Inspiration > Family Spaces

A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Home Security

Posted by:

outdoor lighting

How do you protect your home against intruders? How sure are you that you are really safe? Do you trust the currently installed security system in your home?

The questions above are hard to answer, especially if you are not hands-on with the safety of your house. By ensuring that you have knowledge about the safety of your home and the systems that could work well with it, you are also guaranteeing the safety of your family and property. Read on for do-it-yourself guides in securing your safety.

warning-sign-burglars-flickr

(photo via Flickr)

Lock Up

Believe it or not, determined thieves can easily pick a lock open in minutes. Thieves are always pressed for time, so they will use the obvious entry points of your house: doors and windows. Learn how you can improve your locks and bolts by exploring available technologies out there. Affordable alarm systems activated by passwords can be installed on doors and windows. By learning how you can install these systems yourself, you can even save thousands of dollars. Check out this video to learn how to install a lockset.

SAMSUNG

You can also install protective screens over your windows to prevent burglars from breaking your glass panes. With the screens in place, it would be more difficult for burglars to enter your house. There are hundreds of tutorials available online, including right here on PlanItDIY. Being resourceful will go a long way in protecting your home.

Clean Up

Neatly trimmed bushes and shady oaks may be nice to look at in any backyard or front lawn. However, these are thief magnets, as they provide ample coverage for someone trying to break in your house. Trees that are close to your home can provide access to a higher floor entry, which is more dangerous. Trim any overgrown plants surrounding your area. If possible, make sure that you can see beyond your yard from inside the house. Saw off any branches that can be used as a way to enter upper floors and balconies.

front yard

Make sure that natural lighting reaches all entry points. It is also critical to install artificial light sources to ward off unwanted visitors at night. You may consider motion-activated porch lights to save on electric bills. Just make sure that as you install these light fixtures, you hide the wires in proper places, as it will be useless if thieves can just cut them up from their power sources.

Explore Technology

It is definitely easier to have someone install a home security system and leave it to protect your house. However, it is worth more than your money to know more about the basics of installing security systems through research. If you have the time, read the manuals of the security system installed in your house, especially how security cameras work, how detectors sound off the alarms and how to upgrade the system yourself. These are not complicated, and your security system provider can educate you with their system.

If you are handy with Arduino and a little bit of programming, you can make a very cool home security system that can even text you a message as soon as it detects an intruder. Mac users can even use an app called “SecureHome” that can detect noise level and sounds an alarm if a certain level is reached.

Keep a Pet

Pets are not only good companions, but an amazing protector of your family and property as well. Many people now use guard dogs to watch over their homes against intruders. Guard dogs are trained extensively to be aggressive against strangers and friendly towards familiar faces. Certain dog breeds such as German shepherd, the bullmastiff, the Rottweiler, the Doberman pinscher and the giant schnauzer can make great guard dogs. Consider visiting shelters and rescue centers as most train rescued dogs as guard assistants. If you already have one yourself, consult with a guard dog training expert to help you train your pet to become a sentinel.

Money cannot buy a good night’s sleep and the safety of your family and property. A personalized home security system can be better than an expensive alarm system. You know your house and area very well and with a little effort and brain power, you can burglar-proof your home without spending thousands of dollars.

Send to Kindle

Christopher Britton
More about Christopher Britton

Christopher Britton is an Interior Architect by day and a Freelance Writer by night. He writes about home improvement, home security, green & simple living, and even interior design, giving readers up-to-date information and advice on the latest trends.

Read more posts by Christopher Britton


Read more from: Inspiration > Family Spaces

Back to top

7 responses to “A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Home Security”

  1. Zaera says:

    Home security is the major important thing in our life to protect our house from thieves and others. The guide you provided is very useful to secure home by ourself. From the list I like using security system that sends message to you.Thanks for providing useful tips to secure the home.TCS Ultimatix is a TCS gateway that offers a productive and compelling approach to deal with all the compensation and hr administrations. Introduce TCS ultimatix app on your gadget to know the details about organization and representatives. Install tcs ultimatix app download

  2. KGF says:

    How can do i stop the automatic update the setting,so it is very easy and simple process windows 10 sync settings sync is a new setting feature and i hope you can do easy the change the any setting.

  3. Joseph says:

    This is just a necessary technique for your safety. The smoke detector https://www.x-sense.com/products/x-sense-wireless-interconnected-smoke-alarm-xs01-wr detects a fire at the initial stage and generates a warning signal, so that the owner can quickly eliminate the fire and protect the room from the consequences of the fire.

  4. I’m grateful for the wealth of knowledge you’ve supplied on home security. I appreciate you sharing this!

  5. Robert says:

    thanks

  6. David Turner says:

    What are the benefits of garden rooms with verandas in the context of modern needs and lifestyles, and how do these features improve the living environment and use of garden space?

  7. James Ruiz says:

    I think it’s a very cool idea as you get some extra outdoor space. I know that the company https://tridentmodular.com/houses-tag/garden-room-with-veranda/ builds such housing. Their buildings meet all international quality standards and the materials they use in construction are not harmful to the environment. This is one of the popular options for modern, environmentally friendly, comfortable and budget housing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Current month ye@r day *