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If you want better security for your home, here's what to do

We all want our home to be private, a sort of sanctuary where everybody inside can relax. For extra peace of mind, it’s important to keep your household secure. Begin by seeing whether all your locks are functioning, and regularly keeping a lookout for any susceptibilities in your outside doors. In addition, always monitor the premises. It’s not as difficult as you may think to have excellent security wherever you live. Contemplate the following:

Don’t keep an extra key “hidden” outside. Don’t leave a spare key over your door, underneath the welcome mat, or beneath a flower pot. That’s where a robber will look first. Do you expect a fake rock keyholder to be safer? Maybe, but an experienced criminal will probably already know just what it looks like. Instead, it’s better to give a copy of your key to a trusted neighbor or friend.

Have all your family members agree to some basic rules.

Keep your valuables stored in unexpected places.
Don’t answer the door only unless you know the person. If you don’t have a peephole already, install one.
Lock windows and doors every night before going to sleep, as well as anytime you’re gone.

Be a good neighbor. Become acquainted with your neighbors, at least the ones on each side of your place, as well as a few neighbors across the street. Establish trust. Good neighbors always watch out for each other. Communicate occasionally. You don’t need to be friends; just be friendly. A good neighbor will keep an eye on your home while you’re away. Some may even get your mail, water and mow your lawn, or even help in other ways to make it appear that you’re still at home. Return the favor anytime you have the opportunity.

Upgrade worn-out or weak locks. Expert locksmiths worth their salt will tell you, deadbolts provide superior security. Make sure to get a grade-2 deadbolt, which penetrates the doorframe. Heavy-duty is always preferred. Smart or digital locks will add another layer of security. With some, you can synch your locks to your smart device, so you won’t ever need to have a key at all.

Secure your glass doors and your windows. Any open window will attract a trespasser. First-floor windows are riskier, but upper-floor windows are also attractive to an intruder, because a cat burglar can get in by balcony, tree, stairway, fence, or ladder. Consequently, you ought to use a blocking device, such as a wooden dowel, for each window. This will stop a person on the outside from sliding it open. Be sure that you can easily remove these window-blocking devices from the inside, so that anyone will be able to exit fast if there is a fire.

For ground-level sliding-glass doors and horizontally sliding aluminum windows, anti-lift devices are necessary. Install screws half-way into the upper track of the movable glass panel, so a thief cannot lift it out when it’s in the closed position. You can also put a decal on glass doors and windows, near the latch mechanisms, indicating that you’re participating in a Neighborhood Watch program, or that you have an alarm system.

Sensibly store your keys and your garage-door remote. It’s a bad idea to regularly keep the remotes and keys close to a door that has glass, or to a door by a window, visible to anyone able to peek in from outside. Instead, hide them on hooks mounted inside a cupboard door or in a drawer.

Reinforce your doors. Check the quality of your exterior doors. A hollow door is vulnerable, so you should replace it with a solid-core door made of wood or metal. Bolster your doors’ locks by replacing the strike plate ~ the stationary piece where the bolt goes in ~ and mounting a solid metal plate on the doorjamb for the sliding bolt. Replace any short mounting screws with longer screws, which reach the studs of the door to reinforce the doorframe.

Safeguard your garage. Some thieves prefer the relatively easier method of entering your home through your garage. Whenever you’re out, always keep your garage door shut and locked.

Put ladders away. Don’t leave a ladder out in the yard, because an imposter, acting like a handyman or contractor, might take your ladder to get inside your house through a balcony or window.

Tie down your air-conditioner. Apply a sliding window lock, an air-conditioner bracket, or corner braces, so that a prowler cannot enter through an unsecured opening.

Keep your yard neat and tidy. Keep your hedges, shrubs, trees, and all other plants trimmed. If not properly spaced, too ungainly, or too tall, a trespasser will find a hiding place.
Keep the lights working. Install lights by all your doors, with motion detectors. Some lights also respond to fluctuations in sound, daylight, or temperature. With some, you can connect to your smart device, so you’ll find out about any activity and you can respond immediately even if you’re not at home.

Put in timers. You can make it seem like you’re at home by putting timers on your radios, TVs, lights, and sprinklers. If you take a vacation, you can sync your smart device using a mobile app, and monitor and control everything remotely.

Install an alarm system. If it fits within your budget, put in an alarm system. Teach your family to use it every day. Keep the batteries charged, so that your home will remain secure even if a power outage occurs. Consider:

keeping the whole system on a timer schedule;
putting in a carbon monoxide monitor;
adding a fire alarm;
installing a moisture monitor in the basement for flood detection; and
using a smart device for remote access to the entire system, so that anytime you want, you can monitor and adjust it.

DIY. When you pay constant attention to potential weaknesses in your security, then your house will be less attractive to a burglar. No one’s property is completely impermeable, but there are a good number of ways you can prevent criminal trespass.

Hire a professional. If you find any flaws in your home security, to find out how to remedy each issue, hire a reputable local locksmith company. If you’re located in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, you ought to request a free consultation from a topnotch mobile residential locksmith specialist, such as those on staff at 24 Hour Newton Locksmith.