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A door security buying guide for the door you have

Updated: October 2026

You already have a door and a lock, and you want a second device for the hours you are inside. A door security buying guide sorts that purchase: brace a push, limit the opening so you can see a caller, clamp two handles, stop a sash, throw an inside bolt, or make a noise. Prices and the table sit on the [door security comparison](/hub/door-and-window-security/door-security). This page is the decision: which type fits this door, this floor, and whether you may drill. Peter F. checked the amazon.co.uk listings and public UK sources in October 2026. There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You already have a door and a lock, and you want a second device for the hours you are inside.

Our top picks

AceMining AceMining door security bar, white

Best overall

AceMining AceMining door security bar, white
9.2/10about £23.99
View offer
Sandiyago Sandiyago sash jammer, pack of 4

Best value

Sandiyago Sandiyago sash jammer, pack of 4
9.0/10about £8.99
View offer
DoorJammer DoorJammer DJ3 portable door brace

Rank 3

DoorJammer DoorJammer DJ3 portable door brace
8.8/10about £22.72
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Start with the job, not the gadget
  2. 2.Direction, floor, and the gap under the door
  3. 3.Screws, renting, and getting out
  4. 4.The main lock still has to be done

Start with the job, not the gadget

Name the hour you are covering. A floor bar braces the door only while you are in, then you take it away. An under-door plate does not need a handle. A swing bar screws on and lets the door open a crack. A clamp holds two horizontal handles. Sash jammers and concealed bolts need a door you can drill. An alarm wedge only makes a noise, and the 9-volt battery is not in the box. A London bar or a Birmingham bar is fixed frame steel, not a marketplace pole. One named pick per job is the best door security device page. A brace from 11 pm until morning is a floor bar or an under-door jammer.

Direction, floor, and the gap under the door

Floor bars and DoorJammer are for inswinging doors. An outward-opening door needs the main lock and hinge security, not a pole on the hall floor. Nidirect puts hinge bolts on outward doors because the knuckles are outside. Sliding doors need something in the track. The rubber foot has to meet the floor across its face. A loose rug lets it walk, and reviewers report slip on tile. AceMining reviews still flag flex once the bar is extended, so a longer setting is a weaker setting. DoorJammer asks for at least 3 mm under the door. The manufacturer says most uPVC doors do not have that gap.
AceMining AceMining door security bar, white

Testsieger

AceMining AceMining door security bar, white
9.2/10about £23.99
View offer

Screws, renting, and getting out

No-drill devices are the honest kit when you rent or travel: a floor bar, DoorJammer, a portable latch, an alarm wedge and a handle clamp. Screws or a mortice are for a door you own. Yale PM444 needs a drill and a chisel on wood. Nidirect's figure for a mortice is a door at least 44 mm thick. Metal is not the fit Yale states. You must lift a bar, or find a bolt key, immediately. London Fire Brigade guidance is that escape doors open from the inside without a key. Yale's bolts are keyed only from inside, which fails if that door is the way out and the key is in a drawer. A swing bar can break if you open the door while the guard is engaged, so practise the thumb-turn first.

The main lock still has to be done

None of these replaces a BS 3621 lock on timber, a multipoint and a TS 007 cylinder on uPVC, or a PAS 24 doorset. Allianz's house-lock guide talks about the lock, not an add-on. Approved Document Q is for new dwellings in England. DoorJammer is on Secured by Design as a secondary device tested to relevant PAS 24 clauses. That listing does not certify your door. Sash jammers and a handle clamp sit beside a lock that already throws. Call a locksmith if the frame moves, the multipoint fails, or the door is a fire door or a flat entrance.

Common questions

Which device is sensible for an inward door at night?
A floor bar or a DoorJammer, if the door opens towards you and you will remove it when you leave. The white AceMining bar is the most-reviewed floor brace in this set, at about £23.99 with 4.6 from 12,833 reviews. DoorJammer does not need a handle, provided the gap is at least 3 mm and the floor is flat enough for the plate.
What should I buy if the door opens outward?
The main lock and hinge security, not a floor brace. A pole on the inside cannot stop a door that swings away from the room. If you can drill timber you own, hinge bolts are the Nidirect point, and a locksmith should judge the door thickness before you mortice anything.
Does any add-on here meet home-insurance lock wording?
Treat that as no unless your schedule names the device. The insurer sources used here talk about BS 3621 on timber or the multipoint and cylinder on uPVC. A bar, a swing bar or a sash jammer is an extra for the hours you choose. It is not the lock you rely on when the house is empty.
Can I use a portable bar on a sliding patio door?
AceMining, DHSWNNG, Amazon Basics with the head removed, and LuLobtg say sliding in the listing or the reviews. LuLobtg's UK reviews mostly describe holding a door open against a breeze. Match the track on the patio door security lock page rather than assuming a hall set-up transfers.
How do I know a jammer will fit uPVC?
Look for a clear 3 mm on a flat floor, with no weather strip in the way. DoorJammer's FAQ says most uPVC doors do not have that gap. If the plate will not pass under, leave the door to its multipoint lock or choose another type. Forcing the screw will not create the clearance.
When is a four-pack of sash jammers enough?
When you may screw them to timber, composite or uPVC and a real lock already throws. The Sandiyago four-pack is the best value in this set at about £8.99, with 4.5 from 1,338 reviews. One buyer ran out of spacers and fitted only two of the four. The jammers are a poor only-lock.

Related pages

How to fit a door security bar

Portable door lock for a hotel

Door security

Best door security device for the door in front of you

Patio door security lock for sliders and French doors

Sources

Public UK sources used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures on the twelve listings. No add-on here is treated as PAS 24 or Approved Document Q for your door, and printed force and decibel lines were not tested.

  1. Approved Document Q: security in dwellings (retrieved October 2026)
  2. Secured by Design: doors (retrieved October 2026)
  3. Secured by Design: DoorJammer (retrieved October 2026)
  4. nidirect: securing doors and windows (retrieved October 2026)
  5. Allianz: house locks (retrieved October 2026)
  6. NPSA: enhancing doors, windows and patio doors (retrieved October 2026)
  7. DoorJammer FAQ (retrieved October 2026)
  8. London Fire Brigade GN 11 (retrieved October 2026)