Home Security - our neighbour was broken into

[CoolHands]

ok I reduced the height I agree this is probably a bit more sensible and normal

[vxsmithers]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

You can pretty much trace a path of anti social behaviour from the town and station back to the less salubrious areas near me. However, the wife beating tends to be in the nicer bits!

[Spare tyre]

CoolHands said:

ok I reduced the height I agree this is probably a bit more sensible and normal

Good stuff

Now get some led floodlights up down the side if the house pointing at the fence, then some light on the other side of the fence, can out it on a flex for temporary measure


I have an amazing led flood light that operates at 6w during dusk to dawn, then brightens to 12w when motion is detected

Wanted some more but they don't seem to sell anything like it

Was made by a company called hylite

[AJB88]

Been looking into this alot recently following on from alot of these break into the house and take the car keys robberies.

I have fitted sash blockers to all the windows and front door, fitted two patio door bolts and have fitted a new security light round the back.

Got a CCTV system to install, Want to install Film to patio doors and might ask for smartwater for my birthday.

Anybody got a link to any good alarm systems for rear access gate? kind of thing that you see in corner shops that bleeps when opened?

[andy43]

AJB88 said:

Anybody got a link to any good alarm systems for rear access gate? kind of thing that you see in corner shops that bleeps when opened?

On Texecom alarm panels you can program a warning tone when a particular zone is triggered - front door for example. Would work on waterproofed magnetic door contacts on a gate.
Someone's also previously mentioned using a reed switch and wireless doorbell on this thread.

[Spare tyre]

AJB88 said:

Been looking into this alot recently following on from alot of these break into the house and take the car keys robberies.

I have fitted sash blockers to all the windows and front door, fitted two patio door bolts and have fitted a new security light round the back.

Got a CCTV system to install, Want to install Film to patio doors and might ask for smartwater for my birthday.

Anybody got a link to any good alarm systems for rear access gate? kind of thing that you see in corner shops that bleeps when opened?

make one out of a wireless doorbell, you can then put the bell in your neighbours house when you are on hols

[spaximus]

We were burgled a couple of months ago. They smashed the glass in the patio door and stepped through. Took jewellery but were only in the house a few minutes as the alarm went off.

Since then the new doors have laminated glass, which breaks but they would take ages to smash them out completely. Alarm now monitored 24 hours as many alarms go off but no one calls, now every alarm activation is called through.

Safe fitted.

The big issue for criminals is being seen. Our back garden is walled and they could be there for hours unseen by anyone, so CCTV helps with that but only if good quality and if you hide the unit, otherwise they steal that as well.

Annoying but in truth less of a problem than it was as getting shut of gear is not as easy as it was. In my case I found two watches on Ebay, they caught the girl who sold them to the shop and she is on bail now awaiting CPS to grow a pair and charge her with the Burglary not just receiving.

I refuse to let low life make me feel insecure

[V8A*ndy]

Spare tyre said:

CoolHands said:

ok I reduced the height I agree this is probably a bit more sensible and normal

Good stuff

Now get some led floodlights up down the side if the house pointing at the fence, then some light on the other side of the fence, can out it on a flex for temporary measure


I have an amazing led flood light that operates at 6w during dusk to dawn, then brightens to 12w when motion is detected

Wanted some more but they don't seem to sell anything like it

Was made by a company called hylite

Those lights you mention sound great. Must search for something similar.

Couple of tips re: lighting. Make sure the lights are well up out of the way. Often too easy to knock them out with a spade or something similar.

Also make sure constantly on security lights don't make areas of shadow that people can hide in.

[CoolHands]

well I got the flimsy handles changed now for 'secured by design' hoppe high security handles. So along with the anti-snap locks that area is sorted. The only real way in now is to smash the entire window as they did to my neighbour. To that end I've looked into replacement panes.

The best solution for me is laminated outer pane, with toughend inner pane. The laminated means its very hard to break, and although I could get both inner and outer laminated, it is much heavier than my existing frame is designed for. So a compromise is laminated outer only. My frames have only 3 hinges - if you 4 you'd be ok for laminated inner and outer probably. Prices for glazing vary a lot . Basically most glaziers will rip you off. But I have found I can get them made for approx £200 (total) whereas a local place that makes them I tried wanted £470. Which is annoying as if I choose the cheaper one I will need to collect them from 70 miles away. Or I could try shiply to see how much someone will deliver them for me.

[big ant]

We have 'local burglaries' so now alert to garage and shed break-ins.

I figure the following plan: local newspaper large 1/2 page advert, and a reward scheme:

£10,000 reward to get their names;
additional £10,000 for Police charity for more than 1 year in Prison;
additional £10,000 for contact details of 3 people they love...

After 4 weeks, up the numbers to £20,000 each, and re-run advert.

Nick my lawnmower, and £100k budget is pre-approved by the Mrs.

The Bulgarian builder who would do anything for me.....£1000....for his particular set of skills.

[randlemarcus]

CoolHands said:

But I have found I can get them made for approx £200 (total) whereas a local place that makes them I tried wanted £470. Which is annoying as if I choose the cheaper one I will need to collect them from 70 miles away. Or I could try shiply to see how much someone will deliver them for me.

I suspect less than £270 Might be worth going back to the local chap, and pointing out that if these were made in China, the difference is understandable. 70 miles away, and he needs to look at his supplier.

[CoolHands]

cheers.

the more expensive place also 'make' them in house. ie it's a railway-arches place that make all windows & frames up etc on site. They are a well-established firm so I suspect their raw material prices are as low as anyone else. But their profit margin is higher We all know making this stuff isn't rocket science. I will travel to a few other industrial estates round here to see if someone else can match the good price.

[Andy M]

We have a full CCTV system at home with pressure sensors, break glass sensors etc linked to our alarm which dials several phone numbers, the final of which goes to an employee whose nose is wider than his face. Our garden lights are ridiculously bright and could be used to land a plane.

You have to make your house look less attractive than your neighbours to scum who may be nosing about. Even if you don't have a dog, a large metal dog bowl and cow bone left by the rear of the property is a good idea. Thieves don't like to carry much on them, so remove stuff from the garden that can be used as a tool to break in. Summer garden furniture should be locked away etc. Many plebs use steel ball bearings to shatter glass, so investigating laminated glass is a good idea.

If it is a targeted attack little of what has been proposed is going to do much good.

[SVS]

Pheo said:

So, these patio upvc doors. What can be done to secure them?

• Add a pair of patio door locks.

• Add anti-lift blocks, which stop the door being lifted off its track.

• Replace the lock cylinders with euro cylinders that meet either the Sold Secure Diamond or TS007 3-star standard. Sold Secure Diamond is the higher standard of the two. ABS Avocet meets the Diamond standard, as did the Mul-T-Lock Break Secure XP cylinder, and the new Brisant Ultion cylinder is expected to exceed the standard.

• Add security film to your glass. It needs to be security film that's designed with burglary prevention in mind, not merely film to stop glass shards from harming people.

• Replace the patio door handles with the latest Mila high security handles. (Provided they fit your patio door.)

Edited by SVS on Wednesday 24th December 20:16

[Nervasport]

Invest in one of these

[Pheo]

SVS said:

• Add a pair of patio door locks.

• Add anti-lift blocks, which stop the door being lifted off its track.

• Replace the lock cylinders with euro cylinders that meet either the Sold Secure Diamond or TS007 3-star standard. Sold Secure Diamond is the higher standard of the two. ABS Avocet meets the Diamond standard, as did the Mul-T-Lock Break Secure XP cylinder, and the new Brisant Ultion cylinder is expected to exceed the standard.

• Add security film to your glass. It needs to be security film that's designed with burglary prevention in mind, not merely film to stop glass shards from harming people.

• Replace the patio door handles with the latest Mila high security handles. (Provided they fit your patio door.)

Edited by SVS on Wednesday 24th December 20:16

Thanks very helpful. Our doors Arnt the sliding type so I can't easily add additional locks I don't think.

Care to comment on rwtrofit of anti Burglary film? Can be DIYed successfully? Or is it laminated glass time?

[gfunk]

[King Herald]

Security? We have these, they live in the yard, 8 of them.

[SVS]

Hi Pheo,

Pheo said:

Our doors Arnt the sliding type so I can't easily add additional locks I don't think.

In that case, did you mean French doors (not a patio door)? If you've got French doors, then:

• Replace the lock cylinders with euro cylinders that are either Sold Secure Diamond or TS007 3-star certified. E.g. Kaba pExtra Guard, Brisant Ultion, ABS Avocet or Mul-T-Lock Break Secure XP.

• Add hinge bolts, especially if your hinges are external. There are some uPVC-specific hinge bolts, but a lot of regular hinge bolts will work fine too.

• Consider adding sash jammers to each door. Use both the screws and Araldite to fix the sash jammers, because the superglue stops an intruder from wiggling the screws loose.

• Replace the door handles with TS007 2-star certified handles, such as Mila Prosecure handles.

Pheo said:

Care to comment on rwtrofit of anti Burglary film? Can be DIYed successfully? Or is it laminated glass time?

Security film can be DIYed, but it's a pain to fit without bubbles. Some suppliers will also fit the film for you; you could look for one of these.

HTH

Edited by SVS on Friday 26th December 08:30

[MajorProblem]

O/P your house looks really nice front and rear but the garage looks like some council estate add on, the wire mesh above the fence is a bit futile, I'd just climb up on the garage roof and get over.

IMHO, I'd make the garage look more secure. Probably get a roller shutter and replace the horrific plastic cladding with cedar or something then build a wall between the house and garage with a lockable gate to the rear garden, cover the tops of the walls with broken glass set into the mortar, same for the garage roof.