_OK to Weld Barrel Bolt to Steel Door?

[Jack Goldstein]

Hi gang,

I need to beef up the security of a steel door that already has a decent deadbolt & knob with a locking mechanism.

I have a new 5" long sliding "barrel bolt" that would work *great* on a solid core wood door where the big #12/#14 wood screws would have something to bite into. However, my steel door is filled with foam, so I doubt the screws would have anything to grab on to.

A friend suggested I hire a welder to attach the long part of the barrel bolt frame to the steel door, and simply attach the short part to the door jamb using 3" #12/#14 wood screws.

Would the weld between the steel door and the galvanized steel barrel bolt endure an attempted "kick-in"?

Thanks.

[zxcvbob]

I think the foam core will melt and burn.

Have you thought about large steel pop-rivets?

Or how about drilling all the way through the door and using grade 5 (or 8) carriage bolts?

Bob

[Joe Bobst]

The pop rivet notion is a good one. To be effective, use 1/4" rivets, but realize that it takes one heckuva puller to set those dudes.

[L. M. Rappaport]

On Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:51:08 -0600, zxcvbob wrote (with possible editing):

I would opt for carriage bolts. Much stronger. Someone could still grind the heads off, but the same is true for pop rivets.

Brazing might be safer than welding, but I'm afraid either one would melt and possibly burn the foam core.

If you're concerned about someone kicking in the door, you should use several - one about 1/4 of the way up, one at the half-way point, and one about 1/4 of the way down.

[Chris Lewis]

According to Jack Goldstein :

I like the rivet or bolt approach.

Do make sure that the door jamb is strong enough.

Nothing worse than a massively strong burglar proof door that's easy to kick in because the door jamb is the weak point.

Think thick wrap-around strike plates, hardwood jamb material etc.

[zxcvbob]

That's why I said grade 5 or better

They couldn't grind off the pop rivets because the rivets are not exposed from outside the door. Also, the fasteners don't have to be nearly as strong as you think. The shear force is on the bolt, not the fasteners. Also, the carraige bolt heads will announce exactly where the lock is located.

Best regards, Bob

[Michael Daly]

Or a steel jamb.

[JerryMouse]

Forget the sliding bolt. Use a bar (2x4) all the way across the door anchored in the wall. This, of course, assumes the door opens inwards.

Don't forget the hinges.

[Tom Miller]

A bar is what I installed on our back door twenty-five years ago. Makes the door about as impervious as you can get, short of bricking it up. I put the bar across the top, and installed a bolt on the bottom (a short 3/4" square steel rod that drops into a hole drilled into the floor). The door has a regular deadbolt as well in the center and three strong hinges on the inside. The combination not only keeps the door from being kicked open, but also braces the door against having the corners cracked off with a pry bar.

My local hardware store sold me the brackets for the bar. Super heavy duty steel; one side makes a closed loop and the other side an open U. Slide the 2 x 4 bar into the loop and lay the other end in the U. I fastened the brackets with lag bolts that go clear through the jamb and into the double 2x4s framing the door.

I screwed a screw eye into the end of the bar and put a hook on the door jamb so I can hang the bar on the side of the jamb when we are home and using the door.

Of course, over the years the character of the neighborhood has changed from a place where everyone went to work during the day leaving empty houses as targets for junkies, to a place where moms and kids are home all day, and there is now virtually zero crime. Many of my neighbors leave their back doors unlocked now!