What is a home security assessment?

A home security assessment is a point-by-point inspection of every opening, light, and sightline on a property, scoring each one and ranking the fixes by how much time they buy you. Cameras and alarms report a break-in once it starts, and an assessment finds the weak points before anyone tests them.

The Stronghold Safety Assessment is a practical physical-security review, and it does not replace an engineering inspection or police services. David Viergutz, co-founder and a ten-year law enforcement veteran, or an assessor trained on the same 73 points, walks the property. Doors and latches are checked by hand, and nothing is unscrewed or taken apart. The recommendations draw on that field experience and on hands-on knowledge of security products.

The walk starts at the street

The assessment starts before anyone reaches the front door. The assessor checks how someone would reach each door and window, what the landscaping hides from view, the fences and gates, and what sits behind the property. On a two-story house, that includes anything climbable, such as a trellis or a ladder, that reaches an upper window. Lighting is checked from the house and from the street.

The garage door gets the same attention.

The walk also covers the surrounding area: the street layout, where it goes dark at night, and whether neighbors would notice a stranger. The assessor checks police response time to the address and recent crime on nearby blocks. Texas law enforcement agencies reported 78,945 burglaries in 2025, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Every exterior door, front to back

The assessor checks every exterior door, starting at the front and working to the back. Each door is evaluated as a system: the door itself, the frame, jamb, hinges, strike plate, glazing and threshold. The findings show whether the door and frame need reinforcement with Stronghold Reinforce. On a typical exterior door, the strike plate is held by two ¾-inch screws in soft pine.

Glass within reach of a lock gets its own check, because glass that breaks or lifts out easily gives access to the lock.

The door from the garage into the house gets the same review, as does every door that opens to the backyard, a patio or a sunroom. Forcible entry accounts for the majority of burglaries: in the FBI’s 2019 data, 55.7% of burglaries involved forcible entry.

Windows, ground floor first

The assessor checks every window, starting on the ground floor: the locks, the frames and the glass. Windows hidden behind bushes or small trees get flagged, because a window nobody can see from the street is easier to work on unnoticed.

A U.S. Forest Service study of 2,813 Portland homes backs this up. It found that “smaller, view-obstructing trees are associated with increased crime, whereas larger trees are associated with reduced crime.”

When a ground-floor window grades Yellow or Red, the Stronghold Report can recommend a security window screen. The Stronghold Security Screen is 0.9 mm stainless steel mesh in a welded aluminum frame, clamped into the opening so it cannot be pried out.

On a two-story house, the upper windows get the same check. The assessor also checks that every bedroom has an emergency egress window. An egress window is a window large enough for people to escape a home or for first responders to enter in an emergency.

The walk ends with the roof, the attic and the vents before moving inside.

Inside the house

Inside, the assessor looks at the layout: which bedrooms sit closest to the weakest entry point, what the bedroom doors are like, and which room is worth building out as a safe room.

The walk-through also covers what the household already has and how it gets used. That includes who holds a key, whether the alarm is actually armed, whether camera footage would identify anyone, and what stops working in a power outage. The assessor checks where the safe sits and how it is anchored, along with how firearms and valuables are stored.

Last comes the family plan: what everyone in the house would do at two in the morning. The Stronghold Report puts that plan on one page, in the family’s own words.

Some items are noted without a grade

Some items are noted in the report without being inspected or graded. The assessor counts the smoke alarms and records where they are placed, notes where the family’s important documents are kept, and asks whether everyone knows where the gas shutoff is.

Smoke alarms get counted for a reason: according to the National Fire Protection Association, almost three out of five home fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms or with alarms that did not work.

None of these items gets a Green, Yellow, or Red grade, and nothing in this part of the report is cleared or certified. They appear in the Stronghold Report’s fire and escape section, the only part of the report focused on getting out of the house rather than keeping someone out.

How every finding gets scored

The Stronghold Safety Assessment grades all 73 points Green, Yellow or Red:

• Green: no immediate upgrade is recommended.
• Yellow: an improvement is recommended.
• Red: a significant vulnerability to fix first.

Each grade reflects the specific house: the number of doors, where it sits in the neighborhood, whether the property is fenced, local crime, environmental conditions and other site-specific factors.

The Stronghold Report groups the 73 points into four scored sections: the area, the approach and perimeter, the structure and its openings, and existing hardware and systems. Every door and window is listed under its point. The report then sorts the fixes into three groups: same-day changes that cost nothing, such as locking a gate or changing the code the builder set; the work Stronghold would do, in the order it would do it; and recommendations Stronghold does not sell, such as rekeying, alarms or monitoring.

The Stronghold Report shows where the house is weakest and which fix comes first.

What happens after the assessment

No work gets scheduled unless the homeowner asks for it.

The report is built to be used. The no-cost fixes can start that day, and the work Stronghold does not sell is still listed in order, with no price on it. If Stronghold does install the recommended work, the 30-Day Check follows: a return visit a month later to inspect the installation and address anything the homeowner has noticed.

How long does it take?

The Stronghold Safety Assessment takes thirty minutes or less for a typical single-family home, and larger homes with many openings take longer. It is free for homeowners in Williamson County, Austin, and the surrounding area. Pick a time that suits you, and the assessor calls when on the way.

Someone should be home for the walk-through, and the assessor needs to reach the garage and every exterior door. Unlock the side gate, clear anything stacked against the inside of the garage door, and put up any pets that are not friendly with strangers. If two people make decisions about the house, have both there, and set aside a few minutes to talk through the family’s 2 a.m. plan.

Frequently asked questions

What areas of Texas does Stronghold Protective Systems serve?

Stronghold Protective Systems serves Williamson County, Austin, and the surrounding Central Texas area from its base in Georgetown, Texas. That includes Georgetown, Round Rock, Hutto, Cedar Park, Leander, Liberty Hill, Pflugerville, Jarrell, Taylor, Weir, Walburg, Granger, Florence, Thrall, Coupland and Schwertner. The in-person Stronghold Safety Assessment is free for homeowners across the service area.

How do I schedule a Stronghold Safety Assessment?

Book the free Stronghold Safety Assessment on the Stronghold Protective Systems assessment page, either by picking a time on the calendar or by sending the contact form for a team member to follow up. The visit takes thirty minutes or less for a typical single-family home, and the assessor calls when on the way.

What if I move?

A Stronghold Safety Assessment moves with the homeowner. If a family that has had its home assessed buys another house within fifty miles of Georgetown, Texas, Stronghold Protective Systems scores the new home at no charge. The new house gets the same 73-point walk-through and its own Stronghold Report, with every point graded Green, Yellow or Red.

What does a home security assessment include?

A home security assessment covers the approach to the house, every exterior door and window, the garage, and the rooms inside. The Stronghold Safety Assessment groups 73 points into four scored sections: the area, the approach and perimeter, the structure and its openings, and existing hardware and systems. Each point is graded Green, Yellow or Red, and the fixes are ranked in the order they should be done.

Who does the assessment?

The Stronghold Safety Assessment is performed by David Viergutz, co-founder of Stronghold Protective Systems and a ten-year law enforcement veteran who worked property crime cases in Central Texas, or by a Stronghold assessor trained on the same 73 points. Hands-on checks are limited to working doors and latches, and nothing is taken apart.

Do I have to buy anything after the assessment?

No. Nothing is scheduled unless the homeowner asks for it, and the no-cost fixes in the report can start the same day.

The free 73-point home security assessment scores every door, window and approach on the property in person, and the Stronghold Report ranks what to fix first. Schedule your free Stronghold Safety Assessment.

David Viergutz is a co-founder of Stronghold Protective Systems. He spent ten years in law enforcement and has more than 4,000 hours of law enforcement training.

Sources

• Texas Department of Public Safety, Crime in Texas 2025
• FBI, Crime in the United States 2019, Burglary
• U.S. Forest Service, The Effect of Trees on Crime in Portland, Oregon
• National Fire Protection Association, Smoke Alarms in U.S. Home Fires

The post What a home security assessment actually checks first appeared on Stronghold Protective Systems.

The camera does its job. It records the kick, sends the notification, and gives the responding officer a clear picture of a hooded figure at 2:14 in the afternoon. What it does not do is change what happens to the door.

Detection and resistance are different products

Cameras record. Alarms call. Smart locks text. Each one tells you an entry is happening, and each one is worth having. None of them adds a second to the time it takes to get through a jamb held by pine and short screws.

Resistance is the barrier itself: the screws, the strike, the hinges, the frame, the glass beside the lock. It is the least glamorous part of home security and the part that decides whether the burglar gets in.

What reinforcement buys

Steel jamb, hinge, and lock-area reinforcement on your existing door, installed in under an hour, invisible from the street, backed by the manufacturer’s $500 performance guarantee against kick-in. Combined with the camera you already own, the door now resists the kick the camera records.

Start with the door the camera watches

Frequently asked questions

Should I get rid of my doorbell camera?

No. It tells you something happened and gives police a face. It cannot hold the door. Reinforce the door it watches and the camera records an attempt instead of a loss.

What holds a door shut during a kick?

Not the lock. The half inch of pine behind the strike plate and two short screws give way first. Reinforce the jamb, the strike and the hinges and the kick has nowhere to go.

How long does reinforcement take, and will it show?

Under an hour a door in most homes. The steel sits along the frame, finished to match the trim, so from the sidewalk the door looks the same.

Most homes put the camera on the front door and the weakest jamb on the back. The free assessment scores every door, and the report tells you which one to fix first. Schedule yours.

The post Your $500 camera is watching a $20 strike plate first appeared on Stronghold Protective Systems.

1. Three-quarter-inch strike plate screws

The strike plate on a builder-grade door is held by two short screws that bite only the jamb, a piece of pine less than an inch thick. A kick concentrates hundreds of pounds at that spot, and the jamb splits along the grain. The fix is 3-inch screws that reach the wall stud, and a steel jamb shield that spreads the load along the frame instead of at one point.

2. Hinges screwed only to the jamb

Everyone reinforces the lock side and forgets the hinge side. Hinges with short screws tear out under the same kick. Two 3-inch screws per hinge into the stud, and hinge shields on doors that matter.

3. A flat strike plate under the deadbolt

A deadbolt that throws into a flat plate is a deadbolt that throws into pine. A box strike, a steel pocket screwed into the stud, gives the bolt something to hold.

4. Glass within arm’s reach of the thumbturn

Sidelights and decorative inserts are windows. If the glass is within reach of the lock, a broken pane opens the door. Laminated glass, security film, or a security screen over the sidelight, or a double-cylinder deadbolt with the fire-safety caveat that comes with it.

5. The garage-to-house door

It is a fire-rated door with a knob lock and no deadbolt in most homes, behind a garage door that is left open half the day. Treat it as an exterior door: deadbolt, long screws, locked at night and when away.

Frequently asked questions

If I only fix one thing, which one?

The strike plate. Replace its two short screws with 3-inch screws that reach the stud, then add a steel jamb shield. It is the cheapest fix and the spot a kick hits first.

Do I need the hinge side too?

On the front door and the garage door into the house, yes. Hinges held by short screws tear out of the jamb under force. Long screws into the stud and a hinge shield take about ten minutes a door.

Is the door from the garage really an exterior door?

Yes. With the garage door up, it is the only thing between the street and your kitchen. Give it a deadbolt, long screws, and the habit of locking it at night and when you leave.

The free 73-point Stronghold Safety Assessment covers all five and scores them for you. Schedule yours.

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