On the big screen you can stop someone from breaking into a room with a wooden chair jammed against the door. In reality, you might as well just hand intruders your keys unless you’re using Daniel Ballou’s specially engineered Who’s There Chair.
The back of the chair’s made from steel tubing so it’s extra strong, while a pair of gripped pivoting feet on the back legs help keep it in place. There’s even a notch in the backrest designed to perfectly fit a doorknob so the chair stays in place long enough for you to slip out the window and safely jump five stories into a dumpster full of cushioning boxes and trash bags below — just like in the movies. [Daniel Ballou via bookofjoe]
If you put rubber pads on the bottom of your chair or if you have carpet, an actual chair will work providing you can get the angle right. I used to do it all the time as a kid to keep my brother out of my room. :)
The biggest thing with an ordinary chair is that the wood splinters when a devent amount of force is applied to the other side of the door.
You must have very poorly built chairs!
This is what happens Larry!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=l7nKQYhfsOg#t=15s
Ha..!! brilliant...
Now you've just gotta hope that your doorknob is up to the task
an ordinary chair will also work on lever-style doorknobs. obstructing the lever means that the handle cannot be turned, so the latch can't be disengaged to open the door.
if the door has a round doorknob, as in the picture in the article, then you need to be a bit more thoughtful about chair placement, as noddy articulates above.
also, as i read in the worst-case-scenario books several years ago, kicking in an ordinary door is actually not very hard to do, so if your pursuer is determined, even a well placed chair will only slow them down.