Which door is harder to break through - a solid core, wooden door, or a metal door, similar to those on an apartment?
Consumer Reports stated back in the 90's that a wooden door withstood more force then a wood edged metal door so if you go for metal look for a metal edged metal door. Door frame and jamb reinforcement plates will probably help with all the various types of doors as will properly securing the strikes to the jambs. If the door opens outwards, pin the hinge or install security hinges so that the door can't be removed from the hinges while closed. Make sure that the locks do not have any master pinning leftover from the builder's master keying scheme and have the anti-pick security pins. Kwikset six pin locks come with three anti-pick security spool pins in each lock but I only found one in the front door of the six locks of my house when I repinned, I also found that half the locks were missing one pin altogether and all of them had the protecto balls and master pins for builder's keys. Even though the protecto balls meant that the builder's master would've been disabled as soon as the homeowner's keys were used in the lock, the lock would still have the master pins and therefore a saavy construction worker could file a keyblank based on his disabled builder's key to make a master key that would still work. Going through the locks or having a locksmith that you trust go through them is vital to security. Glass sidelites and windows near doors should be reinforced with security film against breakage. Indded, this is a good idea for all windows especially if you are in an area subject to severe storms. The local police will also do a security survey if requested and give you some recommendations to improve your security.
I have a metal door with a glass inline for over 4 years and haven't had any problems. Wooden door's can lead to all sorts of problems in the long run.
solid core wooden doors can be kicked in easily go with the metal - no lites (that means windows) just a peep hole - key only dead bolt and don't leave the key on the inside side of the lock - a newspaper under the jamb and a pick can retrieve that key double lock - that deadbolt and locking knob don't forget to feed the rottie - he is better protection yet
My thought is if you had either of the solid core doors, someone trying to break would not go through the door itself but would break the doorjamb or some other methods. So, any extra security attention should be given to the striker plate and locks system for the door. Make sure that screws for the striker plae are long enough to go all the way to the studs, 2 inches or longer. If you kicked in the door it usually fails at the striker plate....
