As the old saying goes your home is your castle, and you have the right to protect and keep your home safe from break-ins and burglaries. In order to keep your loved ones safer and more protected in the comfort of your own home, you need to secure the place accordingly. In one such situation, a qualified locksmith will make a tremendous difference in providing you with the right advice. Below are listed some of the common sense tips and fundamental advice provided by locksmiths on how to keep your property safe from burglars and other ill-wishers.
First up – securing main property entrances, this usually means front and back doors. Some of the most useful devices that you could fit on front and back doors are deadbolts. Deadbolts provide for extra security as they take longer to pick – precious time that can make all the difference. Another important consideration is distance between front or back door locks, and windows. A main lock (or any other lock for that matter) should be fitted at least forty inches away from the nearest window or other opening in the façade of the house. A fundamental and logical piece of advice – choose doors made of high quality, sturdy materials like solid wood and steel as opposed to weaker composite materials which can be easily penetrated, or even kicked in.
Windows and French doors are perhaps the weakest links in your home’s security chain so to say. Depending on how far you wish to go with securing your windows there are a number of basic options at your disposal. People living in areas prone to home invasions and burglaries opt for steel bars fitted on the outside of the window. Optionally, steel bars can be made to open outwards.
Tempered glass panes are another solution, though more expensive than bars. A combination of tempered glass and a good quality window lock and latching mechanism should slow down, even prevent burglars from gaining entry.
Moving onto interior now, many people tend to underestimate the importance of indoor locking mechanisms. Indoor security is essential when you keep valuables in safes and armored cabinets. A good lock on your safe, even on the door to the room where you keep the safe, is very important as it gives you extra protection in the instance that burglars have actually gained entry to the property. A combination of a good safe, a good lock to the room where the safe is fitted, along with a good entryway lock, and possibly an alarm system should provide for sufficient protection of your property.
The top level in home security is installation of a sophisticated security and alarm systems that control entry and exit to and from the property. Usually these systems feature motion detectors, security cameras, coded entry to and from specific areas of the property and many other options. These are also quite expensive and have to be connected to police and security companies in real time so budget your home security upgrade carefully.
