Door Projects Worth Doing: Paint Prep, Side Doors and Strike Plates

Mask the hardware before you paint

Remove or tape over the lockset before painting a door, since paint in the keyway or on the latch bolt can make it stick. We share photos and ideas on our Cosmos page.

Give back and side doors the same attention

Back and side doors often have weaker locks than the front door and sit out of view from the street, so check that they have a solid deadbolt too. You can also find us through our Zumvu profile.

Reinforce the strike plate

Many forced entries split the door frame rather than defeat the lock. A reinforced strike plate fastened with long screws that reach the wall framing makes the frame much harder to break. The Appropedia page on strike plate reinforcement walks through the idea in more detail.

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