If you’re a cautious homeowner, you’re probably wondering how you can protect your property. What do you need to do to prevent damage and stop intruders from entering? That’s what we explore in this post.
Reinforce all the entry points
One of the simplest things you can do is reinforce all of your entry points, like your doors or windows. Making it difficult to force these will put off the vast majority of opportunistic criminals, with some evidence suggesting that 90% can be repelled. If you haven’t done so already, upgrade to Grade One or Grade Two deadbolts. These are much stronger than conventional bolts. Also, if you have smart locks on your property, use strong encryption or biometrics. For physical locks:
- Ensure that strike plates are being held in place by three screws.
- Ensure that you have door jammers in place.
- Security bars are also a good idea for sliding doors and windows, especially in high-risk areas.
You might also want to look into getting shatter-resistant film on all of your windows. Even if criminals try to break and enter by smashing the glass, this film makes it much more difficult for them to get into your home and slows them down considerably. It also stops glass from falling onto the floor, which is a nice added safety measure.
Use smart cameras strategically
It’s also a good idea to use smart cameras strategically. Doorbell and exterior cameras should cover all entry points, including driveways and your perimeter. Make sure that these cameras feed video footage to the cloud so it can be stored and used later to determine whether anyone has entered your property illegally. Put up signs around your home telling would-be criminals that they’re being recorded. This can discourage them from taking further action, even if they’re currently trespassing.
Cover yourself financially
Of course, you also want to ensure that you have the proper home insurance so you can cover yourself financially. If something does go wrong, you want to be able to bounce back quickly. You also need money if you’re going to improve your home security in the future, so having this sort of protection is useful.
Light up your perimeter
Another pro technique is to light up your perimeter. The more LEDs you have around doors, windows, pathways, driveways, and fencing, the less likely it is that criminals are going to take the risk. Most burglars prefer to work in the dark or in areas where they are less conspicuous, but if there are lights shining at them all the time, it makes it difficult for them to avoid being seen.
Control visibility
Finally, make sure you control visibility. Don’t provide criminals with any giveaways that you have anything valuable on your property. For example, don’t leave the blinds open while expensive diamond jewellery sits on a desk in plain sight. Also, use cabinets that are kept out of the way for rare, precious, or irreplaceable items.
collaborative post