Home Safe Home
Keeping your home safe is important when you are home and when you are away. There are several simple things you can do to improve the overall safety of your home.
Entrances should be visible and the exterior well-lit. Thieves don’t like to be seen. If a home’s doors and most-accessible windows are visible from the street or a neighbor’s house, they might look for another home. Most homes have outside lights; make sure those lights are positioned correctly. Lighting up the front door and driveway is great, but what about the dark corner of the yard near the living-room window? Use motion-sensor lights in these areas. Other lighting alternatives include some solar lights that can be mounted or placed along a pathway, and decorative spot lights along your shrubs.
Solar Lights:
Motion Sensor Lights:
Exterior doors must be metal or solid-core wood. A particle-board or similarly weak door will break long before most locks give out. Improving your front door can make you feel more secure and add some curb appeal to your home which will improve your value.
Front Doors:
All exterior locks should have dead bolts with metal strike plates. Strike plates relatively inexpensive and easy to replace if yours look damaged or install if you don’t have them. Dead bolts alone don’t deter burglars. Without a heavy-duty metal strike plate screwed in the door frame to receive the lock, someone could break open the door by busting through the wood.
Strike Plates:
There are several dead bolt options some are high tech and some are very basic. The very basic ones are simply a key and lock mechanism. You can get deadbolt systems with an electronic keypad , touch screen key entry, keypads with fobs to lock and unlock your doors via remote signal or smart locks you can open with bluetooth or an app on your home from near or far and even fingerprint technology is coming into play.
Remote Control:
Finger Print:
Bluetooth:
Basic Keypad:
Touchscreen:
Smart lock remote from your phone app:
Watch for old sliding-glass doors. Old doors with worn-out rollers can be lifted off the track, bypassing any lock. Old hardware can be replaced inexpensively. You cand find parts at any local hardware stores. You can replace the handles and locks and an additional locking mechanism for safety or you can replace your worn outdoor entirely. There are more decorative options, some with energy efficient windows and some with blinds or shade between the window panes.
Lock Replacements:
Energy Efficient:
Patio Door Lock:
Any fence gates should have locks. Yes, burglars can climb over most fences, but they risk more exposure by scaling a fence instead of quickly walking through a gate. There are a few options on beefing up security on your gate latches to help make it even more difficult for a would be burglar. Combo and Key latch hardware or simply adding a keyed or combo master lock will help.
Fence Latch with Key:
Combo Yard Lock:
Another great tip is to look for “painful” landscaping. A good way to discourage a thief from breaking in through a first-floor window is to install a thorny plant under it. Holly is a good option. It is evergreen and grows well. If you are a flower lover rose bushes will add color and protection for you. Both types of thorny plants will give you safety and curb appeal.
Holly:
Shrub Roses:
You can’t keep a determined, professional burglar out of a home. However, you can make it less appealing for him to try.