These days there’s no excuse not having home security. Devices can be bought very cheaply and you can increase the number of security gadgets gradually when you can afford them. Gone are the days when you needed to get a consultant to do an assessment of your home and then install an expensive surveillance system. You can learn how to set up home security very quickly and easily. Here are the tips and tricks you need to know.
Conducting a Home Security Evaluation Before You Start
You might think that your home is perfectly secure as is, but by doing a home security evaluation, you’ll know for sure if you’re a potential target for thieves. When a thief wants to break into a home, he looks for one that he can get into quickly. Before you learn how to set up home security, you must conduct an evaluation of your property.
1. Hiding areas
If your home has areas that are hidden by trees or shrubs, it’s more inviting for a thief. He can slip behind the bushes and be protected from being seen by neighbors or those driving by.
So keep any potential covering – natural or otherwise – from blocking your windows, doors or walkways. You want your windows and doors to be completely unobstructed.
2. Secure door frames
Before you learn how to set up home security, you want to make sure that the wood or bricks around your windows is in good shape. You also want to make sure that your front and back doors aren’t made out of cheap material that can easily be kicked in or forced open.
You should have strong locks on your doors. This means you have a sturdy deadbolt and the wood that it’s in should also be sturdy.
3. X-ray vision
Ok, so you don’t really need x-ray vision like Superman. But you do need the ability to see through your front door before you open it.
Some thieves will ring the doorbell and then shove their way inside when the homeowner answers.
To make sure that you can see who’s there without having to open your door, you either need a home security system that allows you to see who’s there or you need a peephole to check through (click here to see the top-rated door peepholes).
You can get a fixed or pan camera to give you this safety feature that every home needs to have.
4. Doors other than the front door
If you have French doors or sliding glass doors, you need to make sure these can’t easily be opened.
The French doors need a lock at the top of the door and sliding glass doors need something in the track so they can’t be forced open. Sliding doors can also use a bar installed across the middle of the door so you don’t need to lean down to remove it.
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5. Turn night into day
You need to have good outdoor lighting. Choosing motion detection lights works better as a deterrent than other outdoor lighting options.
Thieves like the dark because they can’t be seen as easily. But by having motion detector lights around crucial points outside, you can deter potential break ins. While having good outdoor lighting like flood lights is important, having a home security system inside is, too.
You need one that protects the outside as well as the inside of your house. Have outdoor cameras in strategic locations.
6. Don’t provide thieves with the tools to break in
Make sure that you don’t leave any landscaping items like bricks too near your entryway.
Thieves can easily grab one and hurl it through a window. Any tools like ladders or shovels should also be locked up in a shed so thieves can’t use these tools to break into your house. This sounds obvious but plenty of people still leave these types of things out where they can be accessed by an intruder.
Never leave a house key hidden outside. Thieves know that homeowners do this. Also keep your gates on the side and through the backyard of your property locked.
7. Have you remembered the forgotten door?
Keep your garage door down – even if you step inside for “just a second” – because that’s all it takes for a thief to walk into your garage. Thieves often keep an eye on the garage door as a point of entry knowing that people get careless about it.
Inside your house, make sure that you’re not leaving things like money or expensive electronics in full view so that anyone passing by can see what you have.
How to Implement Home Security Gadgets from Scratch
There are many fancy gadgets that you can buy when it comes to home security. You can spend several hundred dollars and even a few thousand and get the latest top of the line tools. But if you want to learn how to set up home security on a budget that’s possible too.
You can easily implement home security on a budget. You don’t have to forego the security measures around your home. You have to look for home security set ups and systems that fit what you can afford.
Plenty of systems are pretty inexpensive to get – and even if you don’t want that to be your forever system, it can still do the job temporarily until you can upgrade. Make sure that your home is never inviting to a would-be burglar.
1. Where to start
If you want to learn how to set up home security you need to think like a thief. Many thieves approach a house and case it before ever deciding to hit it. They look for things like outdoor cameras, sensor lights, concealed windows or entryways and anything that allows them to sneak a peek inside the house.
When you’re not at home, don’t leave your curtains open – keep them closed. This way, you don’t advertise that no one is there. Any door in the house leading to the outside should have a sturdy lock on it.
2. Weak points
There’s no point spending a lot of money on securing the front door if there’s another entry point for an intruder to get in.
Many homeowners make the mistake of using strong locks on the front and back door, but they forget about the one leading from the garage to the house. This can be a weak point – so make sure it has a tough lock as well.
Garage doors are not always the best security. This is why the door from the garage to the house needs to be the point at which you stop a thief getting into the house.
3. Equipment you need
If you want to learn how to set up home security then you need to know about security systems. Get a complete home security system. You want the base monitoring and two cameras – one for the outside of your house and one for the inside of your home. But cameras aren’t the only thing you need, lighting is often just as important.
Sometimes, when a thief approaches a house, if a light goes on outside or inside the house, he’ll bolt because he thinks someone is watching him.
Whatever inexpensive system you buy, make sure that it has the ability to record the surveillance video. You want the camera to be able to detect motion. Look for ones that have good night vision ratings, since those without it can make it harder to identify a thief.
Since you won’t be home 24/7, you want whatever system you buy to have programmable ability. You’ll want to make sure that you can access it from your smart device when you’re not there.
Look for an inexpensive system that will automatically alert you on your smart phone or call the numbers you’ve programmed into it in the event that there’s a problem. Many home security systems have a loud alarm if an entry point is breached – so check that out when you’re trying to decide which model to choose.
4. Fake it if you can’t afford it
If money is so tight that you can’t afford more than one camera, buy that one, but then get a fake one and mount that one in another location. A thief can’t tell the difference. When you’ve got more money available you can buy more cameras.
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When you first think about how to set up home security it seems like a daunting task. But as you can see, it doesn’t have to be a big project. Just start with one camera and grow the project from there. If you can afford more at the start, invest in a security system.
Once you learn how to set up home security you simply keep adding the devices you need. If you do it yourself you’ll know how it works and you’ll feel the satisfaction of knowing you’ve done all you can to keep your family and property safe.
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