5 Areas of Your Home You Need to Fortify RIGHT NOW

Welcome to the first post in our Home Defense Series! We’re highlighting some areas of your home you need to fortify, and giving you some easy and cost-effective ways to accomplish this task.

Over the next few weeks we’ll discuss ways you can improve the security of your home by identifying key areas around your home, how to fortify those areas, and discussing why it’s necessary to create a home defense plan.

So to kick off this series, here are Five areas of your home you need to fortify right now:

#1 – External Doors

Doors are the first favorite entry point of would-be intruders. 34% of them prefer to enter through the front door, while 22% will try the back or sliding glass door. If your doors are old, get new ones, preferably ones that are reinforced metal doors. These tend to be on the pricy side, so be prepared to save up. Otherwise, sanding and repainting your door so that it looks new may also help deter a criminal.

If you don’t have a peephole in your front door, then you need to get one installed. Knowing who’s on the other side of that door can be extremely helpful, and having an electronic doorbell that starts recording when someone approaches can give you an added level of security as well as video proof of the bad guy doing bad guy things.

#2 – First Floor Windows

The second most common entry point in your home is your first-floor windows. I know it’s appealing in those summer months to keep your windows open during the evening hours because they let in all the cool air, but try and only open your second-story windows. Cool air will actually sink down the levels in your house because of its density, so only open your second-story windows, and only if you’ve done a perimeter check to make sure that a would-be intruder cannot gain access to your home through the second-story window.

#3 – Your Garage Door

You’ll want to fortify your large garage door and your HOME garage door. Most people think their big garage door is entry-proof. They rely on that door for some form of security, and as a result, they fail to lock the door between their garage and their home.

Guess what? That big garage door isn’t entry-proof. It takes 6 seconds for an intruder to break into your garage door, and if you don’t lock that door between the garage and your home, an intruder can be inside your house in less than 10 seconds.

#4 – Landscape Defensively

Planting thorny bushes alongside your fence for additional protection. Keep clear lines of sight between your fence and defensive windows in your home. Remove trees, shrubs, and bushes that criminals can hide behind or use to climb into second-story windows that you might leave open or unlocked.

#5 – Upgrade Your Security System

Homes with security alarms are 3x’s less likely to be burglarized, but 60-80% of people who own an alarm system fail to set them on a regular basis. There are a variety of reasons for this, ranging from children at home, leaving pets alone in the house, or the system is just too complicated to set without the homeowner setting it off.

If either of those are the case, then it may be time to upgrade the system. Security systems nowadays will allow you to leave pets behind, removing the worry that an active dog or kitty will inadvertently set off the alarm. Many systems you can easily set from your own smartphone device.

BONUS:

While you’re upgrading or fortifying these areas of your home, make sure you double-check the external lighting around your house. Buy motion detector floodlights that will illuminate areas a would-be intruder may be hiding or places where the intruder may be trying to get into your home. A dark home is a welcoming home to many intruders and will be one of the first targeted for break-ins.

To learn more about personal or home security, you can check out our mini-course, Developing a Personal and Home Protection Plan. You can also learn more about our CCW class and preview our other courses.

Next Post: 5 Ways to Fortify Your Home Doors