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For those homeowners who don’t feel comfortable with the standard security measures that are included on the doors and windows in your home, one trip to the hardware store can reveal a myriad of additional hardware options for providing increased peace of mind.
The good news is that many of these hardware options don’t require a lot of work or skill to install properly. Best of all, these options will enhance the security of these potentially compromised points of access in the home so that you can sleep better at night.
Window Security Hardware
Some may consider windows the most vulnerable due to the fact that glass is part of the equation. All an intruder needs to do is throw a rock or brick through the window and they’re inside or pry away the sash in some manner to make the window accessible from the outside.
But you can take some precautions to stop this from happening.
Window film is a great choice for halting an intruder who chooses to smash the glass. The film acts as an impenetrable barrier so that even if the glass is broken the film remains intact and the burglar now has to contend with a secondary safeguard that will prove much more difficult to circumvent than glass.
In the case of choosing a specific kind of window to deter intruders, a casement window is a sure bet to make thieves think twice. These windows may only be opened or shut by way of a crank on the inside, something that crooks can’t reach from the outside.
Talk to your local Renewal by Andersen window replacement dealer to discuss having these types of windows put into your home.
For those of you who like the windows they currently have, there are other options such as special additional locks, chains, and burglar bars that will prevent a window from being opened by an assailant.
Door Security Hardware
Many homeowners will add deadbolt locks as a way of keeping a door firmly shut and locked. Unfortunately, these additional deadbolts are only a visual deterrent, having one is just as effective as having four of them installed. If a door is kicked in hard enough, the jamb will break and the door will open right up.
Strike plates are a great way to solve the problem; these metal additions are used as a way to bolster the door jamb on either side so that it is stronger and more resistant to attack.
Doors that have windows inside make deadbolts potentially useless, unless your deadbolt is operated by a key on the inside and out. Levered switches are easy to unlock once a glass pane is busted loose. The intruder just reaches in and flips the lock open. But if a key is needed to unlock it instead, you’re far more secure.
Be sure, however, that the keys are always accessible by you and anyone else in the home in the event a fire breaks out and you need to escape the home quickly. That is not the time to be looking for your set of keys.
