We all want to feel comfortable and safe in our own space, but sometimes you do need to take a few steps to make sure that your home is as protected as it can be. Fortunately, there are a lot of simple and effective ways to improve the security of your home today.
Read ahead to learn some of the most useful home improvement tips that you can try out yourself to make your home safer than ever.
Install a security alarm
Installing a security alarm is a tried-and-true tip that is bound to keep intruders away. In fact, just the visible presence of an alarm system is often enough to put burglars off.
At the end of the day, there is no greater security than the ability to immediately alert law enforcement as soon as someone enters your property uninvited.
Try alarm monitoring and don’t skimp when it comes to alarms, though, as experienced burglars can tell the difference between a dummy system and an active one.
Install Security Cameras
One of the most impactful things that you can do is set up a security camera system – and you would be surprised by how simple it is to do yourself.
Just a few years ago, installing security cameras was a complicated and fiddly process that you would usually leave up to a professional, but now there are hundreds of options on the market which you could have up and running in a matter of minutes.
Smart security cameras can be set up so that you can view the inside and outside of your home from your phone or tablet, and many even come with motion-activated recording settings and two-way communication.
Answer The Door Safely
You never want to open your door without knowing who is on the other side of it, but you might not have a peephole installed. You could use a door chain, as a relatively inexpensive and quick solution, or you could install a video doorbell for even more peace of mind.
This technology has become increasingly popular in the last couple of years because it allows you to see, hear, and even speak to whoever is at your door from almost anywhere in the world. You can let somebody know that you can see them and that they are being recorded, which will scare off most intruders – and even porch pirates.
Improve Visibility
When it comes to staying safe, visibility is your friend. You want to be able to see what is happening around your property, and you want your neighbors to be able to keep an eye on things as well. There are a couple of simple ways to reduce the number of dark corners and hiding spots that an intruder might take advantage of.
First, installing bright motion-activated security lights can be incredibly helpful. They can alert you to somebody’s presence, make a potential intruder’s actions visible to the whole street, and act as a pretty powerful deterrent on their own.
You should also make sure to keep the foliage around your doors and windows trimmed so that your entryways can’t be approached without the person being seen.
Secure Your Keys
We’re all guilty of misplacing our keys every now and then – so the temptation to keep a spare set hidden outside the house is understandable. Unfortunately, this is a big security risk. Even a trick stone or a secret hidey-hole will be easily identifiable to an experienced burglar, so you should never leave your keys somewhere that is accessible to the general public.
Instead, you might want to use a coded key-safe, preferably somewhere that is a little out of the way. This will allow visitors to access the keys as well, but you should be very cautious about who you share the code with.
Strengthen Your Doors and Windows
The vast majority of burglars will enter through a door or a window, so you want to make sure that none of these are weak points in your home. Install the reinforced glass and make sure that every door and window has a sturdy locking mechanism.
Sliding and French doors are particularly vulnerable, so you might want to think about adding additional security with a door brace, deadbolts at the top and bottom of the door, or a Patlock mechanism.
Check Your Gates And Fences
For most people, your external fences and gates will be the first thing a potential intruder might see. Make sure that they are well-maintained and that there aren’t any obvious access points that are not properly secured.
It’s best to have two different locks on each gate, and metal gates are generally safer than wooden ones. You should also aim to have gates that are as tall as your fences, and for your fences to have enough height that they are not easy to climb.
You can always add some simple trellising to the top of your fence to make it a little taller.
Don’t Create An Invitation
One of the simplest things that you can do straight away is to move any valuables so that they aren’t easily visible from the main doors and windows into your home.
You should use a heavy-duty security safe for your most important possessions, but you also don’t want to leave expensive electronics, high-end jewelry, or cash on your windowsill where it can be spotted from the street.
Look Lived-In
Your property is most at risk when it looks like nobody is home, so you want to keep your yard relatively tidy and never advertise the fact that you might be off on vacation.
If you are away from the house for even a few days, you can use timed lights, radios, or TVs to give the illusion that the house is occupied. You should also get friends or neighbors to visit and collect your mail so that it doesn’t pile up.
Summary: Useful Home Improvement Tips To Make Your Home Safer
There are a lot of small things that you can do which will make a big difference to your home security. It doesn’t always have to cost a fortune or take months of hard work to make your space feel a lot safer – in fact, a lot can be done in an afternoon!
Photo by Sebastian Scholz (Nuki) on Unsplash
