Burglars attempted to enter my house

MountainDave2

Thank you ThisIsWeired. I will look into it. Anyone else have any suggestions?

Securing (Shutting) letterbox is my biggest priority at this point.

Ectophile

Eldi_Dos said:

Hate to be a doom merchant OP but it could pay you to check that your contents insurance is valid with that style of door in place.
I am a great believer in having two or three timers about the house set to make the house look occupied and set till after midnight, so it looks like you are up and about even if you are in land of nod.

I would be very surprised if it isn't compliant with the insurance.  It looks like a PVC door with multi-point locking.

Ectophile

Looking at the picture, would it be possible to insert long screws down each side, and possibly at the top too, to hold the inner panel into the outer?

If it's got multi-point locking down one side, that might mean replacing the existing screws with long ones.

Mr.Generous

Look into a house alarm, burglers go elsewhere. Yale easyfit £102 at Toolstation at the moment.

Add a couple of remote controls from Yale direct and you have a good home alarm for £150 - with remotes just like a car you will use it, peace of mind and honestly - nobody with an alarm gets burgled unless targeted for drugs / gold / cash / art that are known to be there.

ThisIsWeird

Ectophile said:

Looking at the picture, would it be possible to insert long screws down each side, and possibly at the top too, to hold the inner panel into the outer?

If it's got multi-point locking down one side, that might mean replacing the existing screws with long ones.

Nice idea - longer screws through the outer door's frame edge into the centre panel?
 Sounds like a sensible and worthwhile option if you own the house, but not sure the LL would be happy to give permission for this. And also it wouldn't be an initial deterrent - the burglars would still try and gain entry, and possibly still cause damage to a door-replacement level.
I think, since there's seemingly only one way to gain access to the inside, the letterbox security way is literally the key. A simple 'click' before bedtime. 
A drawback would be attempted breakins at other times where you are out - a locked letterbox won't help your postie. A secure external postbox could solve that, tho'.

GrubbyGirl_2

Can I make a suggestion.  Absolutely nothing to do with the door but I have my lights on timers and have a light on in the spare bedroom at the front of the house all night so it looks like someone is awake all night.  Also lights go on as it gets dark in the evening so it's had to tell is someone is home or not.  

ic

Superglue the inner beads into position.  As has been demonstrated by the burglars, they come out easily - just use a decorators knife like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clauss-18732-Titanium-Non-Stick-Painters/dp/B00L2QYLPQ hammered into the gap between the door frame and the bead itself, then wedge it out.  Superglue the bead and hammer it back into position.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzq-zH1WhTg

Your landlord will never know you've done it if you don't overdo the glue and get it everywhere, and you'll be safe in the knowledge its secure.

ThisIsWeird

ic said:

Superglue the inner beads into position.  As has been demonstrated by the burglars, they come out easily - just use a decorators knife like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clauss-18732-Titanium-Non-Stick-Painters/dp/B00L2QYLPQ hammered into the gap between the door frame and the bead itself, then wedge it out.  Superglue the bead and hammer it back into position.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzq-zH1WhTg

Your landlord will never know you've done it if you don't overdo the glue and get it everywhere, and you'll be safe in the knowledge its secure.

Sensible, but it doesn't act as the first step - the deterrent.

Block the letter plate and they'll likely go elsewhere.

FreeBear

ThisIsWeird said:

Ectophile said:

Looking at the picture, would it be possible to insert long screws down each side, and possibly at the top too, to hold the inner panel into the outer?

If it's got multi-point locking down one side, that might mean replacing the existing screws with long ones.

Nice idea - longer screws through the outer door's frame edge into the centre panel?

From what I've seen of filler panels, they just have a foam core, so there is nothing for screws to bite in to. Unless you can get screws long enough to span the full width of the door, I wouldn't bother. But then the locking bar for the multipoint system would get in the way.

ThisIsWeird

FreeBear said:

From what I've seen of filler panels, they just have a foam core, so there is nothing for screws to bite in to. Unless you can get screws long enough to span the full width of the door, I wouldn't bother. But then the locking bar for the multipoint system would get in the way.

The screws would still bite into the inner panel's PVC skin, which must be a few mm thick. To push out the door panel would require some serious wrecking of the panel - the screws themselves are unlikely to shear.