Protecting your home – top ten tips
Thursday, 26 January 2012 4:51 PM
Most ways of keeping your home safe are fairly obvious. Lock the doors. Don't put a sign up saying you're on holiday. Avoid popping your spare key under the doormat. However there are always things that people forget, so here are our top ten tips:
1. Ensure your alarm system is most effective by concealing all the wiring. A professional burglar looks for places where they can instantly disconnect the security system.
2. It is important to make sure doors are fully secured, which can be done by installing deadbolt locks on all exterior doors. If there is too much space between the door and the frame, it is an invitation for the burglar to use tools to prise it open. You can also burglar-proof your glass patio doors by setting a pipe or metal bar in the bottom track of the door slide to stop it from moving whilst locked.
3. It is equally important to ensure windows are fully secured with one or more good locks, an alarm system, burglar-resistant glass or many small panes instead of one large area of glass.
4. Garages present special challenges for security protection, but there are some measures you can adopt to prevent intrusion. Make sure garage windows are covered so burglars cannot tell if your car is gone and keep your garage door closed and locked even when your car is not in the garage.
5. Ensure your front door does not just display one cylinder lock. Ideally the front door should have a deadlock and a secure Chubb lock. Do not rely on one lock for the back door; instead install bolts on the inside.
6. One thing every homeowner should do at least twice a year is take a walk around and through your property with a close friend or neighbour who is not too familiar with your house and ask, 'how would I best break in?' By putting yourself in a burglar's shoes you will discover any weaknesses in your security system that may have previously escaped you.
7. Always lock the door and close the windows when you leave the house, even if you are just in the garden.
8. A basic, monitored intruder alarm linked to an external alarm receiving centre will make a real impact on deterring a criminal from entering a property and alert a monitoring centre if an alarm is triggered. Alarms should meet the European Standard for intruder alarms and should be maintained on a regular basis.
9. Be sure to keep ladders and tools stored away somewhere out of sight of burglars. Avoid leaving them outside where they could be used to break into your home.
10. Store valuable items such as passports, driving licences and bank statements out of view and preferably in a house safe.
Top 10 provided courtesy of Abacus Estates.
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