Yes, thieves can drill through a deadbolt in a matter of minutes, BUT they're going to look a bit suspicious walking up to your door with a power tool, and they're likely to be overheard. If they want to break into your house, they're more likely to use a "bump key", which can be seen on You-Tube and purchased from eBay. No, they're not so likely to break a window or sliding glass door. Those double-paned glass items are much more substantial than you might imagine, and they do make a big noise -- also, they leave a big, visible hole that people can see. In contrast, if they bust open your lock, they can still close the door and carry out their evil deeds in private. So, pretty much, if a determined professional burglar has chosen your house, he's going to get in. What's the point, then, in having a lock at all? They keep out the casual burglar, the teenager who's roaming the neighborhood after school looking to score some beer and enough money to fill his gas tank -- and, speaking only for myself, I have never known anyone personally who's been the victim of anyone except a casual burglar. For those casual burglars, you don't have to do a whole lot to keep them out -- you pretty much just have to make it look tough to get into your house so that they'll go on down the road and choose a different target. My personal thoughts on what's important: - If you MUST have a pier glass next to your front door, make it a single glass and place it on the hinge side. The longest-armed burglar can't reach across your whole door to get to the doorknob. - Make sure your back door isn't too private (so many plans these days feature a recessed back porch, providing burglars plenty of privacy). - Avoid double French doors, which are pretty easy to kick in. Instead, choose sliding glass doors (which can look just like French doors) or French doors with only one operating side. - Be sure your garage door is secure. Burglars love to get into the garage and then break into your garage-to-house door at their leisure. And don't skimp on the garage-to-house door. My in-laws bought a house that had only a simple little bedroom door in this spot! It provided essentially no protection from robbery, and they changed it before they slept in the house the first night. - Plant holly or other thorn-y bushes under your low windows. - Lots of thieves will go on down the road if a dog is present. - I personally don't put any stock in alarm systems. They do nothing to prevent the burglar from breaking in, and since most burglars are in and out of a house in 5-10 minutes, it's unlikely that the police will arrive while the bad guys are still inside your house. Yeah, you might get a picture of the criminals, but they're unlikely to be as stupid as that guy on the TV commercial who so conveniently looks right at the camera and is wearing very distinctive clothing. Your real burglar is more likely to be wearing a hoodie or a hat to hide his face. What MAY help is having signs that say you have an alarm system; that may make the burglar move on to an easier target. One final thought concerning fire and getting out of the house: Yes, if you couldn't use the door during a fire, you could absolutely break a window -- throw a chair through it or whatever -- but in a crisis situation, when you have less than a minute or two to escape, would you think of it? Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't. I wouldn't want to count on it. I was once in a fire during the night at summer camp, and I remember another camper screaming, "Fire" . . . and then I was outside. I ran under my own power. I was literally outside before I was even awake, and I don't remember how I got there -- don't count on being rational in a fire.

Don't be discouraged by the naysayers. But do think it through. It does depend on where you are. Many many people do that where we live. We did a modified version of it, because we were just weekenders before the main house was built. Outdoor kitchen, composting toilet, 12 x 14 ft cabin. I wouldn't want to live that way indefinitely, but I could have done it for a year (mild climate, though.) There is actually a mini-fridge, coffee-maker, and large toaster oven inside, just no plumbing. No HVAC. A small oil radiator is plenty for that tiny (insulated) space. It never gets hot here. First we had to have some clearing done and a driveway built. Then had a well drilled, then paid that off. Then had the full septic put in, paid that off. Then built a detached garage/shop. Those things would all have been done eventually, so they didn't really cost more. Might have been some economy of scale to having garage done simultaneously with house, but the other stuff cost what it cost. A small amount of extra trenching to get the electricity in. We built the main house with equity from the city house, so never had a construction loan, which helps when you want to do something nonstandard. Some of our friends and family love staying in the cabin, others prefer to stay in the main house. We generally give them a choice! It's crucial to know your local rules, though. Here, there are specific rules for Accessory Dwelling Units, and only so many permits given out per year.

It's not pretty but doesn't look too different from lips left by nosings used with laminate flooring. Judging by the relationship between the lip and the adjacent quarter round I'd guess this is close to 1/4" or less. The proper fix is the remove the flooring and raise it, or at least ramp it up as it approaches the nosing. It's foolish for people here to criticize one party or the other without knowing the entire story. Whether this meets code depends on the local code. Without knowing where it is and being able to site the specific code I'd hesitate to say one way or the other.

R311.3.2 Floor elevations at other exterior doors. Doors other than the required egress door shall be provided with landings or floors not more than 7 3/4 inches (196 mm) below the top of the threshold. Exception: A top landing is not required where a stairway of not more than two risers is located on the exterior side of the door provided that the door does not swing over the stairway.