protecting your home

Fuinseog

there appear to be a lot of break-ins in galway recently. any suggestions on how best to protect your home (leave out any silliness)?

a dog could be good, but does not always bark loud enough.

MidlandsM

Its a GUARD dog thats needed, not any oul dog that'd lick an intruder.

Sniipe

check out www.ibood.ie today... don't know if its any good tho (€ 149,95 + (12,50))

kodute

House alarm
Guard dog
Vigilant neighbour
Padraig Nally :rolleyes:

In order of preventative effectiveness.

Having your house broken into by scum a few times is a real eye opener into the ways how they get in. Close ALL your windows. Even the small one that nobody could fit through, because they will.

LadyMayBelle

I know many people ask a trusted neighbour to keep an eye on their house when they are away; opening and closing curtains etc, turning a hall light on a night; just to make the house look 'lived in' while they are away..

However, I would encourage people who do this to ask neighbours to do this at irregular times; a house across the road from me was broken in as the intruder had watched the neighbour going in and out at certain times to to those little tasks... a lot of stuff nicked

A lot to be said for neighbourhood watch tho.

ScumLord

kodute wrote: »

Having your house broken into by scum a few times is a real eye opener into the ways how they get in. Close ALL your windows. Even the small one that nobody could fit through, because they will.

It's amazing the tiny gaps and places they can get into, they're like little heroin junkie Olympians. Even those small upstairs bathroom windows should be closed they will get in.

You can also get security software for your pc with motion detection, automatic remote upload and it can even send you or the neighbour a text. I should do a bit of research on this software I need it myself.

MidlandsM

some visible CCTV with some "CCTV in operation" signs would be good too - they'll just go and try another house then.

Webbs

LadyMayBelle wrote: »

I know many people ask a trusted neighbour to keep an eye on their house when they are away; opening and closing curtains etc, turning a hall light on a night; just to make the house look 'lived in' while they are away..

However, I would encourage people who do this to ask neighbours to do this at irregular times; a house across the road from me was broken in as the intruder had watched the neighbour going in and out at certain times to to those little tasks... a lot of stuff nicked

A lot to be said for neighbourhood watch tho.

Did they get much stuff back when they caught the intruder?

kodute

ScumLord wrote: »

It's amazing the tiny gaps and places they can get into, they're like little heroin junkie Olympians. Even those small upstairs bathroom windows should be closed they will get in.

You can also get security software for your pc with motion detection, automatic remote upload and it can even send you or the neighbour a text. I should do a bit of research on this software I need it myself.

Not just the junkies, but the *ahem* "ethnic minorities" that have no moral qualms about sending small children through those windows to unlock doors.

If you find a name for that software I'd like to give it a go...

Fozzie Bear

Fuinseog wrote: »

there appear to be a lot of break-ins in galway recently. any suggestions on how best to protect your home (leave out any silliness)?

a dog could be good, but does not always bark loud enough.

A dog and a bloody big one at that. German Sheperds are best in my opinion and experience. Very loyal and protective but also absolutely brilliant with kids/family. My parents are on their fourth GSD right now. Myself and my brothers all grew up with them around us and they really are very good guard and family friendly dogs.

A good alarm is probably no harm either. But you get what you pay for here. Some cheaper ones can be easily bypassed and they are liable to go off for no reason. Plus how many times have you heard a house alarm going off and kept on going while thinking thats bloody annoying. They make a noise but people have grown immune to them and just ignore the sound as more of a nuisance rather then an emergency that needs to be investigated.

My friends house in Craughwell was robbed one night last year as the family slept upstairs. Took small things and left without making a sound. The Gardai said it was a gang from Dublin who came down on the late Citylink bus, hopped off in a random town and walked off into the night sussing out soft targets. They then caught the early morning bus back to Dublin with their loot. Gardai advised them to get a big dog, which they have done. They also installed motion sensors and lights all around the house.

A dog is probably the best deterrant in my opinion.

eagle10

I would suggest putting up an alarm "bell box"

They cost €50 and only require a constant 12v supply no one would know that you just have a bell box up

Xiney

Fozzie Bear wrote: »

Plus how many times have you heard a house alarm going off and kept on going while thinking thats bloody annoying. They make a noise but people have grown immune to them and just ignore the sound as more of a nuisance rather then an emergency that needs to be investigated.

Seriously, house alarms SUCK. Nobody bothers checking them out anymore and they just annoy your entire neighbourhood.

As for getting a dog - this is a decision that should not be taken lightly. You'll need to take care of it and train it (GSDs in particular are not for novice owners because they are SO intelligent, they will remember every mistake you make in their training)

Krieg

ScumLord wrote: »

Is KFC open now? Last I saw they where still building it.

Yeah its still under construction.


1 bolt on your door will do feck all. Wooden doors are fairly ****e imo.
If you do have a wooden door try having it triple bolted (top, middle and bottom. Then you could possibly use the garage door to leave the house. Sounds like a pain in the ass but you would have piece of mind. Those PVC/plastic type doors seem to be the most secure, you often see on cop shows that those doors take a hell of beating from a battering ram. Then again I've seen one wedged open with a spade. Suppose it depends on how well its manufactured.

Back door is also important, if not more important. If there is any access to back garden, even if it involves jumping 2 neighbours gardens, then you really need to secure the back of the house.

Proximity lights and night lights for when you are away at night.

A dog? well if its a guard dog, brilliant. But Id be worried if it was a small dog as an intruder could easily injure the dog, which would be worse then having your house robbed imo.

One of the most important rules is to try and break into your own home. Obviously you wouldn't be kicking in doors but it gives you the best idea as to the weak points. Ignore any thoughts of "ah shure they'll never know about the dodgy window in the back", even if you think its unnoticeable it is still a weakness and could be common point of entry for thieves. Find your homes weaknesses and secure them.

An interesting idea is to buy a cheap safe (yeah I know none are cheap), one that is heavy but not too heavy that someone cant lift it. Don't put anything inside it and put the safe in an obvious place like your wardrobe.
If an intruder comes along and see's the safe, they will no doubt try and take it with them and possibly disregard valuables such as tv, laptop etc.
Never heard of this being done though so I cant say it would work.

steel_spine

Does anyone have any tips on security for renters? I'm living on the ground floor for the first time and I feel so much less secure about our stuff .
As I'm renting (in a small 6 apartment block converted from the shell of an old school building) there's bog all I can do in terms of structural changes, getting things wired/nailed to walls etc and I can't find anywhere that offers proper rental insurance for a place like ours so if our stuff is gone, it's gone, and we have a lot of valuables.
We always close the windows when we go out and don't leave anything valuable in sight of them, but I'm not sure what else we can do.

It is a fairly surrounded residential area, but there is one window that could be got at without being easily seen. We had new windows installed there but nobody got keys for them so we can close them but not lock em.

inisboffin

I think there is a legality about not being able to lock windows. I know my friend's house where she moved recently had locks but no keys, and that was the reason the previous owner gave. Fire reasons I believe.

steel_spine

What about dummy CCTV,? I could get away with one inside common the hall outside our front door if I ask the landlord nicely (he'll probably think i'm mental lol), then a few in the house? Anyone know if they'd be a decent deterrent?
This kinda thing http://dummycameraco.com/epages/eshop338901.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/eshop338901/Categories/IDC

Seems pretty handy to me, surely no-one's going to risk tinkering with them to find out if they're real or not? Easier just to move on.

lucianot

I am renting and what I do is to lock all the windows so they have to break a glass in order to get in. Then I put all the valuables in the ensuite bathroom, lock it, then lock the room. Then lock every door that I have the keys for. These doors are quite sturdy so it may take some time to open them. They may pass through them but it will take them some more extra time and effort, at least I know I gave them some work do to
I am amazed at the lack of metal bars in most of the houses here in Ireland, ate least in the back and side doors there should be a must.

steel_spine

lucianot wrote: »

I am renting and what I do is to lock all the windows so they have to break a glass in order to get in. Then I put all the valuables in the ensuite bathroom, lock it, then lock the room. Then lock every door that I have the keys for. These doors are quite sturdy so it may take some time to open them. They may pass through them but it will take them some more extra time and effort, at least I know I gave them some work do to
I am amazed at the lack of metal bars in most of the houses here in Ireland, ate least in the back and side doors there should be a must.

Unfortunately such a system wouldn't work for me, we don't have keys for the old internal locks, nor any path through the house that'd take more than one door to get into any room Only internal room that locks is the boiler cupboard.

lucianot

Well, you can invest some money and buy a new lock with keys and take them with you if you rent another place...just an idea. They can be around 15€.
My valuables are just my laptops and a guitar, so I keep a backup at work just in case and the guitar,well, bad luck if it happens.

ScumLord

steel_spine wrote: »

Does anyone have any tips on security for renters? I'm living on the ground floor for the first time and I feel so much less secure about our stuff .

I'm in the same position since I moved to the new place. If you have money to spend you can get quite an elaborate PC based security system for less than €300. You can get wireless cameras that you can access over the internet, X10 modules that can turn on lights, motion capture is bog standard technology these days and will come with even the cheapest software.

Xiney

We're renting and we've got contents insurance with 123.ie. We used to be with AXA but switched for lower premiums, but they offer it too. A few other places probably do but I don't know which ones, it's been a while since I was looking.

Make sure you name anything that gets taken out of the house on your policy as well (laptops, photographic equipment etc) because that way if it gets stolen when you're out and about you're covered.



Had my camera stolen out of my office/studio at work years back (I was the staff photographer), wasn't insured (stupid).... work pulled together and helped me buy a new one (seriously miss that place, lovely people) but yeah. Ever since then I make sure I'm insured.

Xiney

steel_spine wrote: »

Unfortunately such a system wouldn't work for me, we don't have keys for the old internal locks, nor any path through the house that'd take more than one door to get into any room Only internal room that locks is the boiler cupboard.

If they're basta locks it would be quite easy to get keys for them - just ask to borrow a set of keys off a diy shop or something, figure out what numbers work on what doors (basta goes from 1 to 16, and 1 to 7 are the most common)

steel_spine

Thanks Xiney, I might give 123.ie a call, i'm finding insurance is complicated as the stone building itself is old and probably protected, but the landlord tells me it was a shell when they got it and the actual apartments etc are all 10years old or less, I'm also not sure if the outside door lock is the required type. I'm a bit afraid to ask the insurance companies abou tthis stuff since they're awful buggers for promising you the earth then wriggling out of claims via any loophole they can find.

Also, what's a basta lock? All our internal locks are what I think of as 'mortice locks', y'know where they keyhole looks like what you think of when you think of a 'keyhole' like the kind you could peep through
That's a terrible description

EDIT: Nevermind I just happened to glimpse at the bathroom lock there and it does indeed say 'basta 2 lever' on the inside. Any idea where I can find this numbering system?

Sniipe

Xiney wrote: »

Seriously, house alarms SUCK. Nobody bothers checking them out anymore and they just annoy your entire neighbourhood.

Totally disagree with that.
1) the visual deterance of the alarm system outside.
2) peace of mind.
3) Mine is a monitored alarm - it rings my mobile phone.
4) Can be used at night time while in the house.

As for people not checking them out - isn't there a noise pollution law (new enough). If my alarm went off, I'd have my next door neighbour checking it out if I wasn't there.

I never leave the house nor go to bed without the alarm on.

Xiney

Sniipe wrote: »

Totally disagree with that.
1) the visual deterance of the alarm system outside.
2) peace of mind.
3) Mine is a monitored alarm - it rings my mobile phone.
4) Can be used at night time while in the house.

As for people not checking them out - isn't there a noise pollution law (new enough). If my alarm went off, I'd have my next door neighbour checking it out if I wasn't there.

I never leave the house nor go to bed without the alarm on.

In my experience with alarms, unless it's right next door or you go out looking for it it's difficult to find out where it's coming from. If it goes on for long enough to keep me awake/give me a headache (all too common an occurence, I might add) then I'll ring the guards about it. But by the time the guards show up the robbers would be long gone.

I hate the things, think they're useless, and never felt any safer just because we had one. It was a nuisance.

Madame Razz

Bank of Ireland do contents insurance too:)

You can get keys for Union locks too; most doors in older houses tend to be union locks. The code for the lock will be somewhere on the lock itself(on the bit that runs parallel to the doorframe). Get these codes and go to Collerans or somewhere like that and they will have them precut there; same with Basta(another newer make of lock)

That tar paint is pretty good too; makes climbing walls very difficult for intruders. A mate put bars on his downstairs windows recently(apart from the front). They don't look the best but definately do give great piece of mind.

There's a lot of mention of getting a Guard dog in this thread but really any dog is helpful. Intruders like houses that can be accessed easily with causing any kind of fuss or noise, especially the opportunistic types.

Another important thing to consider is locking your side gate/gates; and not to leave things lying around outside that maybe of use in a break in; eg a ladder, or tools like shovels, pickaxes etc. People with vans and jeeps should also take care that their vehicle isn't parked near a wall/building that would help and intruder gain access into a house.

Obviously not leaving stuff 'on show'(eg Macbook and 42' tv on full view thru window) is important too, especially when the house is empty. Draw blinds/curtains. Putting lamps in various places in the house on timer switches to come on at different times; and to change these times regularly is a good idea also.

Actually locking the door when you're in the house is important too; as is not leaving the keys of the house in the lock inside the door if it's a glass door or door with glass panels.

Some people say keep your car keys safe; others don't. The whole car situation is a bit of a catch 22 really.

jenno86

Was in Bed last Thursday night reading over notes for an exam I had Friday morning and I heard somebody opening our sliding door slowly. I froze for a minute and then jumped out of bed making sure I made enough noise and went downstairs. The door was closed again and whoever it was had scampered.

In the morning I had a look out the back and their was footsteps going through our garden (the grass is very long) and we are never in it.

Totally forgot to check the door before I when to bed, would have been sickened if I came downstairs in the morning and all my stuff was gone.

We have an alarm system on our house but we only ever put it on when we are leaving the house, never at night. I'll let this be a warning to me.

Fuinseog

kodute wrote: »

House alarm
Guard dog
Vigilant neighbour
Padraig Nally :rolleyes:

In order of preventative effectiveness.

Having your house broken into by scum a few times is a real eye opener into the ways how they get in. Close ALL your windows. Even the small one that nobody could fit through, because they will.

most windows can be forced open in a few seconds and without making much nosie.

i was thinking of putting barbed wire on the back wall.

is grease paint any good?

Fuinseog

LadyMayBelle wrote: »

I know many people ask a trusted neighbour to keep an eye on their house when they are away; opening and closing curtains etc, turning a hall light on a night; just to make the house look 'lived in' while they are away..

However, I would encourage people who do this to ask neighbours to do this at irregular times; a house across the road from me was broken in as the intruder had watched the neighbour going in and out at certain times to to those little tasks... a lot of stuff nicked

A lot to be said for neighbourhood watch tho.

breaking into an empty house is one thing but people are being done in the middle of the night while they sleep inside the house. most people are not awake at 4am so even good neighbours cannot help you there.

Tail Wagger

Fuinseog wrote: »

there appear to be a lot of break-ins in galway recently. any suggestions on how best to protect your home (leave out any silliness)?

a dog could be good, but does not always bark loud enough.

The best security for your home is CCTv, brilliant, depending on your needs and of course whats in your home also... I had the system fitted some months ago and it's great. you can be away from your home for a week and come back and see whats after been going around your home. At least get a quote for 4 cams and a recorder, you'll never regret it.

Fuinseog

Tail Wagger wrote: »

The best security for your home is CCTv, brilliant, depending on your needs and of course whats in your home also... I had the system fitted some months ago and it's great. you can be away from your home for a week and come back and see whats after been going around your home. At least get a quote for 4 cams and a recorder, you'll never regret it.

the hooded ones hide their faces from the cameras