DIY Home Security: Keeping Unwanted Elements Out of Your Home

Let's face it- crime is here to stay. Often, innocent homeowners and children suffer the worst of crime. Burglary is just one type of crime. What if the burglary becomes something much worse, like all out murder or arson? What happens then?

This marks how important securing your home becomes. The safety of your own home and its inhabitants is in your hands. You wouldn't have to spend that much money to make your home secure. You simply need to identify the weak points of your residence and further reinforce those. Crime is serious- but so are competent DIY-ers.

The steps

Examining the physical spaces where we live usually is the best first step in any DIY project. As for home security, a simple examination of the already existing safety measure inside and outside your house can save you from a lot of unnecessary expenses.

1. Doors- how strong are your doors? Doors should be solidly built, and should have the strongest locks in place. Solid doors are harder to slam down and solidly built locks are harder to pick. By the time a burglar is able to slam down a door, someone would have been alerted. Or the burglar just quits the job and leaves. The door is the single most important portal into your home. Leave it unguarded and your property is as good as stolen.

2. Locks- if you think "fancy locks" are only for the wealthy, think again. Nowadays you don't have to be extremely wealthy to be burgled. You only have to show that you own some things of value. If you have weak door locks, think of investing in cylinder locks or mortice deadlocks or equivalents in your area. Locks that use oddly-shaped keys are best- these are by far harder to pick than the usual slim-type lock sets that open with just a few clicks of a mediocre locksmith.

3. Door chains on the other hand, provide another measure of protection when you have to open the door in unusual circumstances. Locked from the inside until unlocked by the person holding the chain, strong chain locks cannot be easily undone by criminals. If you slide the chain a few inches to the left, it would already give you enough gap to see who is outside. Chain locks are also noisy. If your door is being picked, imagine the noise the chain lock would make when the burglar tries to open the door- but can't because of the unyielding chain.

4. If you are not too comfortable with opening the door for strangers, then perhaps you can install a door viewer to give you piece of mind. Door viewers are non-invasive and require only a few rounds with the drill to install. The small lens comes with a small sliding cover that would allow you to see a wide enough area beyond the locked door.

5. Windows are also prone to being broken. Aside from picking extra strong steel window frames, you can also invest in window locks that resemble mortice deadlocks that can only be unlocked from the inside of the house.