Setting Your Home Security Priorities

[Dennis1209]

Do you have any of those home security projects you want to get done and intend to get around to one of these days. That always end up at the bottom of your priority list that never gets done, until a time comes when you had wished they were your top priority? Fortunately my recent home security experience ended well, but could have easily went South depending on the resolve of the home intruder. I'll try to keep my recent experience and thoughts as brief as possible.

No one wants to experience a home invasion, especially when you're in bed and most vulnerable. Most don't want to have to use a firearm unless it's the last resort to protect your family and yourself, even inside your own home. This night I had wished I had done those home security projects I had intended to get to one of these days.

I live in the country and things are pretty quiet around here except for the bugs, frogs, etc., especially at night. The wife and I were in bed and not asleep yet, and started hearing these loud metallic tapping / banging sounds coming from somewhere in or on the house and our lazy English Bull Dog starts barking from the living room where it normally sleeps at night. These sounds are obviously man made, as there can be no other explanation. My ADT alarm system has not gone off, I'm fully awake and coherent and grab by bedside handgun. I slowly proceed to the living room where the dog is and observe the dog to ascertain any threat that might be there. I have no indication or reason to believe anyone has made it to our living quarters based on my visual clearing, inspection and the dogs actions. I know the sounds we heard were man made and most likely someone trying to break into the house.

I briefly consider calling the county Sheriff for a deputy to come out and check things. But reconsider based on my last experience of it taking :45 minutes for them to get here, and what good will it do anyway. I suspect whatever and whomever it was heard us and has probably left. My natural manly urge is to go outside to confront and / or to check the exterior to see what or who it is, and inspect the outside of my house. Using common sense and thinking about Tennessee Castle Doctrine Law, I fight the urge and remain in the house.

I have a dead bolted door that leads to the basement, and the basement is next to an attached single car garage, separated by a flimsy hollow door with a dead bolt. One outside door that leads to the basement that has a locking door knob and dead bolt. The basement has a small window big enough to climb through with one of those flimsy thumb latches easily opened. The garage has three windows with the same type of easily opened thumb latches and are not alarmed. These are some of the areas I had intended to better secure but never got around to it. 

Eventually we went back to bed, and at first morning light I went outside to inspect my house and try to determine what the noise was we heard. Circling the house, the very last thing I got to and checked was the outside door that leads to the basement. Before I even got to the door I seen the damage from someone trying to Jimmie and pry the dead bolt and door knob. Damage to the door, frame and weather stripping. The thought occurred to me again whether to call the Sheriff and report an attempted home invasion. But I thought better as it would only generate a report and waste my and their time. I did inform all my immediate neighbors about the incident and be vigilant.  

The following two days I finally got around to beefing up my security to make it much more difficult for anyone to gain access into my home, basement and garage. At a minimum, it will take much more effort and noise to get through my additions. Something I should not have put off, the peace of mind and safety of addressing my know vulnerability areas.

Just thought I'd share, and a reason to expedite any security additions your intending to get around to one day.

My personal idea of security: To make my place as unattractive as possible, and as difficult to enter as possible. In the end, I win if it's very difficult to get in. 

[Capbyrd]

Glad it ended well for you.  I installed a door kit from Armor Concepts (TN Company) a couple of years ago and have been happy with it.  

https://armorconcepts.com

 

 

But there is still more I'd like to do.  Mostly, I know that a determined thief will get in no matter what so my focus now is going to be on cameras.  I want to make sure that if someone does get in, I have as much video as possible to try and help catch them. 

 

[Erik88]

@Dennis1209, I'd bet your lazy dogs barking might have been enough to scare them away which is good. It doesn't appear they were that determined to get inside. Thanks for sharing and giving a reminder to all of us so we don't get complacent. 

[Links2k]

I’m glad that everything worked out in your favor. 

In addition to ADT, I’m up to six Arlo cameras, a Ring doorbell and nine of the new Arlo flood lights. I still don’t consider them as deterrents, just early warning systems.  

When the kids were home, we had a German Shepherd. My wife won’t agree to another one until one of us retires.  I can’t wait. 

One of my favorite features of the Arlo camera and motion detection lights is that you can decide between all motion or people, and get your notifications accordingly. 

Edited July 4, 2018 by LINKS2K

[peejman]

Glad it was mostly benign. I'd have my wife call it in immediately.  They might not get to your house in time, but they might catch the guy at one down the road. 

[Erik88]

1 hour ago, LINKS2K said:

I’m up to six Arlo cameras

I just looked these up. Are yours wireless? 

[A.J. Holst]

We have monitored security and signs posted on the 4 corners.

14 year old deaf alarm dog...if she sees a stranger, bark on. Asleep or looking the other way, you are good to go.

Motion lights, 4 corners.

No overgrown hedges, bushes, trees.

Handguns strategically placed John Wick style.

Not actually, I do keep most secured.

Master bedroom can be defended with handgun; shotgun and carbine also at hand...it might really be John Wick.

No kids, no reason to defend other parts of the house. Not SWAT trained to clear a house, so I'll wait patiently.

From my perspective:

1. No one home, break in, I got insurance

2. Home, before bedtime, forced entry, I'm armed

3. Forced entry, after bedtime, hunker down and know if that BG comes up the stairs, we're going to need ServPro.

Cameras would be an extra deterrent and for 'out of site of road' or more rural property owners, a nice doorbell.

Added value, could help ID perp and/or vehicle.

[Links2k]

6 hours ago, Erik88 said:

I just looked these up. Are yours wireless? 

Yes, they are wireless and battery operated. There is also a usb backup in case of loss of power, so you still get your recordings. 

[Dennis1209]

22 hours ago, Capbyrd said:

Glad it ended well for you.  I installed a door kit from Armor Concepts (TN Company) a couple of years ago and have been happy with it.  

https://armorconcepts.com

 

 

But there is still more I'd like to do.  Mostly, I know that a determined thief will get in no matter what so my focus now is going to be on cameras.  I want to make sure that if someone does get in, I have as much video as possible to try and help catch them. 

 

We installed a six camera 'wired' system a couple of months ago at our church. Seems to be working very well, just need to get familiar with the software operation. It was a lot of work installing and running all the wires. The Pastor got them from Harbor Freight for under $300.00. Today I'm going to check and see what if anything ADT has to offer for video surveillance. I'm too old to be crawling around running cables.  

[bersaguy]

I have had friends concerned about me living by myself and all the time I have lived in this rental friends have added stuff to my doors and there are so many motions lights outside that you canot approach the house from any direction without triggering at least 4 to 6 dayight bright floods. I have dead bolts on a steel entry door plus handle lock. The only weak point in the whole place is the sliding glass door and I have it secured so it will have to be broken to come thru it. I asked the first landlord I had if he minded me securing the door and he said do what you want to do so I screwed the door to the frame so it cannot be lifted out of its track.  I have a clear shot of the door from the bedroom so will shoot them if they are stupid enough to come in after breaking it and then like someone else said , will be time to call Serv-Pro! I also have Darby with hearing beyond anyones wildest dreams. Her ears are like radar detectors and when they stand up I turn my hearing aid down cause I know she it getting ready to cut loose. I swear she can hear those lights out side trigger and she starts. Someone mentioned having a John Wick effect in their house. I do have one in mine. Any time family is coming to visit they call an hour ahead of time if they are bringing the children so I can put up any guns out in the safe till they leave. When I move all my floods are going with me to the new house. SIL has already replaced the doors with steel ones and added dead bolts.

[bersaguy]

My next home is going to be located out in the sticks which doesn't really bother me. I lived in the country all my life till I moved here. The crime rate was nothing back then like it is today and will only be getting worse. SIL(Tommy) and daughters house has been broken into twice in past  4 years.  Tommy has ask me about putting a driveway alarm inside the house that is motion activated and would alert me in my house if there was any movement in his house during the day while they were at work. They have a range up to 200 feet. I told him he might need Serve-Pro to clean up the mess and he said that would be fine. My house is 50 feet from their house and the Sheriff has already told him if he gets the oportunity to shoot them please do so. They have been a thorn in his backside for about 10 years now in that area. My Jeep will be parked behind my house so they won't even know I am back there.

They have hit their place twice without incident. There has been 9 houses hit in that area and all of them more than once.

[Dennis1209]

On 7/4/2018 at 12:31 PM, bersaguy said:

My next home is going to be located out in the sticks which doesn't really bother me. I lived in the country all my life till I moved here. The crime rate was nothing back then like it is today and will only be getting worse. SIL(Tommy) and daughters house has been broken into twice in past  4 years.  Tommy has ask me about putting a driveway alarm inside the house that is motion activated and would alert me in my house if there was any movement in his house during the day while they were at work. They have a range up to 200 feet. I told him he might need Serve-Pro to clean up the mess and he said that would be fine. My house is 50 feet from their house and the Sheriff has already told him if he gets the oportunity to shoot them please do so. They have been a thorn in his backside for about 10 years now in that area. My Jeep will be parked behind my house so they won't even know I am back there.

They have hit their place twice without incident. There has been 9 houses hit in that area and all of them more than once.

Yeah I live in the sticks also. Motion detectors got to be too much of a hassle for me, especially indoors. A few years ago my basement motion detector went off at 2:00 A.M. while we were sleeping and the indoor siren sounded. Talk about startled and not being able to hear anything (too long a story)! Has to be a spider / bug cross the face of the sensor or something shifted to trigger it.

Windy days, birds and wildlife makes outdoor motion sensors a hassle too. 

 

[bersaguy]

3 hours ago, Dennis1209 said:

Yeah I live in the sticks also. Motion detectors got to be too much of a hassle for me, especially indoors. A few years ago my basement motion detector went off at 2:00 A.M. while we were sleeping and the indoor siren sounded. Talk about startled and not being able to hear anything (too long a story)! Has to be a spider / bug cross the face of the sensor or something shifted to trigger it.

Windy days, birds and wildlife makes outdoor motion sensors a hassle too. 

 

That must have been exciting to have a siren blairing inside the house in the middle of the night. We will not have one of those for sure. The type were are looking at has 4 motion detectors, is wireless and back in my house will be two extremely loud door bell chimes in different sections of the house and they make two entirely different chimes which will tell me what section of the house the intruders are in. I will call 911 first but then I will detain the bad guys by what ever is necessary up to and including making a large mess for Serv-Pro.  They will be totaly unaware they have tripped any alarms until either I show up of the police do.

Edited July 6, 2018 by bersaguy

[peejman]

5 hours ago, Dennis1209 said:

Yeah I live in the sticks also. Motion detectors got to be too much of a hassle for me, especially indoors. A few years ago my basement motion detector went off at 2:00 A.M. while we were sleeping and the indoor siren sounded. Talk about startled and not being able to hear anything (too long a story)! Has to be a spider / bug cross the face of the sensor or something shifted to trigger it.

Windy days, birds and wildlife makes outdoor motion sensors a hassle too. 

 

Agreed, motion sensors can be a hassle, especially with pets. I can't imagine outdoor motion sensors being at all worthwhile. My wife gets annoyed when the wind sets off the outdoor motion lights. If that included a blaring alarm, it'd get disconnected pretty quickly. 

My parents have indoor motion sensors now and we had them in our old house. At that time, the "solution" was to blind the lower half of the sensor so it would only see things roughly 4ft or taller. Works fine until the cat jumps on the back of the couch at 3am.  

[DaveTN]

I don’t have any alarms blaring, motion or sound notifications are sent to my phone. I can check my property no matter where I am to determine if the threat is real and needs the cops. With my Nest cameras sensitivity is adjustable and custom “Zones” can be set in the software. You can pick and choose the areas you want to cover.

I love technology. 

At night my dog takes over notification duties.

 

[Links2k]

2 hours ago, DaveTN said:

I don’t have any alarms blaring, motion or sound notifications are sent to my phone. I can check my property no matter where I am to determine if the threat is real and needs the cops. With my Nest cameras sensitivity is adjustable and custom “Zones” can be set in the software. You can pick and choose the areas you want to cover.

I love technology. 

At night my dog takes over notification duties.

 

I love the notifications and customizable zones. I don’t use the outdoor alarms. Even with my jacked up back, I still jump out of bed like a private in basic training if that ADT alarm startles me awake.  My wife never budges.  She has far too much confidence in my abilities.  

[Dennis1209]

On 7/7/2018 at 6:08 AM, DaveTN said:

I don’t have any alarms blaring, motion or sound notifications are sent to my phone. I can check my property no matter where I am to determine if the threat is real and needs the cops. With my Nest cameras sensitivity is adjustable and custom “Zones” can be set in the software. You can pick and choose the areas you want to cover.

I love technology. 

At night my dog takes over notification duties.

 

Yeah that's what I wanted also through ADT and had a guy come out to give me an estimate for full house video surveillance. The only Internet service I can get here is satellite and ADT system will not work off wifi and satellite. So, guess I'll order a 'wired' system from Harbor Freight?  

[bersaguy]

I have a little story about my yard floods. I had some crackheads living in the apartment in front of my cottage and the police where getting ready to do a surprise raid on the apartment which does have front and rear entrances. They did not do their homework to well before doing the raid. If they had when the officers that were going to go around and watch the rear exit they would have known about my floods. They caught all the bad guys that came running out the back door but only because both LEO's and bad guys were lit up like a football field. The cops tripped the lights just about the time the bad guys exited the back door. It was easy for the police to see the bad guys but was just as easy for the bad guys to see the police. Had they came to me a day or so earlier and asked me to turn off the back yard and just have the back door to the apartment and the parking area of their vehicles I could have done that for them. I guess maybe they thought I would tip the bad guys off. Little did the police know, I wanted them gone as bad as they wanted to catch them............

Edited July 12, 2018 by bersaguy

[DaveTN]

37 minutes ago, Dennis1209 said:

Yeah that's what I wanted also through ADT and had a guy come out to give me an estimate for full house video surveillance. The only Internet service I can get here is satellite and ADT system will not work off wifi and satellite. So, guess I'll order a 'wired' system from Harbor Freight?  

High Speed Internet at a reasonable cost is a problem in rural communities. I suspect that problem will be overcome soon.

If you have satellite internet now why can’t you just install your own cameras?

[bersaguy]

We have a simliar issue at my SIL's house. I was concerned about moving out there and not having internet access so last time I went down there I took my broad band unit with me. Tommy plugged it into his lap top and it loaded onto computer and we went to all of my forums I hang out in and google and searched a few items and it worked flawlessly. So that solved my internet issue. Braod band works out there. My cell phones both work out there just fine. 1 cell in on AT&T and one is on Sprint. Now with that said I don't understand why but they can't get satelite to work at his house. He has had Dish and Direct both come out and try and get a satelite hookup and they cannot get it to work. He has to use an outdoor antenna just to get about 4 local channels and the only news network they can get on the antenna is News Channel 5.

   Thing is 1 mile down the road in either direction they can get satelite reception. I'm thinking that all both guys from both companies did was try is from mounting it on the house. My neighbor next to me now had Direct TV installed and they could not find a location on his house they could use so they mounted the small dish on a pole and ran the cable under ground about 35 feet to his house and it works fine..

Edited July 12, 2018 by bersaguy

[Dennis1209]

4 hours ago, DaveTN said:

High Speed Internet at a reasonable cost is a problem in rural communities. I suspect that problem will be overcome soon.

If you have satellite internet now why can’t you just install your own cameras?

I will be, the 'wired' camera's from Harbor Freight and hook it all up to a computer monitor. For some reason, satellite Internet will not work sending to mobile devices. They did not explain to me why? Out on the main country road a couple of miles from here they are installing underground high speed internet. But they are not going to branch off and run it to us recluses. Discriminating against us protected classes of recluses I tell ya  

[enfield]

Blink cameras are wireless, battery operated, work with satellite internet and deliver video clips to cell phones.  It's an Amazon brand.