Home Security Upgrades

[omega man]

this is something iv been thinking about of late,when we bought the place 25 odd years ago and started renovating it once the house was done i built a 10ft wall around it due to us being rural, but there is only one way in and one way out,so a bottle neck,though two sets of gates to get through and two german shepards,plus im a shotgun certificate holder but still a bottle neck if mauders where to call if a SHTF happens

This post instantly made me think of Floyds lyrics to the 'final cut'.... thanks for that

"If you negotiate the minefield in the drive
And beat the dogs and cheat the cold electronic eyes
And if you make it past the shotgun in the hall
Dial the combination, open the priest hole
And if I'm in I'll tell you (what's behind the wall)"

OM

[Yorkshire Andy]

If you have uPVC / composite doors check the euro cylinder lock is bs TS007 *** compliment

(Kite marked and three little Stars)


These demonstrate resistance to snapping or rather snapping securely leaving the escutcheon inaccessible

Asec-diamond-lock-cylinder.jpg (29.57 KiB) Viewed 3169 times

I've snapped a standard euro cylinder and I was in the door within 45 seconds ISH without any practice just watched a you tube video....... (Legitimately as in I'm not a burglar )

[Rusty74]

this is something iv been thinking about of late,when we bought the place 25 odd years ago and started renovating it once the house was done i built a 10ft wall around it due to us being rural, but there is only one way in and one way out,so a bottle neck,though two sets of gates to get through and two german shepards,plus im a shotgun certificate holder but still a bottle neck if mauders where to call if a SHTF happens

Always worth mentioning if you ever have to phone the Police for a break-in.... They really don't like the idea of scumbags nicking guns and will send 'everyone' rather then 'loads'

the gun cabinet is hidden in plain sight,the local bobby is an old school mate of mine and we do have a chuckle when i have an inspection,he always trys to bring a new recruit with him,i pop the kettle on and when the recruit asks if they can inspect it i say no you have to find it 1st,2 hours is the longest we had one looking one day before they gave up lol...

[Yorkshire Andy]

On the home security front

Make your home / shed a little harder to break into than next doors without looking like a vault

My shed for example

It's a shed.... Well it's made from 1" thick tongue and groove planks none of this 9mm rizzla thin stuff

But at a glance it's a shed until you try kicking a wall through and you bust a few toes....

The thing has no windows... No one can see what a mess it is in there.... Or what of value lies within.....

It's got a BIG brass closed shackle padlock but looking over the fence it's just looks like a brass lock until you get close up you loose the idea of scale against the bigger planks

Plus a 5 lever laminated bolt dead lock with just a little key hole hiding it's presence

and ball race hinges with integrated hinge bolts from the outside it's got 2 hinges but you don't know what flavor your going to fight (fixed into a massive 6x9" beam I turned into a door frame I reclaimed ... With big 4" 12 gauge wood screws

2 sides are against hedges so that's 2 walls safe from attack. Front wall has kitchen units on it so no way in easily and the other side is shelved with steel shelving brackets further bracing the shed frame and the shelves restrict acces through that wall.

Roof is underdrawn with osb making that a hard task to access via .. you can jump on the roof and it doesn't flex
....

But from the outside to a druggie after a lawnmower to sell for £20 it's a shed with a lock on it and it looks in good state of repair unlike next doors which I could open with my bare hands

[grenfell]

One thing i will add that i have seen on numerous occassions concerns fencing. The concrete post , gravel board and panel combo is a really common one and a lot of gardens have a gate too. There are an awful lot of gates that have the bolt screwed to the top rail and that makes it really easy to reach over to unlock it without having to climb over. And if you do have to climb over wheelie bins make a great hop up.
Some gates have a padlock fitted as well which at least means some thought has gone into it but i have seen people fit locks but ignore the fence panel sitting next to the gate which will simply slid upwards to gain access or if the posts haven't been put in well the panel can sometimes be sprung out easily. Simplest way to prevent that is a length of strapping screwed to two adjacent panels. I have put those anti climb spikes on fences for people but frankly they are so weedy as to be a waste of time. A flimsyish piece of trellis that will collapse , make a noise and potentially injure a trespasser would be a better bet.

[MarcusLittle]

Plant hawthorn around your property as a security fence.
you can also eat the leaves and berries.

[ForgeCorvus]

Or Blackthorn, the fruits are edible fresh (just) but are much better mixed with honey and gin...... Well, strictly speaking the gin is much better after soaking the fruits in it for a twelvemonth

[Rusty74]

Berberis is another good one the thorns on that really hurt once the plant is established,in work during the winter we cut so many back and the amount of times iv sat at home an evening with a needle digging thorns out my hands iv lost count,should really wear gloves

[Medusa]

Our house backs onto a field which is surrounded on all 3 sides. It used to get mowed on a regular basis, but since the owner became quite elderly and infirm it doesnt get mown anymore and the nettles and brambles behind the fence bordering our garden are huge, we just leave them to grow and lop off any which start to grow over the fence.

[jansman]

I'll second thorn bushes,brambles etc. My neighbour two doors down lives against the road at the back.He has opened the top of his garden to get his caravan in.Fair enough.That has left an open space( my immediate neighbour),whereby intruders could get into the top of my garden.So,as next doors garden is totally neglected,I have allowed the brambles in there to let rip,I used to hop over and slash them back to keep it off my boundary.Brambles are better than barbed wire!