You love your home — whether you just bought it or if you’ve lived in it for decades. That’s why you want to keep it safe. Unfortunately, there may be some parts of your home that are vulnerable to those who might not have good intentions for you or your valuables. Don’t panic, though. There are a lot of solutions out there that’ll allow you to breathe a lot easier. Here’s a home security checklist of sorts for you to follow along with.
One: Check Your Roof
Birds aren’t the only ones interested in your roof. Burglars or other intruders may see your roof as a prime access point for them. One of the first items that you should check off on your home security checklist is to hire a roofing company to come do an inspection and see what kind of access points are vulnerable. Then they can make suggestions on how to close off those spots.
One of the main things you can do is make sure that your alarm system is connected to all of those access points on the roof. You can see about calibrating it so that it recognizes larger things and doesn’t go every time a pigeon or owl lands on the roof. Otherwise, you might lose sleep for the wrong reasons.
Of course, you want to be able to disable these security measures if someone is coming to inspect the roof or if you’re having people come from gutter installation companies. But that’s a problem to tackle later on. Right now, you just want to make your roof an uninviting place for those who would rob you. Then it’s time to go to the next item on the home security checklist.
Two: Check Your Windows
Your windows do a lot more than just keep the noise and the elements out of your home. This is important since drafty windows can lead to higher energy bills. They also prevent burglars from using them as a handy entry point. They’ll definitely target any place that has old or broken windows. If yours fits the bill, then you should do the next part of your home security checklist and call a window replacement company to come take care of the problem.
Besides window and siding replacement, you can also do things to your windows to make them safer for you and your family when you’re home. Do you have a young child? It can be very dangerous to have them go near windows. They can be a lot faster than you anticipated, and you don’t want any tragedies to occur. You can prevent that from happening by putting bars on the outside of the window. Wouldn’t you know it — those bars can also keep burglars out. Talk about a win-win situation.
Make sure that you can open and close your new windows with ease. You don’t want them getting stuck in the open position. It’s also very important that you can securely lock them. See about getting a security system that also monitors all of your windows and alerts authorities if there is anything amiss. This will allow you to feel a lot more secure whenever you look outside.
Three: Protect Your Garage Door
When burglars are casing places, they will take an interest in your garage door. Is it a brand-new one that’s solid or is it one that’s seen better days? They like seeing homes that have garage doors that fall into the second category since it’ll give them an extra access point to get into your place. Your home security checklist should include talking with garage door companies to see how they can improve your current garage door.
The best thing would be to get an extremely sturdy one. There are ones out there that have multiple layers to them, which can also be excellent at keeping cold or hot air out of your garage, which can reduce the amount of energy you need to keep your home comfortable. While there are some nice doors that have things like glass panes, you should think about where a potential thief could find their way inside. You’re likely better off with a solid garage door — fewer potential entry points.
Four: Check Your Locks
Burglars will check more than windows and garage doors. They’ll also check the front and back doors of a home. You want to make sure that you’re well protected in the lock department. You can get several for the front door and even get accessories that you can wedge into the side of a door that prevent someone from opening it from the outside. Make checking both the front and back doors each day part of your home security checklist. That way, you can make it become a habit that you don’t even have to think about.
Be extra diligent when letting service people like a waterproofing contractor, air conditioning contractors from a heating and air conditioning service firm, or plumbers into your home. This isn’t saying that those employees can’t be trusted, but it can just be easy to forget to lock the door again, especially if you need to have them use the back entrance or even one for your basement, resulting in an easy target for thieves later.
You don’t have to just worry about conventional doors that swing open — you might have a sliding door that needs attention, too. Make sure that it’s always locked, and you might want to think about investing in shutters to cover those doors if you go away for any particular length of time. Not to mention, if you just had air conditioning contractors come to the house, keeping the door locked and closed will save you on your air conditioning bills.
Technology has made it much easier to keep track of your doors. There are even smart locks that you can open and close while using your phone. You can tie these things in with your security system and even have a video doorbell that can detect when people walk up to your door and record them. This will make having to hide an extra key obsolete (which is another practice that burglars LOVE), since if you hide it in an obvious place, like under a plant, it gives them immediate access. There still may be a need to hide-a-key for emergency situations (e.g., if you are calling emergency plumbers, you don’t want the WIFI going down to stop them from getting into the house and saving that overflowing toilet), but reducing your dependence on it means a smaller chance that thieves can leverage that system.
Five: Trim Trees and Bushes
This might not seem as obvious as other items on your home security checklist, but it’s a good idea to make sure that you have tree contractors come take care of branches and shrubs. Why? It keeps burglars from being able to hide from your security cameras and allows them to move around in the shadows, especially during the night.
But you could also think about having some landscaping with an edge. Do you have any windows that might be easy to access? Besides adding bars and securely locking the windows, you could have some particularly thorny bushes put under them. Burglars would likely hate to have to spend some time afterward pulling thorns or burrs out of their pants or other parts of their body. It’s a lot better looking than getting barbed wire, which might make your place have a very different vibe.
Speaking of barbed wire, though, you should consider getting a fence. This is another idea for your home security checklist. The thinking behind this is that burglars want to have as easy a job as possible. Their goal is to be able to get into a place and out of it as quickly as possible. If you add a hurdle like a fence, then that can act as a deterrent, since it would add more time and effort on their part. The more time they have to spend, the greater the chance of others noticing them and alerting the authorities. There are plenty of non-barbed wired fences, so you can still keep a nice aesthetic.
Six: Other Miscellaneous Ares to Look Out For
It seems like your home security checklist is already a long one, doesn’t it? There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to protecting your family. Your location doesn’t entirely matter, either. There are incidents where people that live on the tenth floor of an apartment building have been robbed, some who lived in what some might call a ‘nice suburb neighborhood,’ and then some people in the most remote rural areas have come home to find everything gone. That’s why it’s not overkill to think about the areas that are vulnerable.
You need to think about where there might be some blind spots in your home. Security cameras can do a lot, but they can’t catch everything. Think about where those areas are and consider getting motion sensors that will alert you to an intruder. Of course, you also need to consider putting them in spots where your cat, your dog or your children won’t constantly trip them off. It can feel like a delicate balancing act.
Another area of concern is any spot around your home that isn’t exposed to light at all at night. There could be open areas in your backyard or on the side where burglars could lurk under the cover of night without worrying about being seen by you or even any neighbors. Think about getting a security system that also has motion sensors that will flood certain parts of your home with light when tripped. That way, you’ll be removing the potential element of surprise for those with less-than-good intentions. This also includes wildlife, though the sight of bright lights will likely send them scurrying back into the woods.
The best thing you can do, besides enlisting the help of security experts, is to walk around your place during the day. Try to think like a burglar. See if there’s anything that might seem to be setting up a welcome sign for any potential thieves. You might be surprised at what you find. Also, take some notes if it seems like a rash of burglaries has hit the area. Your local police report can be invaluable when it comes to this. There are also apps where people can report things like burglaries in their area. If so, then be extra diligent in shoring up any weak spots in your home.
Always inspect any security devices on a regular basis. Ensure that they are properly plugged in or have fresh batteries. Constantly check their connection with things like your smartphone. Be on the lookout for any telltale signs that something regarding your security system isn’t working. Burglars will definitely be searching for them. Don’t let them find them at your home — it’ll literally open the door for them.
Concluding Thoughts
Don’t worry that you might be over-protecting. While all of this might seem like you’re setting up to guard your property like a fortress, it’s important to pay attention to security. It’s also necessary to look around your neighborhood and try to determine if there are like-minded people living there. See if the people around you are also invested in their own security and are open to protecting both themselves and their neighbors. If there’s anything a burglar hates, it’s seeing a group of dedicated homeowners banding together. The sight of that may send them fleeing to another less guarded area.
We’re not trying to scare you with this post. It’s just that even the best neighborhoods can wind up having some criminal activity, including burglaries. You can gain a lot more peace of mind by paying attention to the items on this home security checklist. Your home might already have some of the features that we talked about, but it’s always a good idea to see about upgrading. You might even find that the newer items bring you even more protection. Many of them are quite affordable, too.
By doing these things, you’ll be able to rest a lot more easily at night. Yes, some of them will cost money, but you need to see it as an investment to protect yourself and your family. Being able to do that is priceless. That will let you feel safe at all times.
