Though property crime rates have decreased, burglaries remain too prevalent. By employing basic home security strategies, homeowners can protect their belongings while feeling safer both inside and outside their home.
Entry points for thieves tend to be doors and windows. Scout out your yard for hiding spots such as bushes, sheds or porches where thieves could potentially hide when breaking into your house.
Install a Door or Window Lock
Every homeowner wants to feel secure in their own home, and one way they can accomplish this goal is by making sure their doors and windows are locked securely. There are various methods you can take to achieve this, though none will create the effect of fortress walls around your property – they will simply give you peace of mind that criminals won’t enter.
As part of your home security improvement plan, the first step should be checking that all your door locks are operating effectively. If they lack sufficient anchor points in their frame of the door or can easily be pryed open by intruders, they won’t provide protection for you and your belongings from theft.
If there are windows near your front door that could serve as entry points for burglars, speak to a locksmith about having the set screws shortened; this makes it much harder for intruders to kick-in these windows while simultaneously strengthening them more sustainably.
Install a Deadbolt
A deadbolt can make it much more difficult for thieves to break into your home. Used with solid doors and frames, deadbolts will deter criminals while protecting you and your loved ones. But they can also be problematic with some home damage problems, even having an interaction with home warranty policies like here: https://www.cinchhomeservices.com/faq-library/-/faq/does-a-home-warranty-cover-water-damage
Deadbolt locks require keys for entry from within, making it harder for criminals to pick or force open them with tools, forcing them instead to use force against the door itself if their key doesn’t work. This requires them to use brute force if that method doesn’t work – effectively providing additional protection.
Installing a deadbolt requires using the paper template supplied by your lock manufacturer to mark where you would like it installed on your door, usually between six and a foot above your current doorknob. After making this mark, tape the template onto the door and drill a large-bore hole saw attachment into your door for installation.
Install a Strike Plate
Strike plates reinforce the gap between your door and frame, helping ensure that a latch or deadbolt stays locked. They may seem minor components of home security plans, but having one installed can significantly strengthen your door’s resistance against break-in attempts.
Standard strike plates typically feature a lip that curves around the edge of a doorjamb to guide spring-loaded door latches into their holes in the strike plate, while deadbolts need no such guide, since they must be pushed down for engagement.
High-security strike plates go one step further by including a steel box to house and protect the extended bolt and latch. This makes it more difficult for thieves to gain entry through gaps using techniques like kick-ins, jamb spreading, or door prying; and represents an efficient cost-effective way of strengthening door security.
