Hardening your homefront

[EBDPA]

VegasGeorge had some great ideas in his initial post in this forum. I would like to postulate a question.

Have you hardened your home against an attack?

Now I fully agree with Vegas George and StuBob that you must have a plan and everyone in the house must understand that plan. I think there are some physical things you can do to harden your perimeter to stack the odds in your favor if you hear glass break in the middle of the night.

I totally agree with motion lights around your home, at least in access areas. I have a man gate on one side of my home and a swing gate on the other. This is the only access to my backyard without jumping over a fence. I have lights on both of the gated areas so that even small animals sometimes set them off.. better safe than sorry. I also installed one on my shop in the back that has the motion beam cutting across the back of my yard seperating the fence from my home. So even the fence jumper will cause lights to go off if they approach.

Make sure you have dead bolt type locks on your exterior access doors. This is cheap insurance for thwarting a home invasion entry.

Another area you can harden without breaking the bank is to protect your utilities. A simple lock on your breaker panel and telephone entrance box (at least thats what we use in CA) will make it less likely that an invader would turn off your power or have access to disable your phone lines.

Keep a cell phone in your bedroom. If they cut your phone line, or simply lift a phone extension off the hook when they enter, you can not call 911 without your cell phone. For many years, my cell phone lived in the kitchen at night with the battery out of the phone and on the charger. I have since purchased a spare battery. I keep the used one on the charger and a fresh one in my cell in the bedroom at night.

Know your house and practice moving around without the lights on.

I agree that clearing one's home, or any building, by yourself is near suicide, yet there are circumstances that might warrant it. Have you ever tried walking around your home at night with all the lights out? UNLOAD your weapon and do some dry practice training at night. Or get an airsoft version of your favorite handgun and use that for practice. See how hard or easy it is to identify things in the dark. can you really clear all of your rooms, hallways and doorways? You might modify your 'plan' after practicing this a few times. The 'hunker down and wait' plan starts sounding really good.

Script your 911 call and write it down. Under stress and the rush of adreniline, it is difficult to stay calm and communicate. When you make that 911 call to report the 'broken glass', you need to communicate some critical information to them. What has happened, where you are (not just your address, but where you and your family is in the house), how the officers can gain access to the home to search it (unless you want to buy a new front door) and that you are hunkered down and waiting for them and are armed. These are all critical pieces of information. If you would jot them down on a 3x5 card, it will assist you in making that call, or handing to your spouse and having them make the call so you can keep both hands on your weapon. Lastly, stay on the phone with the dispatcher until the police clear the home and you know you are safe. If the intruder attempts to gain access to your safe spot while you are waiting, it will be important for that 911 recording to document your verbal commands and warnings before you shoot.

Lastly, it may sound stupid, but lock your doors. Here in CA, it is actually required that there be forceable entry for there to be a clear cut threat to your 'castle'. If you leave the doors unlocked and an intruder comes in, you might win the 'justifiable shoot' argument in criminal court, but may loose everything you own in civil court.

There are certainly some great books written to help you formulate your plan. The most important thing is to HAVE A PLAN.

[nodaywithout]

i like the advise and as far as my home goes my roommate and i have plans for how to avoid certain cituations ie fire natural disaster, etc but when it comes to someone in the house we figure if we can get out of the home (apt) and call 911 without the intruder knowing we will be better off.

But do you have any advise on how we can improve security on an apt where I can not do anything permanent?

[Bill of Rights]

I'm no expert, Noday, but I'd suggest maybe those magnetic alarms on each window and one on the door that makes a loud noise when it opens or can be set to just chime to let you know someone came in. These could be mounted with double-side tape. Might also consider one of those bars like Stubob mentioned: they fit under the doorknob and catch on the floor-The harder someone pushes, the more force is transmitted by that bar directly into the unmoving floor.

Whimsically speaking, you might take your best targets and frame them, near the front door. If that's not a BIG warning, get ready to pour some chlorine in the gene pool.

Blessings,
M

[VegasGeorge]

Sliding glass doors are a favorite point of entry for burglars. Many of them can simply be lifted and forced open. A simple, if unsightly, solution to many sliding door problems is to drop a dowel or broomstick into the track and physically block the sliding door so it can't be moved. Sliding windows can be blocked the same way.

[Bill of Rights]

Sliding glass doors are a favorite point of entry for burglars. Many of them can simply be lifted and forced open. A simple, if unsightly, solution to many sliding door problems is to drop a dowel or broomstick into the track and physically block the sliding door so it can't be moved. Sliding windows can be blocked the same way.

Good point. I had an apartment broken into several years ago by just this method. My house has no such doors. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Blessings,
M

[nodaywithout]

Whimsically speaking, you might take your best targets and frame them, near the front door. If that's not a BIG warning, get ready to pour some chlorine in the gene pool.

Blessings,
M

Thanks thats good info. Oh and everytime we get a good target we put it up on the wall in the front room. hehehe

[packnrat]

got this from a movie: put a empty bottle on the door nob, if some one tries to turn the nob it will fall, making a noise like none other.

cheep and simple. plus you get to drink a beer to have a empty. :lol:




------i know, i know, beer and guns = bad.---------

[DMorrison]

All the ideas here seem very sound to me. But I'd like to offer another, make your would-be untruder believe you own a weapon, and are prepared to use it. NRA bumber sticker, one of those little signs for your gate "this house is protected 3 nights a week, you guess" Like jeff foxworthy said, "If you see a house with knee high grass, a truck up on blocks and motor swinging from a tree...buddy that a house where a gun lives." Of course this might tip your hand, but if i was a BG looking for a TV and some cash, i'd pick a different house.

[tuna]

One problem with the above is that while you do greatly lessen the chance of someone breaking into your house with you and your family home - you also increase the chance of someone breaking in when you're gone. Guns are like potato chips, I don't know anyone who can stop at one - so when the cars with the NRA stickers are gone, there should be at least one gun available someplace in there. Of course, guns and TVs can be replaced, family cannot (unless you want my in-laws?).


One thing I've heard is tying a house key to a lightstick to throw out the window. Tell the police during the 911 call that info "Green lightstick on the North side of the house with the key on it" would be great info to prevent the police from doing any more damage to the house than the burglars have done.

Whatever you decide on - use it. Don't spend hundreds of dollars on an alarm to not turn the thing on, don't waste an afternoon putting in deadbolts and then don't lock them.

Criminals are lazy, if your house looks 10% harder to get into than your neighbors, chances are they'll go for the them. (Cheap and simple, get an ADT sign on EBay, only you know it's just a sign)

[Swift locksmith]

Since this is on the topic of preventing someone from being able to enter your home and forcing you to shoot them, here's my little list.

1.
High security locks are as much of a deterrent as actual protection, and they offer a lot of protection. Most theives are as familliar with locks and their opening as I am. Double doors absolutely require a deadbolt that locks into the opposite door. Eight standard deadbolts on a double door are only as strong as thos tiny little header and footer bolts you slide out when you're bringing in a new couch. This isn't the first time and won't be the last I mention Multilock as the best locking system out there.

2.
Windows.... the weak link no matter what you do, those little stick on alarms are great for a window that opens, but what about those little ones near the door where you can reach in and unlock the door? Most window tinting companies, at least the ones who cater to commercial customers, offer ballistic laminates. While not bullet resistant or unbreakable still take 5 or 6 HARD (think baseball bat) hits to bust through.

3.
Say no to pet doors anywhere near an access door, you'd be suprised what a coathanger can reach through one of those things.

4.
Sliding glass doors get Charlie Bars, Period. None of those silly flip bolts, slide bolts, or broom handles. These popular methods can (and have by me) be operated from outside. A charlie bar is a hinged bar mounted to the solid side of the door that rests in a bracket on the sliding side and is secured by a pin that must be rotated and pulled, no chance of getting all that off from outside.

5.
Large viewfinder style peepholes are also good, I don't know about you but I can't tell the pizza guy from Rambo through one of those itty bitty ones. Plus the viewfinder allows you to be able to see who's there without having your head up against the door. Would you want to be in that position when the door was taking a solid kick?

Just my opinion though

[VegasGeorge]

In my community, the truly security conscious, and there are many, are doing the following:

1. Motion detector lights all around;
2. Drop bars across doors, especially double front doors;
3. Roll down security covers on windows;
4. Bars on windows (on the inside);
5. Replacing window glass with unbreakable plastic;
6. Installing outside bells and horns on alarm systems;
7. Adding panic buttons to alarm systems;
8. Avoiding the automatic gates, and always coming in through the manned gates;
9. Buying big dogs.

The one thing I don't hear about is buying a gun. Odd, that. But, I think it has to do with the number of New York, New Jersey, and Chicago liberals that have moved in around here. They'd rather spend ten grand or more on plastic windows than $350 on a decent pistol. :roll:

[Swift locksmith]

All of your suggestions are sound to me George, but gate guarded communities in Vegas are really a bit of a joke to me, they almost always semi-public golf courses, I've personally made up an address when going to see a friend and the guards just waved me through, and I HATE :evil: going to the stupid sevice entrance when I have to enter a guard gated area for work.
On another note, from personal experience most people in these areas assume that the unarmed high school dropouts at the gates are keeping them safe and become unbelievably complacent. Over the winter, and yes it does get cold in vegas, I was locking out a forclosed property after dark in a guard gated community wearing a jacket and beanie. My uniform and work truck were not visible to the street, something that makes me question my judgement in hindsight, a couple walked by me picking the lock to the front door with a flashlight in my mouth. These people just glanced at me and kept right on walking. It took me about an hour to change the 15 or so locks in the house, and there was no reaction from anybody. Maybe they knew that the house was forclosed, but I was about as suspicios looking as anyone can get. But in my little brain I could hear them thinking "well if the guards let him in he must be okay" or something like that.
George, you are a notable exception to my rule of thinking and I will double and triple check that I have the right address when I work anywhere near where I think you live, or anywhere else for that matter just in case you live there. Just kidding, but well.... never mind I think I'll start a new thread for my next thought

[VegasGeorge]

Yes Swift L. I agree, gate security is a joke.

I live in Siena, you probably know it. We have two manned gates, and four unmanned, automatic gates that work by transponders carried in the residents' vehicles. I suppose it would be easy enough to con your way through one of the manned gates. But, it's drop dead simple to just tailgate in through any of the unmanned gates. We have enough traffic going in those gates so anyone wanting to tailgate in wouldn't have to wait more than a couple of minutes for an opportunity. And, we have a public golf curse which runs through the community. I basically consider the place to be wide open. Petite crime can walk in on the golf course. Violent crime can drive in any time.

[Dusty Miller]

But do you have any advise on how we can improve security on an apt where I can not do anything permanent?

As far as the front door is concerned, get a 3 ft piece of 2x4 and cut a "V" in one end that'll slide under the doorknob. Cut the other end to a 45 degree angle so it'll lay flat on the carpet. Drive some small nails thru the end of the board so they'll grip the carpet. If there's no carpet in your entry way stretch some rubber from an inner tube over the end of the board so it'll grip the floor. That'll buy you some time, especially if you attatch an electronic motion detector to it, they sell them for about $25 at Radio Shack. For the sliding glass door, get an expandable security bar that fits between the frame of the slider and the door frame. For the other sliding glass windows drill small holes thru the bottom of the window frame and thru the aluminum on the bottom of the sliding pane. Then get a strong set of side cutters to cut down some small nails into "pins" that slip into the holes and lock the windows shut. The landlord will have to be a real eagle eye to spot'm when you move out.

[Bill of Rights]

For the other sliding glass windows drill small holes thru the bottom of the window frame and thru the aluminum on the bottom of the sliding pane. Then get a strong set of side cutters to cut down some small nails into "pins" that slip into the holes and lock the windows shut. The landlord will have to be a real eagle eye to spot'm when you move out.

I've also seen double-headed nails used for these pins, and a landlord might actually be grateful you did it and use it as a selling point to the next prospective tenant. The nails in question look like this: |-|----- and are used to temporarily hold a piece in place so the nails can be removed soon thereafter.

Blessings,
B

[Swift locksmith]

[quote=nodaywithout]
As far as the front door is concerned, get a 3 ft piece of 2x4 and cut a "V" in one end that'll slide under the doorknob. Cut the other end to a 45 degree angle so it'll lay flat on the carpet. Drive some small nails thru the end of the board so they'll grip the carpet. If there's no carpet in your entry way stretch some rubber from an inner tube over the end of the board so it'll grip the floor.

That will work very well on a front door, or you can pick up an aluminum bar at the Depot or a locksmith made expressly for this purpose.