Home Security Takes Planning

Here are some pointers on steps to increase the security of your home.

1. No place to hide: Trim shrubs and other plants near the house. Strategically place thorny plants, such as a hedge of rosebushes. Gravel paths can prevent a silent approach.

2. Down and out: Protect basement windows with metal grates, bars or specially designed plastic bubbles.

3. Window of opportunity: Secure ground-level, double-hung windows with keyed pin locks. This prevents the upper and lower sashes from being opened. Install locks on any upper level double hung windows accessible from roofs or sheds.

4. Bulk up doors: Secure bulkhead-type basement doors from the underside with sliding crossbars. Recess the hinge barrels in concrete to protect them.

5. Show them the door: Placing lights on both sides of the entrance door provides ample nighttime illumination, even if one light fails. Consider converting one light on the front to an emergency light, which flashes on and off when you flip the light switch twice. When the switch is flipped once, it functions as a regular light.

6. Get a good look: Install a wide-angle peephole on the entry door.

7. Deadbolt it: Install deadbolt locks on all doors. If double-cylinder deadbolts are used, keep a key nearby to prevent being trapped in a fire.

8. The strong silent type: Make sure exterior doors are solid core.

9. Moving targets: Motion-detection lights go on when someone approaches the house and enters the sensory field. Install them on your house's exterior so they can illuminate areas which can't be seen from the street, back and side yards and areas screened by shrubs, trees or other vegetation. Place the lights high enough so they can't be reached without a ladder.

10. Open and shut case: If you have an automatic garage door opener, consider replacing it with one that has a "rolling code." This defeats the "code grabbing" devices which thieves sometimes possess and allow them to access the electronic code which opens your door.

11. Don't forget the garage: Reinforce the panels on wooden garage doors. If there are windows in the doors, consider replacing them with shatterproof glass. When going away for long periods, padlock the garage door track, or if it is an electric door, turn off the power. Electric garage doors should be the newer variety which reverse if they touch anything while closing.

12. Grounding an intruder: Use vinyl rather than metal drain pipes, since vinyl is less likely to support a climber. Also, cut back tree limbs which a burglar could use to climb to the roof. Place trellises and picnic tables away from the house.

13. Sliding home: Secure sliding glass doors with keyed pin locks which are screwed into the inside frame. The fixed panel of the door should be screwed into the frame so it can't be lifted out.

14. A well-lit path: Installing low-voltage ground lighting makes outdoor walkways safer at night. Place timers or light sensors on the lights so they can go on automatically at dusk.

Copyright 2004 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest Global Communications Corp. All Rights Reserved, SOURCE: For Calgary Herald; CanWest News Service DATELINE: CALGARY, Edmonton Journal (Alberta) May 1, 2004 Saturday Final Edition, Source: 1001 Do-It-Yourself Hints & Tips from Reader's Digest Books (1998) The Reader's Digest Association (Canada) Ltd.