Your home’s security is essential to feeling safe and secure in your home but it can be an expensive endeavor. Which is why we have made this handy little guide on how you can increase the security of your property on the cheap.
- Double Locking - This is so often overlooked, it is actually frustrating, especially for locksmiths Double locking involves locking your door with your keys and not relying solely on the latch. By simply double locking your door you enhance its security dramatically, as you stop criminals from using a number of techniques used to bypass doors such as hooking, sliding and door popping. Double locking also increases your doors’ force resistance considerably, especially on UPVC doors. And best of all this doesn’t cost a penny.
To double lock UPVC doors, simply insert your key into your euro cylinder lock, lift the handels and turn the key towards the frame until all the hooks and bolts within the door have been engaged.
To double lock your wooden doors, interest your key into your 5 lever mortice lock and turn it towards the frame to engage the bolt.
- Window Alarms - Window alarms are a great little addition to your home. Simply place them next to your ground floor windows. They can be purchased for around £25 and will emit a high decibel siren when the window you have placed them by opens, alerting you to a potential intruder.
- Dummy Alarm & CCTV - So CCTV and alarm systems can be expensive and complicated to install. So if you haven’t got the time, patience or money we suggest installing dummy cameras and a dummy alarm box. These can be screwed to a wall rather easily and quickly. While these will not be able to sound the alarm or captur footage they do pose an effective crime deterrent and sometimes that is all what is needed.
- Single Alarm System - If you are looking to increase the security of your garage or shed one way you can do this chepaily, is to buy a stand alone alarm system. These all in one systems have a small keypad, built in siren and motion sensor. Stand alone system works the exact same way as a normal alarm system. When the system detects movement the system will activate and if not deactivated by using the correct code the system will sound a high decibel alarm. These systems are easy to obtain and can be purchased quite chepaily a your local locksmiths or DIY store.
- Hide Valuables - It is sometimes impractical and doesn’t really increase the security of your home but can save you from losing some of your most precious items. Hiding your items can be tricky, that is why we suggest only hiding small items such as jewelry, money and important documents. Hiding places could be
- Freezer in a freezer bag
- In a hollowed book on your bookshelf
- In a coat pocket
- Under the food boards
- In an old suitcase
- In your loft
- Upgrade Your Locks Yourself - We always recommend your external doors should be fitted with locks which meet British standard 3621. This is a level of theft resistance set out by the British standards institute You can usually see if your locks meet this standard by looking for the British Standard kitemark usually located on the locks faceplate. If your locks do not meet this standard then we recommend changing them. You could call out a locksmith sometimes this is necessary but sometimes you can change your locks yourself. There are plenty of videos and how-to guides on how to change your own locks and save yourself a small fortune. For example Euro cylinders are held into place by a single screw. If you feel uncomfortable about changing your own locks, call a few locksmiths in order to obtain the best price.
- Smart Bulbs Or Plug Timers - Burglars primarily target homes which look unoccupied as there is a less chance of them being caught in the act. Around 50% of homes burgled are unoccupied. So it makes sense to make it at least seem like your home is occupied even if it’s not. There are two ways you can do this.
Firstly plug timers are simple to use, cheap and versatile. Simply plug the plug timer into a socket then plug a light, radio or TV into the plug timer and set the times you wish for these appliances to turn on and off. We recommend setting your plug timers to turn on and off several times a day and night if possible this will require multiple timers.
Secondly smart bulbs are a great alternative to plug timers or can be used in conjunction with them. Smart bulbs connect to your wifi and can be controlled with your smartphone and programmed to turn on and off at different times. A very useful product to make it appear your home isn’t empty.
Final thoughts
Home Security is expensive and we do recommend you use real CCTV, a real alarm system etc but sometimes this is not always practical, sometimes these are not needed and good habits are always needed such as always double locking your door and ensuring all of your doors and windows are locked when you leave the property. . But sometimes improvisation is needed and we hope this guide will help you increase your security on a tight budget.
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