Doorways are the main access points to a facility or to rooms within a building. They are used on the exterior or in the interior of buildings to provide privacy and security for the areas behind them. Different types of doorway security systems may be installed in different doorways depending on the needs or requirements of the buildings or rooms. For example, exterior doorways tend to have heavier doors to withstand the elements and to provide some security to the entrance of the building. Interior doorways in office areas may have lighter doors that may be primarily designed to provide privacy rather than security. Therefore, these doors may be made of glass or lightweight wood. Doorways in industrial areas may have sturdier doors than do other interior doorways and may be designed to provide protection or security for areas behind the doorway. For example, fireproof doors may be installed in chemical storage areas or in other areas where there is a danger of fire.

Because they are the main entries into a facility or a room, doorways are often prime targets for unauthorized entry into a facility or an asset. Therefore, securing doorways may be a major step in providing security at a facility. This Product Guide provides information on several areas that can help upgrade security for a doorway.

A doorway includes four main components:

Each of these components is integral in providing security for a doorway, and upgrading the security of only one of these components while leaving the other components unprotected may not increase the overall security of the doorway. For example, many facilities upgrade door locks as a basic step in increasing the security of a facility. However, if the facilities do not also focus on increasing security for the door hinges or the door frame, the door may remain vulnerable to being removed from its frame, thereby defeating the increased security of the door lock.

Security for doors, door frames, and hinges are discussed below. Locks are discussed in the Locks Product Guide.

The door provides physical protection for the asset located behind it, and its main security aspects are its strength and resistance to physical damage from various forces, including physical instruments, fire, or explosion. "Security doors" is a generic term that usually refers to a door that is reinforced in some way to prevent damage to the door. Many security doors are manufactured from some type of metal (mainly steel) or wood with a steel frame or core. Security doors may be specialized to withstand fire, explosions, bullets, other projectiles, fragmentation, etc.

Doors may also have windows in them to allow people to see to the other side of the door. These windows are referred to as "glazing." Glazing on security doors may also have its own security features, such as bullet-, blast-, fire-, or shatter-resistance.

The door frame is the structure which integrates all of the other pieces of the doorway together. The door is hung from the door frame using hinges. The door frame anchors the doorway to the wall, and also provides a physical structure for the lock to connect the door to the wall. Door frames are typically anchored to a wall by screwing them into the wall; by casting them into the masonry as it is being erected or poured; by building them into stud partitions; or by welding them to a wall (if the wall is metal or if masonry is end-capped with steel channels or similar structures). Frames screwed into a wall are potentially the least secure of these frame types because the screws may be able to be removed, allowing removal of the frame.

Door hinges are used to secure any door to its door frame. A typical hinge includes two steel plates held together by a hinge pin. One plate is mounted to the door, and the other is mounted to the door frame. Steel screws are typically used to mount the plate to the door and the door frame. In general, the longer the screws, the more difficult it will be to remove the hinges, and therefore the door will be more secure. Hinges can be attached using wood screws, although machine screws are considered more secure.

As described above, the primary attribute for the security of a door is its strength. Many security doors are 14-20 gauge hollow metal doors consisting of steel plates over a hollow cavity reinforced with steel stiffeners to give the door extra stiffness and rigidity. This increases resistance to blunt force used to try to penetrate through the door. The space between the stiffeners may be filled with specialized materials to provide fire-, blast-, or bullet resistance to the door.

The Windows and Doors Manufacturers Association has developed a series of performance attributes for doors. These include:

The first five bullets provide information on a door's resistance to standard physical breaking and prying attacks. These tests are used to evaluate the strength of the door and the resistance of the hinges and the frame in a standardized way. For example, the Rack Load Test simulates a prying attack on a corner of the door. A test panel is restrained at one end, and a third corner is supported. Loads are applied and measured at the fourth corner. The Door Impact Test simulates a battering attack on a door and frame using impacts of 200 foot pounds by a steel pendulum. The door must remain fully operable after the test. It should be noted that door glazing is also rated for resistance to shattering, etc. Manufacturers will be able to provide security ratings for these features of a door as well.

Door frames are an integral part of doorway security because they anchor the door to the wall. Door frames are typically constructed from wood or steel, and they are installed such that they extend for several inches over the doorway that has been cut into the wall. For added security, frames can be designed to have varying degrees of overlap with, or wrapping over, the underlying wall. This can make prying the frame from the wall more difficult. A frame formed from a continuous piece of metal (as opposed to a frame constructed from individual metal pieces) will prevent prying between pieces of the frame.

Many security doors can be retrofit into existing frames; however, many security door installations including replacing the door frame as well as the door itself. For example, bullet-resistance per Underwriter's Laboratory (UL) 752 requires resistance of the door and frame assembly, and thus replacing the door only would not meet UL 752 requirements.

Some doors/door systems are also designed for resistance to other types of physical attacks, such as fire, explosion, or bullets. Doors designed to resist these types of incidents are discussed in more detail below.

Fire resistant and fire proof doors are specially manufactured to resistant burning and/or to reduce the temperature increase on the side of the door away from the fire. Resistance to burning is usually given as the number of minutes that it would take a door to burn under standard conditions (for example, a 20-minute fire door would take 20 minutes to burn, while a 90-minute fire door would take 90 minutes to burn). These ratings include evaluation of the fire resistance of the door, the door frame, and the hardware. Evaluations of temperature increases on the side of the door away from the fire are indicated as "temperature rise" ratings. The temperature rise rating indicates a maximum temperature rise, above ambient, developed on the unexposed face of the door at the 30 minute point of a Standard Fire Test. Thus, a door rated for a 250 degree temperature rise would only allow the temperature to rise 250 degrees on the other side of the door after 30 minutes, whereas a 450 degree temperature rise door would allow the temperature to rise 450 degrees.

There are a number of different associations and organizations that provide fire ratings, including the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the Underwriters Laboratory (UL), and Intertek Testing Services - Warnock Hersey. The current standards for fire rating require testing under positive pressure; previous fire door ratings may be quoted under positive and/or negative pressure. Individual tests that may be performed or cited by manufacturers include ASTM E152 (Methods of Fire Tests of Door Assemblies), ASTM E-2074 (Standard Methods of Fire Tests of Door Assemblies, Including Positive Pressure Testing of Side-Hinged and Pivoted Swinging Door Assemblies), NFPA-80 (Fire Doors and Windows), NFPA 252 (Standard Methods of Fire Tests of Door Assemblies), and UL 10B (Fire Tests of Door Assemblies), Intertek Testing Services - Warnock Hersey (Fire Tests of Door Assemblies). It should be noted that most of these standards (for example, ASTM E-2074) do not provide information regarding the reduction of smoke or toxic gases provided by these doors. However, other standards (for example, ASTM Test Method E 84, which examines flame spread and smoke development) may provide information about these other factors.

Blast-resistant doors are typically constructed of two metal plates enclosing a hollow cavity. The cavity typically contains an interior structure, such as reinforced steel ribbing or a steel frame. The void space may be filled with fire-resistant material or insulation to provide fire protection as well as blast protection. Typically, these doors are installed as an entire doorway and include a reinforced steel frame, blast resistant hinges, and blast resistant latching hardware.

In general, the doors are rated depending on the strength of the blast they are designed to withstand, as expressed in pounds per square inch (psi) and/or pounds per square foot (psf). As a general rule, the thicker and heavier the door, the higher the blast rating. However, as described above for fire-proofing, newer construction materials are reducing the need to merely make the door thicker to meet the blast-proofing requirements. Standard tests conducted by manufacturers to evaluate blast resistance of their products include meeting the requirements of Uniform Building Codes (UBCs), Institute of Building Control Officers (IBCO) standards, and ASTM E330-97e1 (Standard Test Method for Structural Performance of Doors by Uniform Static Air Pressure Difference). Testing for the blast doors also includes ensuring that the frame and the door hardware survive the blast.

Many manufacturers offer blast doors that can be retrofit into existing frames (including existing wooden frames). However, in many cases, the entire door system (door, frame, and hardware) must be purchased in order for the blast rating and the warranty to be valid.

In contrast to blast proof doors, which are designed to withstand positive pressure over the entire door and at the hinges, bullet resistant doors are designed to absorb the impact of a bullet, which directs its impact force over a small area of the door. These doors are similar to blast-proof doors in that they contain a hollow inner cavity under an outer shell that can be constructed of heavy duty steel plates, or a solid wooden frame. In many of these doors, the hollow cavity contains a impact-disseminating material, such as fiberglass, polyurethane fiber, or mylar, which helps maintain the integrity of the door when it is struck by a bullet. Other doors have strengthening steel framework similar to the blast resistant doors. Standard tests conducted by manufacturers to evaluate bullet resistance of their products include meeting the requirements of UL 752 weapons criteria. UL 752 rates doors according to their ability to withstand bullets from different weapons - from handguns to rifles and high-powered weapons. Lower ratings offer resistance to lower-powered bullets. Ratings 1 to 3 cover traditional handguns (for example, a rating of 1 is resistant to a bullet from a .38 caliber handgun while a rating of 3 offers resistance to a bullet from a .44 Magnum revolver). Ratings of 4 and above cover high-powered weapons.

As with blast-proof doors, many manufacturers offer bullet resistant doors that can be retrofit into existing frames (including existing wooden frames). However, in many cases, the entire door system (door, frame, and hardware) must be purchased in order for the bullet rating and the warranty to be valid.

Two major features to consider for adequately secured hinges are their size and their construction material. Larger hinges provide more mass that must be bent or removed before an intruder can force off a hinge. In addition, depending on the construction material, larger hinges may be stronger than smaller hinges and thus will provide more resistance to tampering. A hinge's construction material is also important for strength. The three most commonly used materials for hinges are brass, chrome, and steel. Steel is the strongest of these three materials, and thus it may be most appropriate for security applications.

Other important features of security of hinges include the following:

There are a number of specialized hinges types and hinge modifications that offer added security to the hinge, including non-removable pins, safety studs, and fast riveted pins. A non-removable pin has a "set screw" which is screwed through the hinge pin, preventing the pin from being pulled up vertically from the hinge. The set screw is accessible and can be removed when the door is open, but when the door is closed, it is inaccessible. A safety stud is a projection or stud that is molded onto one face of the hinge. When the door is closed, the stud fits into a cavity in the other hinge face. The connection of the studs when the door is closed will hold the door in place even if the hinges are removed. Finally, fast riveted, or crimped, pins, are made longer than the hinge, and then "spun" at the ends to flatten them such that they are wider than the pin hole and they cannot be removed unless the pin is cut.

The cost of a security door is dependent on a number of factors, including the type of door, the size of the door, and its design specifications, among other things. This section provides some general costs for different types of security doors. It should be noted that costs for any actual application could be substantially different from the general cost information presented in this document depending on numerous site-specific variables, including the actual vendor chosen to supply the doors and hardware, local building requirements, the threat scenarios for which the door is designed, the hardware (hinges and locks) required to meet the design threat, and any site preparations necessary to install the door system.

Standard "security doors" are designed for strength and resistance vs. structural damage, such as from battering or prying. For example, Maximum Security Products Corporation's Maximum Protection Hollow Steel Door (including the frame), which is constructed from 10 gauge steel face plates with 3/16-inch internal stiffeners and is UL fire-rated, sells for approximately $1,600. A 14 gauge, 2-inch thick hollow metal door from Warren Doors is priced at approximately $1,400 for the door, but adding the door frame and appropriate hardware brings the cost closer to $2,000. The Ceco Door Products RestrictDor? Security Door, a 14 gauge, 2-inch thick hollow metal door, is similarly priced at $1,350-$1,500 for the door and frame.

Standard hollow metal doors can be easily designed with fire resistant cores instead of standard cores, and thus the price of fire-rated hollow metal doors may not be significantly higher than the cost of non fire-rated hollow metal doors. For example, purchasing a fire-rated hollow metal door from Warren Doors may only increase the cost by approximately $40 relative to a non fire-rated door.

In contrast to the relatively minor increase in cost in purchasing a fire-rated hollow metal door, blast-or bulletproof doors may be significantly more expensive. First, the cores of blast and bulletproof hollow metal doors are specially designed to withstand these types of stresses. Second, the door frame, hardware, hinges, and lock must all be rated for withstanding the stress as well, and upgrading these components will increase costs.

While the specific costs will depend on the specific stresses that the door is designed to withstand, purchasers can expect to spend between $1,500 and $10,000 per door for bullet and blast-resistant doors. For example, the Ceco Door Products ArmorShield Level 3 Door and Frame System (rated for UL 752 Level 3, designed to withstand a bullet from a .44 Magnum revolver), which is comprised of a 1 ?-inch thick 16 gauge steel door with a stiffened steel core and a 14 gauge frame, costs approximately $1,500. This does not include hinges or other hardware, which will be additional costs (for example, the required hinges will cost approximately $200). Similar Level 3 rated doors from Ambico Limited and Krieger Products would cost approximately $1,800. Doors that provide Level 4 resistance and higher (resistance to rifles and higher-powered weapons) cost significantly more than doors rated at Levels 1 to 3.

A door rated for a small explosion (for example, a force of 100 psf) would be in the $2,000 or more, while a door rated for a blast of 5 psi would be closer to $4-$5,000. For example, Krieger Specialty Products, Inc., markets a 1 3/4-inch thick door able to withstand a blast of 100 psf for approximately $2,000. Specialty Doors, Inc.'s BR-07 door is a 1 3/4-inch hollow metal blast door designed to withstand a blast pressure of 150 psf. This door costs approximately $5,000. The BR-20 model, which is 2 3/4 inches thick and is designed to withstand a blast of 6 psi, is approximately $8,000. A Krieger door designed to withstand a 5 psi blast would be in the $4-$5,000 range. Doors rated for larger blasts would be in the $6,000 or higher range.

The costs for installing security doors can be substantial, particularly for doors where the entire doorway (frame, door, hinges, and other hardware) must be replaced. However, these doors can typically be installed by a facility's maintenance crew, if they are familiar with installing frames and doors.

Costs for door hinge protection systems can vary greatly depending on the level of complexity. Hinge costs depend on the type of hinge purchased, the material, and the finish. The major differential in cost is the style. For instance, hinges with an exposed pin and no extra features cost approximately $9 to $15. A hinge with a concealed ball bearing will cost from $20 to $25. A hinge with a concealed ball bearing and concealed hinge pin will cost approximately $140-$150.

Security hinges can be installed by any facility maintenance crew. Manufacturer installation is not necessary.