Monday, February 23, 2009

Find Out About Your Home Security

By Robert Johnson

Everyone loves being at home and a home should be considered your personal sanctuary. Make sure the home is the safest place, for you, your family and loved ones. You don't want to allow chaos from the outside world in, so make sure you set your home up to be safe.

The only things up to chance. Take the necessary precautions to make sure that you don't invite disaster. The first thing you should do about home safety is think about how a burglar would look at your own home. If you can identify any strengths and weaknesses that exists, take action to avoid someone taking advantage of them.

Windows are a good place to start. Were you aware that about a third of burglaries occur with the thief entering via an unsecured window? To make your windows less susceptible to burglaries, consider getting enhanced security glass panes, which are laminated and harder to break. Or, if you don't want to replace your current window panes, use locks.

You should be aware that you don't want the locks to be easily seen from the outside. If a thief can see the locks they can figure out the best way to get them open to get into your home. Try to find away to conceal them. And if your windows have keyed locks, don't leave the keys lying around. You should also consider skylights in the same way that Windows are. Make sure the skylights are locked.

Okay, let's take a look at your home doors. Did you know that over two thirds of all break-ins originate at an unlocked door? You can prevent this by making sure that you lost the doors, but also make sure that you have good locks. All of your outside doors should have deadbolts with at least 1 inch of the row. Also, the strike plates should have screws that are at least 3 inches long. All exterior doors should be made out of metal or solid hardwood. By adding steel strips and plates this will also reinforce the door jam and make it stronger.

When it comes to hinges, they should be located on the inside with nonremovable pins. You can also install a rim lock to the inside of the door. This will add to the security. What a rim lock does is automatically lock the door once it is closed. For all all leading doors, consider a bolts for the top and bottom of the door. Make sure you have a door viewer on all outward doors. This way you can see out before you open the door.

Don't leave yourself open to making it easy for a thief. Do not leave spare keys in obvious places. Remember, you may think you're being clever but a thief knows all the secret hiding places. If you do hide keys, change the location every month. Don't hide keys near windows, doors, under the doormat, or in a flower pot.

Lighting for safety. Always keep entrances well lit. Select a low energy light bulb that is controlled by an automatic dust to dawn switch for constant lighting. Make sure these lights are out of easy reach. Also consider motion activated lights.

Finally, when you think about it, a good home security system may also be in your best interest. By getting a home alarm you are adding that extra layer of protection to your home. You are also connected to a monitoring center in the event that you have a fire, or a major emergency. The monitoring system can send out help quickly.

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