Author Topic: DIY home/homestead security alarms  (Read 6057 times)

Perd Hapley

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Re: DIY home/homestead security alarms
« Reply #25 on: October 28, 2008, 02:03:59 AM »
Have you considered caltrops?  :)

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Bogie

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Re: DIY home/homestead security alarms
« Reply #26 on: October 28, 2008, 02:29:04 AM »
Peacocks are noisy critters, and fairly territorial. Also kinda ornamental.
 
They crap like geese on industrial strength laxatives.

They're dumber than turkeys.

But they're pretty.

I'd put up some good motion detector lights, and reinforce stuff that might get broken into.
 
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seeker_two

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Re: DIY home/homestead security alarms
« Reply #27 on: October 28, 2008, 06:38:29 AM »
I'd reconsider the dog idea....a small to medium sized dog that can bark loudly makes for a great alarm/target indicator. Many criminal-types are conditioned to run from dog-barking even if they don't see the dog. And dogs require a lot less care than cats....a can of dog food and a belly-rub a day goes a long way....

I also support the motion-sensor lights too....esp. bright lights. Criminal types don't want anything that causes them to be seen....
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tokugawa

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Re: DIY home/homestead security alarms
« Reply #28 on: October 30, 2008, 02:58:54 AM »
Recommendations-  physical security is very important to me.  There are burglaries and home invasions- two different scenarios with some common protections.

 #1 SOLID ENTRANCE DOORS -Yes, they can break a window and climb over the glass- nobody really wants to and it is noisy and takes a lot more time.  I recommend the commercial steel doors and frames, the ugly gray ones. Paint them or veneer them with wood, put on the best commercial grade deadbolt you can find. Door/frame combo about $500 new, I suspect they can be found a lot cheaper from an architectural  salvage place. Deadbolt about $80. The frame is designed to slip over the wall studs, make sure the wall adjacent to the door is solid. 

 #2- SOLID BEDROOM DOOR, just like the entry doors. (A solid core wood door with deadbolt will probably be ok here. Reinforce the jamb and strike.)

 #3- anti break film for the glass on the lower story or accessible windows or glass doors (glass sliding doors suck, they seem to be one of the most common access points for thieves.)

 #4- Check the garage door, can the top be pushed in so the emergency release is accessible with a wire hook? If so, Fix it.
 
 #5- Motion lights- they will come on at odd times, no way do you want an exterior motion light tied to an alarm. But they are useful , both to save your ankles bringing out the trash at night and to bother the riff-raff.
 
 #6 Surveillance- cameras can tell you what is going on outside, and also on the other side of the bedroom door.
 
 #7- alarm- Loud-Ideally it should drive out an intruder by noise.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

MicroBalrog

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Re: DIY home/homestead security alarms
« Reply #29 on: October 30, 2008, 02:20:34 PM »
Quote
#1 SOLID ENTRANCE DOORS -Yes, they can break a window and climb over the glass- nobody really wants to and it is noisy and takes a lot more time.  I recommend the commercial steel doors and frames, the ugly gray ones. Paint them or veneer them with wood.

In Israel, we just buy our steel doors with faux-wood look, is this not available in America?
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WeedWhacker

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Re: DIY home/homestead security alarms
« Reply #30 on: October 30, 2008, 03:33:57 PM »
In Israel, we just buy our steel doors with faux-wood look, is this not available in America?

We don't want our War on Some Drugs warriors getting hurt because they hit the door with the ram before noticing that the wooden door is, in fact, made of steel.
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Hawkmoon

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Re: DIY home/homestead security alarms
« Reply #31 on: October 30, 2008, 06:33:35 PM »
A quick footnote in response to the multiple comments about deadbolts and reinforced door strikes.

A number of years ago my brother's now ex-wife went through the classes necessary to become an auxilary state police officer. Some of the classes discussed home security, and she shared that information with us. What she was taught by the state police (and I have no doubt that the information was and is correct) was that crooks who want "IN" through a door don't waste time trying to kick the knob or the strike side of the door. They kick in the hinge side. Almost nobody thinks about reinforcing the hinges. Look at what holds the hinges -- each hinge has three short (typically 3/4") brass screws that go into a piece of soft, 3/4" (or maybe 1", if your door is a deluxe model) pine door frame. Close to the edge.

It doesn't take much to kick a door off its hinges.

By all means, get a steel or solid-core wood door, install a good deadbolt lock and reinforce the strikes. But take the time to also reinforce the hinges. First step is to replace those worthless 3/4" screws with some really REALLY long screws -- long enough to go right through the door frame and into the two 2x4s or 2x6s beyond. Pre-drill the holes, so the screws don't split the wood when you install them.

There are even more effective ways to reinforce hinges. Talk to a good locksmith or hardware consultant (which doesn't include the drone in the "hardware" aisle at Home Depot) for other suggestions.
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