Over our 34 years in business, we’ve helped hundreds of customers create complete security plans for their homes. In doing so, we must take a creative, whole-home approach. This involves assessing the risk involved with each floor of your home and addressing these threats. Additionally, it involves getting creative with security equipment based on your application and security needs. In fact, we surprise many of our customers with the amount of specific suggestions we make for each floor of the house. In this post, we aim to help in your own efforts for securing your home from the ground up.
For starters, we’ll review the types of security that we’ll discuss throughout the post. This introduction will give us a great foundation for the rest of the material found here. Then, we’ll present a floor-by-floor overview with valuable security tips for each stop. This will include a “ground-up”security focus including basement, first floor, and second-story security. Now, let’s dive in with an introduction to the security equipment we have at our disposal.
Whole Home Security
Generally speaking, we always want to see a few important types of security in any home. When we began as a business, we actually entered the market as locksmiths. While we now install a wide array of electronic security in various forms, we still recommend beginning a home security plan with quality locks in mind. As with the other security measures listed here, we’ll go into further detail about the specifics behind these locks as we go.
Moreover, we always recommend installing a monitored burglar alarm system. These alarms create both an audible siren alert and a central station-created dispatch by the proper authorities when needed as well. They also provide multiple layers of security by allowing us to install contacts designed to detect burglary, fire, and environmental emergencies all with the same alarm system! These systems make up one of the fastest-growing and most effective forms of home security in the market today.
Basement barrier bars, such as this one by Interlogix, activate your security system if someone climbs through a basement window.
Finally, we also love to see customers install cameras to watch their property at all times. While alarms may scare burglars away, cameras can help you solve crimes and, in some instances, stop them before they even begin. In fact, we’ve heard many stories involving homeowners alerting the police to prowlers around their homes. In turn, this can lead to police action preventing a potential crime!
Over the course of this post, we’ll discuss the various elements of the types of security detailed here. Furthermore, we’ll also discuss some non-equipment related security “best practices.” These tips will help you create security simply by following them and staying aware. Now, let’s turn our attention to securing your home’s basement!
Securing the Foundation
Basement security often goes undeveloped in many homeowners’ security plans. After all, basements stay somewhat out of sight and out of mind for many customers. However, your basement offers a couple potential weak spots for criminals to exploit. For example, basement windows, especially under decks, represent great spots to enter your home undetected. For this reason, we recommend installing motion detectors and even basement barrier bars (pictured) to secure this area. These barrier bars, in particular, create an alarm response before thieves can even get into your home.
Additionally, basement doors often have unrepaired and ineffective locks installed on them. Due to their infrequent use, these locks often go unchanged for decades. This makes them an easy entry point for crooks looking to force their way inside unnoticed. For this reason, we recommend installing high-quality locks on your basement doors, especially those under hatchway doors. Also consider laying 2×8 boards across these doors that rarely get used. The harder to enter your basement, the better!
Finally, we often environmental sensors for any alarm. We mentioned these sensors earlier as a way to detect weather or HVAC equipment-related emergencies. Basements make a great spot to install these sensors! Specifically, we offer equipment to detect the presence of water, as well as abnormally high or low temperatures. Now, let’s move on to the most popular floor you will likely think of when securing your home from the ground up: the first floor.
Ground Floor Security Requirements
Of course, the majority of burglars breaking into a home do so through the ground floor. For that reason, homeowners pay the most attention to securing this level. However, they do not always hit the mark with all of their security planning. Firstly, we recommend securing this floor through strong lighting and yard upkeep. Installing motion-detecting floodlights that keep your yard visible in the presence of visitors — whether wanted or unwanted — goes a long way. Moreover, keeping your windows visible by keeping shrubbery well-kept also helps quite a bit. Of course, installing strong locks on this floor also creates additional security. Good lock-picking techniques allow criminals to pick a lock without looking the least bit suspicious. Lock and drill-resistant products, such as our preferred locks by Medeco, make these attacks almost impossible to carry out successfuly.
Furthermore, you can also install burglar alarm security that catches thieves before they get into your home. While many people lean on motion detectors to secure large areas of their home, we can take things one step further for even more effective security. For example, installing window sensors and glass break detectors can create an alarm response before your home is breached. This greatly raises the chances that a burglar will abandon their attempted crime.
Finally, installing cameras that watch your entry points goes a long way towards securing your home from the ground up. As we mentioned earlier, this can help you catch thieves scoping your home out. Our cameras even allow you to create instant video alerts upon detecting motion. This adds a tremendous amount of security and peace of mind during your absence! Now, let’s take our security tips one floor higher to the second floor!
A contact sensor can create a notification whenever someone approaches a sensitive area of your home.
Creating a Secure Second Floor
Like basements, second stories often get under-represented when it comes to installing security equipment. After all, burglars generally do not attempt to breach this area of your home first. However, we still recommend adding equipment to batten down the second floor of your home. For startes, fires often start in bedrooms. This creates a major life safety concern. Therefore, we recommend adding monitored smoke and CO detection to call for help if a fire starts on or reaches this floor.
Moreover, many of a home’s valuable sget stored on the second story. For this reason, we recommend installing security contacts on sensitive areas of your home. You can secure these areas and create text alerts when someone enters these areas even when your alarm is disarmed! For example, adding sensors to your closets, jewelry cabinets, and liquor and medicine cabinets can help you catch children, guests, or even medical personnel caring for elderly family members snooping. Securing your most valuable assets goes a long way towards securing your entire home!
Putting it All Together and Securing Your Home from the Ground Up
We hope that this post assists you in your own aims at securing your home from the ground up! Additionally, we also encourage you to contact us with any questions this post may raise for you. We will happily answer any and all of your security-related inquiries. While trying to create a complete home security plan can make any homeowner’s head spin, we have the experience and the technology at our disposal to make it work for you. Moreover, we also invite you to take advantage of our free site survey program. We offer complimentary security audits and equipment quotes to both new and existing customers alike. While on site, we can address any security concerns that you may have. Additionally, we can also make suggestions or our own based on observations made during our visit.
Perhaps you have some security measures in place now, and wish to beef up your security using some of the information presented here. Or, maybe you have very little security in place and want to get started from the ground up. Either way, we are here and happy to help! Together, we can create a complete security plan to keep you, your home, and your family as safe and secure as possible.