Old wood door strength

[phil]

yes put long screws in the hinges.
one way to make the window hard to break is to replace the glass but then get a piece of 1/4" lexan, the bullet proof stuff. you can cut some 1" x 3/4" plywood strips to surround the edges and screw them to the door. if they break the window they won't get through the lexan and it won't block your view.

ok what's the next easiest place to break in? other windows that are out of common view? can you cut trees to make them more visible or fortify those?

many people these days have cameras. Its getting more common to have the kind that are linked with the burglar system and will email you as soon as a door is opened. My boss was showing me his system yesterday on his phone and you can see the time and date every single door was last opened. He's also got security cams that he can view over the phone. you can also have inputs to turn things on and off like lights heat etc. these systems are a bit expensive especially if there is a monthly fee that runs forever. anything you can do to make it look like your house has a security system can help. a cheap and visible one is reed switches or anythign that looks like a detector stuct to windows or putting a red light right on top of the roof. even if it's not connected the thief will think the red light will start flashing if he triggers the alarm.

although they are a bit cheesy looking the locks with numeric keypads make it look like you are investing and keeping up with technology.

A thief might not know if you have a system like this or not but breaking into houses with electronic systems is dangerous to a thief because the photo evidence can get them arrested. I'd suggest putting a few sensors on the windows so they can be seen from outside and some cameras even if they are just dummy ones. I think evidence of electronic security is a good deterrent. you can put up batter operated wildlife cams, you cna get cheap chinese junk for 50 bucks but if you spend a bit more I think there are more reliable ones. you can mount them up high or in a steel lock box. many have the infared technology and kind of glow when the sensors get triggered.

another cheap thing is to place pop cans around outside, anyone lurking in the dark can kick them over, they can be loud enough to make them leave or may alert you at night. a piece of fishing line as a trip wire tied to some pop cans or maybe a piece of sheet metal that will fall over , is an example of a booby trap that is not going to hurt anyone but might make a thief leave. They are looking for reasons why they might get caught. show them some evidence even if all you can afford is fake props.

sometimes I leave my van empty and unlocked but it has an alarm so I arm it. If anyone opens the door it'll set the alarm off. unlocked cars are pretty tempting to a thief. If you don;t want it stolen just remove the rotor from the distributor or unlpug a necessary wire. they wont' troubleshoot the issue and it won't start.

a really simple alarm can be made with two or three three position toggle switches. for example you can make a circut so if you have two up and one in the middle , then you can unlock the door or start your car. but any other position if the switches sounds a horn or siren. if you put those switches beside your door you could put a switch on the door and hook it so if the door is opened without the three switches in the correct position is sets off an alarm.

having keyed inside locks is dangerous in a fire. the problem is that someone can get locked in, if you hide the key they might not know where it is. so then you start leaving the keys in the lock, then anyone that breaks in can take your key, Yea you can key that one differently.

a way less elegant but effective way to fortify a door or window is bed rails. you know , 2 inch angle iron. the bed rails are particularily hard and easy to find cheap or free. just drill a 1/2" hole about an inch from each end and use a hacksaw to make one into a slot. then you can put two lag bolts on either side of the door. to open it you just lift one end of the bar off the lag bolt and leave it dangling on the other end. It's ugly bit for a shop door or an infrequently used door, it's easy and cheap.



Phil

sorry to hear of your break in. It's very upsetting.