How to Secure Your Windows and Doors by Inexpensive Means
Creating better security with your doors and windows starts by evaluating what you have in your home to start with and identifying the changes that need to be made. Protecting your home against intruders does not mean having to spend a great deal of money. Instead, what you are trying to accomplish is making your home less vulnerable so that potential burglars will pass you by.
Improve your Door Security
What often get overlooked when it comes to the security of your doors are not the locks or the door itself, but the jamb that often gives way when struck with enough force. All it takes is a good, hard blow and the jamb itself will rupture no matter the number of deadbolts or how strong the door itself is. Many entry doors have backup features, but not service doors so these need to be addressed. You can install a strike plate on the backside of the jamb that will make it very difficult to break. This improvement does not change the appearance of the door at all, yet it will provide much greater security.
Another simple improvement on entry doors that do not get used, like from the garage to the backyard for example, is to place a bar across the door. An old-fashioned bar will make the door virtually impenetrable to an intruder unless they have a chainsaw.
For glass doors, intruders will often cut or break the glass to unlock the door. However, if you install a key deadbolt lock on the inside, then the intruder cannot open the door unless they risk cutting themselves on the glass. However, in the case of fire you will want to have the key nearby and accessible so that people can escape.
Improve your Window Security
Always lock your windows, especially in rooms that are not being occupied because they make the perfect place for intruders to enter.
Casement windows are a good example for security because they have a crank inside to open the window outwards. Basically, these types of windows are not accessible to open from the outside because of the position of the handle. So, an intruder will not be able to open them from the outside and will have to look elsewhere to get inside.
A sliding window is basically a single panel that opens to the right or left. However, because of the design it is actually easy to operate many of these windows from the outside, including removing the entire window panel. A simple bar will prevent the window from being opened and operated which makes it impossible to enter from the outside without breaking the window.
A double hung window moves up and down and comes with a cam lock to hold both windows together so that neither can move. Adding a small tab into the face of the frame of the top window allows the bottom one to be moved freely. You can extend the tab and the window will not open.
Using a little common sense along with a few inexpensive items can really improve the security of your home.
