Here are two tips to take note of if you've purchased some external security doors for your house.

Put warning stickers on the adjacent windows that indicate that you have security doors

It's worth ordering some warning stickers for the windows that are adjacent to the new external doors that state that you have security doors fitted on your property. Putting these types of stickers on the doors themselves might not be a good idea, as the stickers might damage the paintwork and might affect the aesthetics of the doors (which matters, as the external doors will be the first thing visitors see when they come to your home).

However, putting these stickers on the adjacent windows should deter criminals who might approach your home disguised as delivery people or other service providers, in an effort to evaluate its vulnerabilities and work out how to break in. If they see these stickers on the windows by the doors, this is likely to make them immediately retreat and forgo any previous plans they had to burglarise your property.

This is an important point. Any attempts to break through one of your new external doors could still damage your property's external entryway area or cause superficial damage to the door itself, especially since your security doors will hold up to excessive force. However, they might, for example, scrape off some of the door paint whilst trying to use a tool to open it or shatter some plant pots or other decorative items you keep in this area in their hurried attempt to get in. By using window stickers that alert them to the type of external doors your home has, you can prevent this.

Make sure the windows near the doors are visibly secured

It's also important to ensure that the adjacent windows near these doors are visibly secured; this might mean adding larger, sturdier locks to the handles on the casement or vent windows. Doing this is important, as if an intruder sees the sticker on the window that alerts them to the fact that the door they were planning to break through is a security door, they'll probably immediately abandon any plans to break in through that door. However, they may then turn their attention to these nearby windows again, to see if they could serve as entryways to the house. If they see that these windows have large locks that would be hard to pick, this sight, in combination with the knowledge that the doors are security ones, should be enough to make them retreat.