Issue #012
Half inch screws hold your front door, and a kick takes them out
Plus the inland flooding that shows up 300 miles from where a storm lands.
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 · Home Safety
The lock on your front door is stronger than the wood holding it. Most strike plates and hinges ship with screws barely half an inch long, biting nothing but soft trim.
Today’s Skill
Send the screws into the stud
Buy a box of three inch wood screws. Pull the strike plate and hinge screws on every exterior door and swap them one at a time so nothing shifts. Now the hardware anchors to framing instead of trim. Then walk the yard after dark and mark every corner you cannot see into. Those get motion lights. Last, text one neighbor and ask them to pick up if you call late.
On The Radar
Wind gets the headlines, water gets the house
August is the ramp into the busiest stretch of Atlantic and Gulf storm activity, and the rain travels farther inland than the wind does. Look up your address on your county flood map today. Know two ways out of your area that do not cross low water. Clear gutters and downspouts. Photograph every room and store the photos off your phone for records.
The Drill
One screwdriver, two doors, tonight
Before bed tonight, upgrade the strike plate and top hinge on your front and back doors with three inch screws. Then kill the porch light, step outside, and stand at the darkest corner of your property. Note what you can reach without being seen. Fix that with a light or a trimmed shrub this week. Finish by saving one neighbor’s number under a name you can find fast.
Ready beats lucky. See you tomorrow.
- Survival Rise
P.S. Tomorrow: the three items that turn a car trunk into a survivable night out.