glass square door that one could break within seconds. Its meant to allow you to quickly come in out of rain to a 5' x 5' area, take your shoes off, then open the front door. I don't care too much about appearance, but I wonder if that would provide a visual deterrent (or would it just look ugly).

The jamb armor itself is not visible from the outside, it is on the inside and when you open the door. The parts that wrap the door knobs/locks would be visible on inside and outside if you choose to install them. But you can buy those at the home center for cheaper as well. I don't think most thieves are going to care or even know what it is. They are just gonna kick it.

Door jamb armor is much more than a gimmick and this Guy is crazy if he thinks a long strike plate is going to do the same. I own rental properties and I swear by it. Have tried what was suggested and it has never worked. There are not a lot of recent posts on door jamb armor because the company's new product ez armor is better. It is much easier to install and isn't as visible. Their is a news broadcast on the company's web site showing the police testing and endorsing the product. I'm not one to defend a product but for the price of ez armor it makes no sense not to use it. I have personally seen it work. I just thought I needed for say something. You will never know that you are getting bad advice until you come home for a kicked in door. Believe what you want but check out the web site ezarmor.com before you make any judgement.

It's true, my sanity may be questionable.

I am sure the DJArmor works, but a six inch strike has 75% of the screws of DJArmor, so it is probably 75% as effective for 1/20th the cost.... And much more attractive if you care about that kind of thing. It was EZArmor I ordered BTW. If you are interested, order a set from Amazon then you can return it with no hassel's if you change your mind, like I did.

They have room for improvement, they need to lose the lip on the front and/or put in a ramp for the door knob strike. The lip does nothing for the security being on the inside and makes installation that much harder (you have to remove caulk, etc to fit it properly. Not covered in the install video.) Also they need to lose all the various holes for various deadbolt places. Most doors are going to have around the same spot, standard placement, they should just have one cut out for the dead bolt and have you slide it up or down if it isn't in the right place. Those are the things I didn't like and the reason I sent it back (and posted a negative Amazon review). (Just in case any salesmen are listening...)

I'm unfamiliar with the Door Armor product. FWIW, I've outfitted two doors using this product from http://safedoorsystems.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXUNdasCcXA

It reinforces the door's edge to prevent it from rupturing when kicked. It also comes with an oversized strike-plate. $90 at Home Depot (search for "door safe").

A half-inch strip of the metal channel is visible along the door's length. It can be painted to match the door's color or you can leave it white (also available in brushed metal) as a contrast to announce the fact the door is reinforced.

wuench said:

It's true, my sanity may be questionable.

I am sure the DJArmor works, but a six inch strike has 75% of the screws of DJArmor, so it is probably 75% as effective for 1/20th the cost.... And much more attractive if you care about that kind of thing. It was EZArmor I ordered BTW. If you are interested, order a set from Amazon then you can return it with no hassel's if you change your mind, like I did.

They have room for improvement, they need to lose the lip on the front and/or put in a ramp for the door knob strike. The lip does nothing for the security being on the inside and makes installation that much harder (you have to remove caulk, etc to fit it properly. Not covered in the install video.) Also they need to lose all the various holes for various deadbolt places. Most doors are going to have around the same spot, standard placement, they should just have one cut out for the dead bolt and have you slide it up or down if it isn't in the right place. Those are the things I didn't like and the reason I sent it back (and posted a negative Amazon review). (Just in case any salesmen are listening...)

Click to expand...

Thanks for the detail.

Do you think that there's anything in here that makes it worse than your solution, or is it just more expensive? The various holes for deadbolts I get as I noticed that myself on the video, not sure i'm following the bit about the lip; can't visualize it.

Just a quick response (well maybe not so quick). The multiple holes are completely necessary because older homes do not have standard lock spacing. Many of the houses that I use this on require one of the other holes in order to work. The holes are barely even visible once the piece is installed. The holes are knock-out holes, kind of like on an electrical box. Also, as far as a six-inch plate offering 75% of the strength. Basic physics will tell you that this is not even close to true. The EZ Armor piece is 48" long. The reason it works is because it distributes the force along the length of the jamb. Also, if you do not use the pieces to reinforce the door, the door will split in half if it is kicked. That is why it comes with all of the different parts. I am sorry but again, I have actually used this. I have tried to use it without the pieces that go on the door and my door split - exactly like the company said it would. As for the safe home product. That is much more difficult to install and it costs a lot more. It also can't be used to repair a jamb that has been split. EZ Armor has a police endorsement because the police actually tested it. It is not perfect but is by far the best product out there. I also hope the company is listening because I agree that they could cange some things to make it better (changing the lip is definitely one).

My home was burglarized a few years ago and the thief kicked in two doors. Both doors were the typical exterior steel doors you buy, frame and all, at the local Home Depot. The damage to the jamb and door was so extensive that no product could have cost-effectively salvaged them. I tore out the door and frame and replaced them. The DoorSafe device was dead simple to install. The most involved part of the installation is the strikeplate because you have to mortise the jamb.

FWIW, I filled the air-gap between the jamb and stud with solid oak (behind the strikeplate). It ensures the screws bite into solid wood along their entire length.


BTW, if you have a residential steel door, reinforced with one of the products mentioned, you'll probably need to replace it after it is kicked a few times. The burglary may have been thwarted but the door's appearance will suffer for it.

IVB said:

Thanks for the detail.

Do you think that there's anything in here that makes it worse than your solution, or is it just more expensive? The various holes for deadbolts I get as I noticed that myself on the video, not sure i'm following the bit about the lip; can't visualize it.

Click to expand...

The lip is on the interior, the entire length is bent at 90 degrees about the same length as the typical reveal between the jamb and the trim, (1/4" or so). So typically trim will be caulked so that reveal is not 90 degrees. For a finished look you'll need to scrape out that caulk for the lip to fit flush, maybe even notch out the jamb a little. Then recaulk/repaint. The lip is totally unnecessary, it just makes it easier to align, and the door knob strike is going to wear the paint off in no time (go look at one of your door knob ramped plates and you'll see what I mean, it'll be all scratch up from the metal hitting). Also on the one I ordered the knock outs were all knocked out.

I am sure both methods perform better than a standard door plate and I am sure DJArmor would perform better than a 6" plate, even just putting in longer screws is a step in the right direction (predrill though . Only you can answer if it is worth the expense for you and whether you can live with the look. The 6" plate gives me long enough to get to my shotgun which is all I care about.

123 said:

My home was burglarized a few years ago and the thief kicked in two doors. Both doors were the typical exterior steel doors you buy, frame and all, at the local Home Depot. The damage to the jamb and door was so extensive that no product could have cost-effectively salvaged them. I tore out the door and frame and replaced them. The DoorSafe device was dead simple to install. The most involved part of the installation is the strikeplate because you have to mortise the jamb.

FWIW, I filled the air-gap between the jamb and stud with solid oak (behind the strikeplate). It ensures the screws bite into solid wood along their entire length.


BTW, if you have a residential steel door, reinforced with one of the products mentioned, you'll probably need to replace it after it is kicked a few times. The burglary may have been thwarted but the door's appearance will suffer for it.

Click to expand...

Actually I think that product solves a lot of the issues I had with DJArmor, the strike is ramped and not painted and no lip and no knockouts. I think that would be more attractive, and it is longer than the 6" plates. BTW for mortising nothing beats those multitools, I don't know how I ever lived without mine.

Both systems have solutions for the door side too. I think both seem fine to me, the DJArmor are smaller, maybe less obtrusive and screwed instead of just glued.