Your Deadbolts Aren't Fooling Anybody - Niether is Your Alarm.

Sorry! Your deadbolts are not going to keep anybody from smashing in your door.  Even if they are Medeco or Mul -T-Lock high security deadbolts.  In fact, most home builders do not install deadbolts properly in the first place.  Look at the hole in the jamb and determine if the deadbolt hole is one inch deep.  I will bet you lunch it isn't.  Now, look at the wood around you door. Grade 3 pine. Right?  It may have come from the factory with splits already in it.

So, what about door jamb armor?  This is a nice product but it is too pricey.  Even the door jamb armor product installed, you locks can still be attacked.

A-Best Locksmith has an answer to keeping your door closed when you are at home and your fear that you may be the victim of a home invasion.

I can install a door bolt on your door for $95.  For each additional bolt, add $39.  This price is good around the Middle Tennessee area.  The unit comes in white or gold.  The one shown is gold.

This device can withstand battering rams and up to 800 pounds of force.

Wooden Door Jamb Is Split

Everyday, I see door jambs that are split. If your door jamb is split, you will see a crack running up or down your door, emanating from the lock strike. This means that somebody has kicked you door in. If you own a new home, you can visually inspect your door to see if there is some unevenness in the paint or wood. This will tell if a split door jamb has been repaired. It must be noted here that, if a split door jamb has been put together using only wood glue, the jamb has lost integrity. Not that it had much to begin with anyway!

Consider asking your locksmith or handyman to install door jamb armor. Door jamb armor is a strip of painted metal that can be installed over the cracked wood in your jamb. Once this armor has been set in place, it is held there by extra-long screws which enter the jamb deep enough to sink into the stud behind the door jamb. This kind of installation not only properly repairs you door, but makes it more difficult for burglars to gain entrance into your home by kicking in the door.

Some companies sell what they call wraps that are installed under your locks and give the door more integrity. However, if your door is going to be seen by company, then I would not use wraps, because they never look good installed.

After you have your door armor installed, you can install an Exit Security Inc. Ring Bolt on the inside of the door. This device is said to hold up against 800 pounds of push force.

You can find door jamb enforcers at any local hardware store. Just go to the lock hardware section and ask the salesperson for help.

Home Invasion Alert Devices

Strobe Alarm

Here is the type of product you should consider using in your home. It is said that one in every five homes will experience a home invasion. What is a home invasion? A home invasion is not a burglary. A home invasion occurs when you are at home. I have known people who have experienced home invasions. Let us just say that you do not want to wake up in the night with somebody standing over your bed.

I like the concept of a stand-alone motion-activated alarm. Such a product is not wired into your home alarm system, which you never use anyway, and is completely self-contained and battery-operated. In the event you are sleeping, and an intruder walks by this device, he or she will be met with a 105 decibel siren. The intruder will assume the alarm is coming from the home integrated alarm and will flee. This alarm will also wake you up and enable you to get your very large, $50 group-spraying mace device or weapon. Here are a few tips on placing such an alarm.

1. Put it low enough to detect a person, but high enough to ignore pets.
2. Put it in the hallway far enough away from your bedroom so you will have more time to react.
3. Consider placing the alarm in multiple locations near entry ways.

I like the strobe motion alarm concept offered by Streetwise on Amazon.com. It comes with a remote. However, at $21, I wonder if it is too cheap; but, then again, technology is getting cheaper! Just search the web for "portable motion alarm" and you will see the available products. There are also stand-alone units that have auto-dialers as well. Remember that you get what you pay for!

Life & Property Protection Using Stand-Alone Hidden DVR Recorders

Purchasing and installing a hardwired camera system is something most people know nothing about; and, even if they did, they would find the costs of such a system a bit pricey. However, there is a way for you to protect yourself, your home, and your business without calling a professional camera installation company. In fact, you can purchase a motion-activated DVR video recording device that is completely contained in something as small as a fake smoke detector or Kleenex box! If you want to access what your camera recorded while you were away, or what it recorded when your home was being invaded, you would simply insert a flash drive into the device and download the recording to your computer.

Pictured above is an amazing hidden camera.  It looks just like an air ionizer. It sells for $499. It is available for your research at Brickhouse Security on the web.  However, there are less expensive models and types that are available. Just surf the web! But, the "ionizer" is just one example of many different ways a hidden camera can be hidden. I would, however, avoid a fake hidden camera that is installed in an item a thief would like to have, like a DVD player! Believe me when I tell you that companies make hidden cameras in DVD players. Go figure. Anyway, here are the specifications of this product as listed by Brickhouse Security:


Features:

• Records day or night
• Nightvision for when light drops recording below .5 Lux
• Nightvision records up to 20 ft. away
• Motion-activated MPEG 4 video
• SD card reader included
• Time/Date stamp
• Playback directly on unit or remove SD card and play on monitor/TV 

Every home and business should consider adding such a device to the building security program. Not only will you be able to see who is entering your home when you are gone, but you will catch thieves, cheating spouses, and housemaids looking for the painkillers! Be sure to search all the different kinds of items cameras can be hidden in!