Is this an attempt to break-in via Velux windows? Opinions needed please [Pics inside]

Movie Maestro

Hey all,

I noticed a bending on the frame of the Velux windows on my extension a few days ago. You'll see is in the same place on the different sides.  It was never like this before.  Is this likely to be natural, maybe from the heatwave we had a couple of week back?

Unfortunately there is a part of me that thinks it looks like an attempt to break in.  Did someone get on the roof of the extension and try to use a crow bar to pry open the frames?  What do you guys think?  

5uspect

That looks like a scratch on the frame under the buckled edge of the window. That would suggest someone was using something to try and pry it open.

Movie Maestro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117876108#Comment_117876108

Yeah, that's what I was thinking unfortunately 😕

Movie Maestro

Is this a common way for burglars to attempt entry into a house?

Purgative

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117876979#Comment_117876979

It looks very amateur - IMHO, aren't Velux windows multi point locking?

Movie Maestro

No entry was made but the fact that this was attempted is a concern!

listermint

Definitely mechanical force on the more visible on the second image. Burglars have been doing roof access since for ever.

Consider CCTV around that side of the house. And maybe even a small security IR light.

Lumen

+1 on the cameras. I used to think it made people more paranoid but since I got it myself I've become more relaxed (less concerned) about security.

the_pen_turner

thats definetly damage that wouldnt happen naturally

not sure its a break in attempt. thats very low damage for that . velux windows are very easy to damage . you could cause more damge than that during fitting .

im more inclined to think someone tried to wedge it open during the heat wave we had a while ago and damaged it.

meercat

I’d say it was damaged during installation and you just didn’t notice it before. By removing those caps there’s no way to open the velux. Don’t think any burglar would take a chance by dropping in from that height whilst there’s easier entrance opportunities.

whilst installing the window, the frame is put in first and then the window part is passed up from inside and then slots back into the frame. This damage most likely occurred when the window was sitting on the frame before slotting back in.

ted1

Would they not just smash the glass with a crowbar?

the_pen_turner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117886226#Comment_117886226

no. much easier ways in through a window than through the glass.

Movie Maestro

Thanks for all the feedback. The damage to the Velux windows is definitely new, have had them installed nearly 10 years now and would look out on them every day. Have decided to switch from our old house alarm to a new monitored alarm with CCTV.

meercat

Open it up as far as you can abd get someone to take a photo from above to see where it’s hinged from and post the photo

ozmo

as an aside - your tiles look strange laid all straight like that...

when I had mine done similar to yours they had to cut a lot of half tiles around the velux window to get it staggered - and the half tiles arent all heavy enough to lay fully flat.

your looks much neater if that was an option and it doesn't leak.

seamus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117886226#Comment_117886226

Very unappealing to go through glass for burglars. It doesn't shatter and fall out, it leaves shards everywhere. TV and movies would have us believe you can just smash and walk through, but the reality is that the slightest touch off any bits sticking out will cut you to shreds. You might be OK if you're careful going through a big patio door, but imagine trying to drop yourself down through a velux window that had been smashed. It might as well be lined with barbed wire.

Lumen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117888169#Comment_117888169

That's not my experience. I broke a double glazed side door window a few years ago and it shattered into about a million small, squareish, blunt pieces, which I spent the next month or so picking out of improbable places.

Billgirlylegs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117880199#Comment_117880199

We have a few of these. Where do they pivot/hinge. If they are central pivot, is that near the damaged part.

If there was someone on the roof, would footprints be visible?. There is a surprising amount of sh.. that sticks. Unless you clean it regularly, it is very easy to leave a mark in the dirt.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117886283#Comment_117886283

That’s an expensive option. If you put aside any emotion. It’s cheaper to be robbed.

Lumen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117888368#Comment_117888368

There are loads of cheapish unmonitored (or machine monitored) systems now, like Nest.

If you can cover a couple of main routes around the house they'll be fairly diffcult to avoid.

bennyineire

Very minor damage for a breakin attempt, looks more like it happened when the windows were installed to me

Flinty997

Burglars often do dumb things.

Maybe the idea was not to come though the velux, but use it to hook a door or window handle beneath it.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117888505#Comment_117888505

Absolutely, but doesn’t sound like op is going that route

awec

Those caps are pretty thin pieces of metal from what I remember. If a burglar really attempted to prise open the window by levering one of them the damage would be much more significant and obvious IMO.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117889503#Comment_117889503

What about a magpie or similar giving it a whack

ozmo

Could someone have swong the window around the wrong way too far - in an attempt to clean the other side of the glass maybe?

the_pen_turner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117890320#Comment_117890320

No . They are designed to open like that the top of the moving part will hit the frame before the flashing will hit the frame

the_pen_turner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117888280#Comment_117888280

Ypu would probably see it for a day or two but after that I dont think so.

The pivot shouldn't matter to that. Its just above the damage but that part cant hit anything