Contents Table

TOPIC: Hiding Keys Outside
QUESTION: Is there a safe way to hide a key outside other than under the porch mat?
ANSWER: Do not hide a door key outside if you can help it.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Never hide a door key outside your home. Criminals know all the popular hiding places, whether it's under a floor mat, in low-hanging spouting, and on or in an outside light fixture. If you must hid a key outside, however, do so in a safe manner. For example, one manufacturer makes a rock look-a-like with a chamber inside for a key. To hid a key using this device, just lift the flap on the bottom, insert the key, refasten the flap, and place the rock look-a-like in your flower bed with other similar rocks. Another manufacturer makes a key safe that you install on the outside of your home. Under a plastic cover is a three- or four-digit combination lock and a locked door behind which you can hide your key. To open the compartment you have to know the combination. Another alternative is to install a keyless lock on your main entry door. Manufacturers make mechanical and electronic keyless locks that do not require a key. Instead, you press a numeric code into the device using a keypad on the outside of the door. If the code number is correct, the door automatically unlocks. If the code is wrong, the door remains locked.

TOPIC: Auxiliary Entrances
QUESTION: ow important is it to protect pet entries, unused coal shoots and other auxiliary entrances into my home?
ANSWER: If a burglar suspects that your doors and windows are well protected, he may decide to enter through one of many auxiliary entrances in the home.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The exterior doors and windows in your home are not the only way into your home. If you live in an older home, you probably have an unused coal shoot or milk door that's been painted over and forgotten. Although you may have forgotten these auxiliary entrances, an enterprising burglar will use them to his advantage. Skylights are another auxiliary entrance that's vulnerable to attack. And don't forget the pet door at the rear of the house that allows Fluffy the cat or dog to access the house-even when you're away from home. These openings should be protected against an illegal entry as well. Coal shoots, for example, can be bolted shut; milk doors can be nailed or screwed closed, and the risk that pet doors present can be minimized by keeping Fluffy indoors when you're leaving and bolting them shut from inside. You should also keep pet doors as small as possible to discourage use by a burglar. Skylights should also be protected, which usually means buying a better grade of skylight and, more often than not, having an alarm system installed with a number of motion detectors positioned inside your home.

TOPIC: deadbolt locks
QUESTION: If my ordinary knob & key lock is not enough to stop a determined burglar, what kind of lock is?
ANSWER: A deadbolt lock.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Deadbolt locks are more secure than ordinary knob & key locks because they have a throw of 1 inch or more. The throw on a lock is the distance that a latch or bolt protrudes through the jamb of a door. Be sure to install deadbolt locks or have them installed on all your exterior doors. Where possible, use double-cylinder models so if a burglar enters your home through a window, he cannot simply unlock and open a parimeter door and leave with your valuables. This lock generally helps to limit the amount of goods that the burglar can carry out of your home. This is because now he must leave through the same window that he entered through. Although deadbolt locks with a 2-in. throw are available, be sure that the lock you buy has at least a one-in. throw. Also, the better deadbolt locks come with a hardened steel shank in the center of the bolt to prevent someone from sawing or easily prying the bolt back into the mechanism. Other models have a deadlatcch feature that fastens the bolt in an extended position until the key is used to unlock it. It takes the proper key to unfasten the deadlatch, allowing the bolt to be retracted.

TOPIC: Deadbolt locks, integral units
QUESTION: Which of the deadbolts will allow me to exit my home the quickest?
ANSWER: An integral deadbolt and knob & key lock.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Double cylinder deadbolt locks can be dangerous to the occupants of a home. This is especially true when there's an emergency-such as a fire, and the key is no where to be found. In some communities it's against the law to install a double cylinder deadbolt. This means that you're forced to use a single- cylinder model that can be unlocked by breaking the glass in a door--or adjacent to a door, or from the inside after the burglar has entered through another opening, such as a window. This is accomplished by simply turning a thumb-turn knob on the inside of the door. Although this method of egress is fairly fast, it still requires two actions: the first is the unlocking of the deadbolt lock, and the second action is the turning of the knob on the knob & key lockset below it. To eliminate this two-step process, an integral deadbolt and knob & key lock enables you to perform both functions by mechanically linking the deadbolt lock to the knob & key lock mechanism. Thus, all that's required to unlock the deadbolt and open the door with this type of lock is to simply turn the knob and pull the door open.

Contents Table

TOPIC: Deadbolt locks, spinnin outer shell
QUESTION: Is there a way to unlock a deadbolt lock without a key?
ANSWER: Yes, there are several ways to do this. The easiest method, however, is to place a large pipe wrench on the outside shell of the lock and turn it until it retracts the bolt.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The lock body on some deadbolt locks are made as one piece. This means that if a burglar uses a large pipe wrench to turn it from the outside of the door, that as the lock body turns it will inherently retract the locked deadbolt mechanism. To prevent this from happening, use a deadbolt lock with a detachable outer shell. This outer shell will prevent criminals from spinning the lock body from the outside of the door.

Contents Table

TOPIC: Dead bolt locks on doors
QUESTION: Is my ordinary knob & key lock good enouth to stop a burglar?
ANSWER: Honest burglar's maybe, but enterprising ones, no.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Knob and key locks are usually not enough to keep a smart, enterprising burglar out. This is because they only have a throw of about a half inch. The throw on a lock is the distance that the latch or bolt protrudes through the jamb of the door. A half-inch throw is not enough to prevent someone from using a large screw driver or pry bar to pry the jamb away from the edge of the door. This act essentially causes the knob & key latch to pass by the strike plate on the door jamb, allowing the door to be freely opened at will.

Contents Table

TOPIC: Sliding glass doors, prevent lift outs, self-tapping screws.
QUESTION: Is the handle of a broom enough to stop someone from entering through my sliding glass door?
ANSWER: No. Although a broom handle will prevent him from sliding the door open, it will not prevent your sliding glass door from being lifted out of the track.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Sliding glass doors can and often are lifted out of their frame when a burglar finds he cannot pry the door open. You can prevent this from happening by installing one or two self-tapping screws through the top frame of the sliding glass door. Because the screw extends over top of the door inside the metal track, the door cannot be lifted upward out of the bottom track. To install a self-tapping screw in the top track, simply drill a hole above the door line through the frame/track of the door frame. Then install a screw that's long enough so it extends well over the edge of the sliding door.

Contents Table

TOPIC: Wrought iron works on windows and doors
QUESTION: Will installing wrought iron on my windows stop a burglar from breaking in that way?
ANSWER: Yes, but wrought iron works can also prevent you or a family member from quickly leaving when there's an emergency, such as a fire.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Installing wrought iron works on your windows and doors will prevent someone from getting into your home. However, because fire is a constant threat in your home, especially when everyone's in bed sleeping, it goes without saying that wrought iron works can also prevent you and your loved ones from safely escaping when there's a fire. A bedroom, for example, can suddenly become a death trap to a family member who's unfortunate enough to be caught there with wrought iron works installed over the outside of the windows in their room. Experts say that if you have to install wrought iron works, do so in such a manner that they can be easily and quickly removed or opened. This is true whether they're installed on the inside or outside of your home. This might mean the use of a pad lock with the key placed in an accessible location near the window. Wrought iron works on basement windows, however, is a good idea for two reasons. First, when someone is in the basement, they are usually awake--plus most basement windows are high enough that they're not going to be used as a means of escape during a fire anyway. Second, basement windows are probably the most insecure and burglar-used window in a home. Wrought iron works on your basement windows will prevent a burglar from easily kicking the glass in a window out and crawling in.

Contents Table

TOPIC: Garage door openers, frequencies
QUESTION:
ANSWER:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Garage door openers today are usually fairly secure. However, older models are usually easily circumvented by enterprising and not- that-smart a burglars. Be sure that your garage door is of the coded type where signals from a next door neighbor's garage door or an aircraft passing over head cannot open your door. Also, be sure the receiver on your garage door is of the multiple-frequency type, which allows you to change it's operating frequency if a neighbor happens to buy one of the same model. In many cases, radio control manufacturers routinely set the operating frequency and encryption codes on all their production line units the same. The installer will change them if he knows there's another garage door opener in the area. However, it's unlikely that he would know this.

Contents Table

TOPIC: Sliding glass doors, lift out of frame, lock
QUESTION:
ANSWER:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Sliding glass doors can and often are lifted out of their frame when a burglar wants in. The use of a dowel rod in this case will not help, whether the door opens on the outside of the stationary section or on the inside. One way to prevent this from happening is to install a lock that mounts on the door frame and stationary door or door frame. The lock should hook the two together in such a manner that the burglar cannot easily lift the door upward. For additional information, refer to record 24.

Contents Table

TOPIC: Sliding glass doors, weak latches, dowel rod, lock
QUESTION:
ANSWER:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The latch on a sliding glass door is often easy to force open. One way to prevent this is to install either an anti-slide lock on the door itself or insert a long object in the track at the back of the sliding door portion. This can be as simple as a 1-in. dowel rod, a cut off broom stick, a metal rod, or a special rod device made for the task.

Contents Table

TOPIC: outside door hinges, install inside house, install pin in hinges
QUESTION:
ANSWER:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Doors that hinge outward are vulnerable because the hinges are on the outside of the door. The best way to correct this is to remove the door and install it so it swings inward. If this cannot be done for some reason, whether it's economic or skill relaed, the next best thing is th remove one of the hinge screws on the hinge of each perimeter door and replace it with a short rod. This will prevent someone from lifting the hinge pins and pulling the door open using the door latch as the hinge point. Here's the description of how to do th is from the book: ...a stopgap measure is to remove a screw from each side of the hinge. Remove one screw from the side of the hinge fastened to the door, then remove the screw directly opposite it from the side of the hinge fastened to the door frame. Insert a short piece of metal rod (a nail, screw or bolt may work) in the hole in the door frame, so that it sticks out about half an inch. When the door is closed, that rod will fit into the hole in the door, and will keep the door from being lifted out of its frame.

Contents Table

TOPIC: Glass panels, unbreakable acrylic
QUESTION: I have windows on each side of my front door. What can I do to reduce the risk that these windows pose?
ANSWER: Install a double cylinder deadbolt lock or replace them with unbreakable acrylic panels.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Glass side windows are a risk to the security of your home. To reduce this risk you should either install a double cylinder deadbolt lock or replace each of them with an unbreakable acrylic plastic panels. Unlike the plexiglass of yesterday, today's acrylic plastic is crystal clear, and with periodic maintenance, it will last for many, many years to come. Acrylic plastic will also make it more difficult for a burglar to penetrate your home.

Contents Table

TOPIC: Doors, door construction and materials
QUESTION: What's the best kind of door to buy for my home?
ANSWER: A solid wooden or hollow steel door with a depth of at least two inches.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The doors to your home should be solid, perferably 2 inches thick, made of wood or hollow steel. Hollow steel doors usually come with a polyurethane insulation inside that helps to insulate it. Hollow core wooden doors, however, have little strength to repel a burglar's attack.

Contents Table

TOPIC: Apartment security, more than just a key, access control, intercom
QUESTION: What's the first thing I should look for when looking for a new apartment complex to live in?
ANSWER: Look for more than just a key on the common apartment door.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: People who live in multiple-family homes are less likely to be victimized if access to the facility is controlled by more than just a key. Key locks can easily be manipulated, allowing criminals to enter the complex. Once in, they can prey on any tenant in the building. The ideal situation is to find an apartment complex with an access control system and intercom at the common entrance of the facility. This forces visitors to ring tenants up and request entry to the building before they can get in.

www.tpromo.com