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How to harden your home to reduce successful break in?

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  • breakingcontact

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    Oct 16, 2012
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    I'm considering adding some motion activated lights on the outside of the house and that got me thinking about what else I could do to better prepare the house against a potential break in and/or assault by massed hordes. No claymores, concertina wire or cleared lanes of fire...well there will be cleared lanes of fire.

    Motion lights outside, reinforced door and door frame, good locks... what else?

    Window locks (screw down type) can help windows from being pried open, but there is always the flower pot through the window approach to entry...

    Just thinking out loud to get the conversation started. Glad to have this new sub-forum and we need to use it.

    Ah, lastly, I was at Fry's and they seem to have decent multi-camera setups for reasonable prices. I like that idea too.
    Lynx Defense
     
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    Renegade

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    Most homes broken into are empty. Anything to make a home look like one or more folks are in it is a good thing.
     

    35Remington

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    Further, I have posted elsewhere on this forum about home security cameras if someone wants to dig up the info. Can't find it right now from my phone.

    With a little bit of computer wizardry, I set up four cameras around my home. They rotate, zoom, detect motion, send and receive audio, and have IR night vision. They alert my iPhone when motion is detected. The cameras were each $80 and the software was about $10. I'm happy.

    aju9uty5.jpg
     

    txinvestigator

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    I read an article recently about plants that act as barriers. Some of em were down right nasty looking. I will see if I can locate it and post back.

    Plants and Vegatation.

    Plants that do not allow a hiding space.

    Lights. My driveway light had two intensities. I left it on at night, and it intensified when it picked up motion.

    Lock your house. I took lots of burglary reports where the POE was an unlocked door or window.

    Heavy duty lock hardware.

    A dog, preferably a big one. However, I must about a burglary where a large watch type dog was splashed with hot sauce.

    A full perimeter alarms system. Add monitored smokes while you are at it. There is more monetary loss, injury and death from fires than bad guys.

    Cameras can be a deterrent. I will ALWAYS have cameras now.

    Be careful who you allow in your house. Never post on social media that you will be out of your house.

    I have more for later....
     

    Mic

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    Windows: I haven't done it, but I'd like to have the wrought iron bars on them that look nice.

    Doors: I've considered drilling 2 3-inch deep holes down into the cement immediately behind the door and setting metal bars down in them at night so that it's not just the door frame at the lock and hinges holding them back.

    Dogs.... To alert and slow.
     

    breakingcontact

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    Good stuff. How prices have come down on tech is just amazing. That camera setup described above for $100? Thats great.

    -Fire protection should come first. That makes sense.

    -I always turn on the TV or radio and a light when i leave

    -Announcing empty house online is pretty crazy. People are really open though now. So much so that the platoon sergeants in my old reserve unit are using facebook to discuss drill and mission dates. Pretty wild.

    -Not letting people in you dont know. Im moving to a new hood soon. Would love to be all chummy with my neighbors but those relationships and trust take time

    -When i go shooting i try to load up the car discreetly. With attached garage thats even easier.

    -Call me crazy on this one if you want. Most of us have routines when we leave the house each day. I try to vary mine. Ill drive around the block and back by the house. Go back into the house. Take a different vehicle. Leave at different times. Its not something i obsess about daily, but i like to throw a curveball every now and again.

    -I will also leave things out that i dont care if they get stolen to see if anyone is paying attention. I left a soda on the porch last night to keep cool and grab in the morning, but i also thought it would indicate if someone was snooping around if it was gone.

    -Finally, i tell the people i live with, to not open the door for anyone who they arent expecting, including police if they dont have a warrant.

    Ill try to post more tomorrow on strategery. Thanks for being park of the conversation folks.
     

    itchin

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    My dog has free range front and back. A thief would need to cover a good distance to reach my house . He'd have to take out my dog. He's not a mean dog but if someone doesn't belong here he will do his job. Dogs are a great deterrent. He is our family pet first and sleeps in the house. But during the day while we are at work and school he is outside.
     

    35Remington

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    Good stuff. How prices have come down on tech is just amazing. That camera setup described above for $100? Thats great. . . . . I will also leave things out that i dont care if they get stolen to see if anyone is paying attention. I left a soda on the porch last night to keep cool and grab in the morning, but i also thought it would indicate if someone was snooping around if it was gone.

    I agree. They now have HD cameras (mine are good, but not HD) that are slowly coming down in price. Setting up one for the front porch/yard has been the most interesting. I get to see who comes to my door or walks in my yard all day and night. The camera saves each motion event, and I just flip through them the next day. Because of this, I was able to have a nice conversation with my mail carrier about him throwing a package onto the porch instead of walking 4 more steps and setting it down.

    Great point on leaving something out. We live on a very boring street. I once put a TV on the curb with a sign that said, "Free & Working." It took 8 hours for someone to take it. Just don't have the car traffic like other streets do. I have heard others leave a $20 on the front porch from time to time to test the same thing.
     

    TX69

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    Dec 23, 2012
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    I read an article recently about plants that act as barriers. Some of em were down right nasty looking. I will see if I can locate it and post back.

    Plants and Vegatation.

    Plants that do not allow a hiding space.



    Lights. My driveway light had two intensities. I left it on at night, and it intensified when it picked up motion.

    Lock your house. I took lots of burglary reports where the POE was an unlocked door or window.

    Heavy duty lock hardware.

    A dog, preferably a big one. However, I must about a burglary where a large watch type dog was splashed with hot sauce.

    A full perimeter alarms system. Add monitored smokes while you are at it. There is more monetary loss, injury and death from fires than bad guys.

    Cameras can be a deterrent. I will ALWAYS have cameras now.

    Be careful who you allow in your house. Never post on social media that you will be out of your house.

    I have more for later....

    Knockout Roses are a prickly and cheap investment. Plant them around windows to deter a break-in at that point. They are a nasty fast growing and hardy hedge bush that thrives in Texas. Look for the "Sunny" knockout as they are the only ones that are aromatic.

    DSCN2620.jpg
     

    Sapper740

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    Good stuff. How prices have come down on tech is just amazing. That camera setup described above for $100? Thats great.

    -Fire protection should come first. That makes sense.

    -I always turn on the TV or radio and a light when i leave

    -Announcing empty house online is pretty crazy. People are really open though now. So much so that the platoon sergeants in my old reserve unit are using facebook to discuss drill and mission dates. Pretty wild.

    -Not letting people in you dont know. Im moving to a new hood soon. Would love to be all chummy with my neighbors but those relationships and trust take time

    -When i go shooting i try to load up the car discreetly. With attached garage thats even easier.

    -Call me crazy on this one if you want. Most of us have routines when we leave the house each day. I try to vary mine. Ill drive around the block and back by the house. Go back into the house. Take a different vehicle. Leave at different times. Its not something i obsess about daily, but i like to throw a curveball every now and again.

    -I will also leave things out that i dont care if they get stolen to see if anyone is paying attention. I left a soda on the porch last night to keep cool and grab in the morning, but i also thought it would indicate if someone was snooping around if it was gone.

    -Finally, i tell the people i live with, to not open the door for anyone who they arent expecting, including police if they dont have a warrant.

    Ill try to post more tomorrow on strategery. Thanks for being park of the conversation folks.
    BC, the cameras are $80.00 each making 35 Remington's setup over $300.00. I recently purchased a four camera setup at Sam's Club for $480.00 with DVR loop so that all the goings-on are recorded for the Police. My system also sends alerts to my Smartphone and is money well spent.
     

    matefrio

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    Jan 19, 2010
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    Don't forget lighting sources from the outside of the house.

    See below the light in the lawn pointing at the home.

    Most folks only spotlight from the house out and forget to make things visible from the street in.

    home_security_lighting.jpg
     
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