Did you know that 76% of burglars enter through the door? While 33% force their way in, a surprising 15% find the door wide open.
Don’t let a break-in turn your business dreams into a nightmare. Securing your commercial property starts with the right defense at the front line: your security doors. ️
This blog post will equip you with the knowledge to choose the perfect commercial security door. We’ll break down everything you need to know, from assessing your security needs to selecting the ideal material and features.
This blog is for you if you want to secure your business with the right type of commercial security door! We’ll guide you on how to assess your valuables and threats effectively.
Choose low, medium, or high security based on risk. Pick the right door type (steel, solid core, etc.) & strengthen it with hardware. Consider extras like video surveillance & access control!
So let’s dig in.
What is a Commercial Security Door?
A commercial security door is a heavy-duty door. It is made to guard businesses from unauthorized entry, theft, vandalism, and even fire.
These doors are constructed using sturdy materials like steel or reinforced aluminum, which provide them with superior resistance to forced entry when compared to standard doors.
The most common locations where commercial security doors are found are the main entrances of buildings, the back entrances and loading docks, server rooms and data centers, and high-value inventory areas, such as those in retail stores and jewelry stores.
You can also find them in places that require fire protection, like exits and stairwells.
How to choose the right commercial security door?
Commercial security doors are essential for keeping criminals and loiterers outside your premises; they mark your territory!
Once you’ve secured your perimeter with the right type of commercial property alarms, it’s time to choose the perfect commercial door: strong, durable, and secure.
Here we have highlighted a few factors you must keep in mind…
Step #1: Assess Your Security Needs.
Now the first step is to assess what you are protecting. Where do you need commercial security doors on your property?
Whether you manage an auto dealership, warehouse, condo, or storage unit, assessing the value and type of assets on your premises is crucial for determining the ideal security door. Prioritizing auto dealership security will help safeguard your vehicles and facilities effectively.
You should then be thinking of the likelihood of different threats such as break-in attempts, forced entry, vandalism, or even natural disasters like fire or floods.
Here are some industry-specific examples:
- Construction Site Security: Common threats include theft of tools and equipment, vandalism, and trespassing.
- Auto Dealership Security: Protect against break-in attempts, theft of vehicles and parts, and vandalism.
- Cannabis Dispensary Security: Cash and cannabis products are particularly attractive targets for theft.
Step #2: Security Level Options.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Doors come in various security levels, often indicated by ratings from independent organizations. Here’s a general guideline:
Low Security doors:
Suitable for low-risk areas like back entrances or storage rooms with minimal valuables. These doors typically use standard steel or wood construction with basic deadbolt locks.
- Example: A hollow metal door with a single deadbolt lock might be sufficient for a back entrance to a small office building with minimal inventory.
Medium Security doors:
Ideal for areas with moderate valuables like office spaces or retail stores with point-of-sale systems, these doors enhance retail security. They might be reinforced steel with multi-point locking mechanisms and include basic alarm systems.
- Example: A 14-gauge steel door with a three-point locking system and a deadbolt, along with a door closer and an alarm system that triggers upon forced entry, could be appropriate for a retail store with a cash register and merchandise on display.
High Security doors:
Recommended for high-risk areas with significant valuables like jewelry stores, data centers, or server rooms.
These doors use heavy-duty steel construction, advanced locking systems with access control features (key cards, biometric scanners), and may be bullet-resistant.
- Example: A solid steel door with a UL rating for burglary resistance, a multi-point locking system with electronic access control (key cards), and bullet-resistant glazing would be ideal for a high-end jewelry store.
We have a quick summary of the types of commercial doors and where you can use them:
| Security Level of commercial security doors | Why choose it | Where to use |
|---|---|---|
Low | Suitable for low-risk areas with minimal valuables. Typically uses standard construction and basic deadbolts. | Back entrances of small offices with minimal inventory, Storage rooms with minimal valuables, Break rooms. |
Medium | Ideal for areas with moderate valuables. May have reinforced steel, multi-point locking, and basic alarms. | Retail stores with point-of-sale systems, Office spaces with sensitive information, Schools (classrooms, administrative areas), Restaurants. |
High | Recommended for high-risk areas with significant valuables. Uses heavy-duty steel, advanced locking systems (key cards, biometric scanners), and may be bullet-resistant. | Jewelry stores, Data centers, Server rooms, Cannabis dispensaries, Gun stores, Financial institutions (banks). |
Step #3: Choose the type of commercial door.
- Hollow metal door.
- Solid core door.
- Bullet-resistant commercial door.
- Wooden commercial security door.
Many kinds of commercial security doors, serving many different purposes, exist today.
Among the types we’ve talked about here, you’ve got the hollow metal door, which is the most common of all commercial security doors.
Hollow metal door:
Hollow metal commercial security doors are made out of sheet steel with an open space (hollow) in the middle, which is often filled with some sort of insulation.
These are also fire rated which means they can control the spread of fire and smoke for up to 3 hours!
Solid core doors:
Then you’ve got the solid core doors. These doors are essentially made the same way as hollow metal doors, though they lack the hollow part and thus have a solid steel core.
These doors use steel sheets (typically 18-gauge) on both sides making them super strong and a little heavy.
Vertical steel bars (usually 20-gauge) are welded at intervals throughout the core, creating rigidity and resistance to impact and forced entry.
These doors are ideal for storage areas, building exits, stairwells, and office spaces, particularly if you need sound-dampening and fire resistance.
The space between the steel facings and stiffeners is often filled with insulation materials like thermal fiber.
Bullet-resistant commercial doors:
Bulletproof doors are suitable for industries with high-risk inventory, such as cannabis, car dealerships or jewelry stores.
These are available in both wood and steel with fiberglass armoring with chipboard that makes them super bulletproof!
Wooden commercial security door:
While steel commercial doors provide excellent security, it’s not practical to have steel doors throughout your entire property, especially in large shopping malls, offices, schools, or condos.
Therefore, you’ll need to consider more affordable, aesthetic, and secure alternatives.
First you want to look into the different wooden commercial door options for your property. We suggest hardwoods like oak or mahogany because they offer strength and resistance to damage.
Choose thicker doors (generally 1 ¾” or more) for a more substantial barrier against forced entry.
Solid core doors provide significantly more strength and impact resistance compared to hollow core doors. For high-security needs, prioritize solid core construction.
We will discuss later in the blog how you can strengthen doors with metal reinforcements around the lock strike plates and along the doorjamb for added strength!
Step #4: Strengthen your commercial door.
- Fortify the door edges.
- Reinforce the door frame.
- Secure the door hinges.
- Multipoint lock doors.
- Install commercial door with right locks.
- Strengthen your commercial door with security hardware.
- Video Surveillance: Enhanced Situational Awareness.
Fortify the Door Edges.
Installing a door reinforcement kit is a cost-effective and practical way to increase security by making it much harder for someone to break in through the doors.
You can install the reinforcement plates on the door around the deadbolt and strike plate, as well as on the jamb side, for added reinforcement.
Only the bottom two hinges need reinforcement plates since reaching the top hinge to kick in a door is difficult.
Reinforce the Door Frame.
David from skilss4life shows a superb method to solidify the door edges of a commercial door. He suggests that while deadbolts can enhance security, the included strike plate (the metal plate into which the deadbolt latch fits) presents a weak point.
The strike plate is often secured with a short screw (around 3/4 inch) that goes only into the doorjamb (the frame surrounding the door). This short screw can be easily kicked in, rendering the deadbolt useless.
He says to replace the short screws with longer ones (around 3 inches). These longer screws will go through the doorjamb and grip the studs (vertical support beams) on the other side, providing a much stronger hold!
Secure the Hinges.
Dan Roach from Kings security doors suggests commercial security doors with steel fixing frames. Because the door is bolted onto the steel frame and not on the bricks or timber of the building.
The steel frame also has secure strong hinges capable of holding up to 30 kilos of steel door! Another big advantage is that it has a steel cover strip that covers the gap between the lock and the fixing frame. It protects any burglar from putting the bar in and forcing it open!
Multipoint lock doors.
Jeff Lutey, the window and door expert, explains the benefits of multi-point door locking systems. He says, unlike traditional doors with a single lock point (usually a deadbolt), a multi-point locking system has 4 or 5 locking points along the door frame.
These additional points are connected by rods or levers that extend from the main lock mechanism.
Install your commercial door with the right type of lock.
- Keyless Entry: How about adding convenience and security by allowing entry without traditional keys! By installing a RFID reader or smart lock system you can reduce the risk of lost or stolen keys.
- Electric Strike: Install within the door frame to work with existing latch bolts. For remote control access and enhanced security, this option is ideal for high-traffic commercial areas.
- Magnetic Locks: Provide strong, reliable security with no moving parts, suitable for high-security applications. Install by mounting the magnet to the door frame and the armature plate to the door.
- Mortise Locks: Known for their durability and strength, making them ideal for securing commercial doors. Install by embedding the lock body into a mortise cutout in the door.
Strengthen your commercial door with security hardware.
North America’s top commercial door manufacturers advise regularly checking hinges, locks, handles, springs, and other hardware and moving parts to maintain the doors’ longevity.
Also adding the following security hardware strengthens the commercial doors and secures your commercial property.
Latch Guard:
A Latch Guard is a metal plate that gets mounted on the outside of your door to cover and protect the latch mechanism.
This makes it harder for someone to break in by tampering with the latch, like using a credit card to pry it open.
The Ultra Dog Door Security Bar:
While seemingly similar to a home door brace, it’s designed for heavy-duty, commercial purposes. It has a high weight capacity (up to 10,000 pounds) and deters break-ins.
Video Surveillance: Enhanced Situational Awareness.
The integration of CCTV security cameras within the system further strengthens security.
These cameras provide real-time visibility into activity inside and outside the building, allowing security personnel to monitor critical access points, detect suspicious activity, and respond swiftly to incidents.
Additionally, the ability to analyze recorded footage facilitates post-incident investigation and proactive security measures.
Step #5: Remote video monitoring.
Remote video monitoring plays a crucial role in strengthening security for commercial doors by extending the reach of physical security measures
As soon as the AI security camera detects a security breach, security teams can remotely access live video feeds and react faster to potential breaches or forced entry attempts at the door, minimizing damage and potential loss.
Visible security cameras can deter potential criminals from targeting the door in the first place. Additionally, recorded footage provides valuable evidence for investigations after an incident.
Access Control Systems:
Commercial access control systems elevate security by granting or denying entry based on pre-authorized credentials. Users present a card or code at a RFID reader, which verifies their identity against a secure database.
This streamlines access for authorized personnel (e.g., employees, tenants) while effectively restricting unauthorized individuals.
Additionally, access control systems log entry attempts, providing valuable insights into building activity and potential security breaches. This enables security teams to proactively address security concerns.
Intrusion Detection Systems: Immediate Alerts:
Equipping commercial security doors with intrusion detection systems bolsters security at the entry point.
Sensors can detect attempts to bypass the lock system or force entry, triggering an audible alarm or sending an automated notification to security personnel.
This immediate notification enables a timely response to potential security breaches.
Expert tips when choosing commercial door security for your property.
- You need to evaluate the financial risk of a security breach against the cost of a high-security door. For instance, if you own a jewelry store with a million-dollar inventory, prioritizing high-security doors is essential, despite the higher cost.
- High-traffic areas might benefit from automatic doors or access control systems for efficient entry and exit while maintaining security.
- Commercial security doors are typically sized to fit standard commercial door frames, which are usually wider and taller than residential doorways. However, custom sizes can be made for specific applications.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How do I choose a security door for commercial door security?
For top security, choose steel security doors. They’re the toughest against break-ins, ideal for protecting valuables. If you value aesthetics too, consider solid core wood doors – they offer a good balance of security and style. No matter your choice, consult a security professional for the perfect fit!
How do you choose the right commercial door for optimal security?
Steel doors are the best choice for high-risk areas, providing top-notch protection. For a blend of commercial door security and aesthetics, consider solid core wood doors. Also, think about the door’s functionality: automatic doors are ideal for high-traffic areas, while fire-rated doors enhance safety precautions.
Key takeaways:
We have given you all the steps that will help you choose the Right Commercial Security Door.
- Assess Your Security Needs: Evaluate what you need to protect and where security doors are necessary based on potential threats and asset value.
- Choose Security Levels: Select from low, medium, or high-security doors based on the risk level of each area.
- Select Door Type: Decide between hollow metal, solid core, bullet-resistant, or wooden doors depending on durability and aesthetic preferences.
- Enhance Security Features: Reinforce door edges, frames, and hinges. Install multi-point locks and consider advanced locking systems.
- Implement Additional Measures: Integrate video surveillance, access control systems, and intrusion detection for comprehensive security.
Don’t wait ! Contact us for professional advice on live remote video monitoring all over North America for your commercial building security!
Choose the perfect commercial security door today to protect your assets and achieve peace of mind.
