The modern home can sometimes be unsafe, with burglaries occurring every 30 seconds and accounting for about 16 percent of all property crimes. These numbers translate to 3,000 incidents in a day. FBI statistics also indicate that most burglaries occur through forcible entries. However, there are also many reported unlawful entries and attempted forcible entries. Criminals can kick down the door, use a duplicated key, silently remove the hinges or break the lock to enter your home – in just minutes, your cash, jewelry, electronics, and other valuables disappear with no trace. You can prevent such incidents by securing all your entryways, whether you’re home or away.
Let’s look at some entryway ideas for a safe and secure home.
Secure Your Front Door All the Time
Your front door should be the first and the essential part of securing your home. It is the first line of protection against intruders. But unfortunately, it’s an intruder’s first option for entry.
For this reason, make it your number one priority to secure the front door. It is strategic and vital since it is the main entrance to your house.
Below are several effective ways to guarantee your front door security to keep you and your family safe.
- Get a solid timber, sturdy composite aluminum, or fiberglass and install it professionally to make sure it is fit for purpose.
- Invest in good-quality locks, at least two locks to make it hard to break in. This can include a standard lock on the doorknob and a deadbolt for additional security.
- Use a strong strike plate to defend against any possible kick-ins to equip your front door.
- Install an outdoor camera to monitor your house or a door alarm to get notified when somebody enters or approaches your home without your consent. You will get mobile alerts if your door is unlocked or locked, even if you are not there physically.
- Avoid hiding your spare keys in doormats, mailboxes, and flowerpots, since burglars know this. Instead, keep your spare key with a family member or a trusted neighbor.
- Doors with decorative glass are easy to break and offer visibility into your home. Avoid them.
- Ensure that you have locked the door well every time you leave the house and before sleeping.
- Use sensor lights, and they are a great way to sense and frighten burglars and position them correctly.
Always Check The Back Door
Back doors are, at times, a smart opportunity for burglars. For sure, it’s easy to forget to close the back door than the front – and burglars know this. It’s unlikely to be seen entering a home through the back entryway.
Also, a sliding glass door comes with several risks. First, the sliding glass doors’ latches are usually weak. Second, the doors are mostly made of fragile glass and, as a result, can be easily compromised. Some entryway ideas to protect your back door include;
- Installing sturdy locks and strike plates for additional defense
- Installing a door with impact glass (5/16” thick)
- Installing a door alarm or a glass-breakage alarm to ensure enough protection for a glass backdoor.
- Ensuring you lock all the doors when you leave the house and before retiring to bed.
Secure Front Windows
Windows are among the easiest ways for burglars to break into homes. Unfortunately, many homeowners don’t bother to check whether windows are locked or not.
Additionally, it isn’t that difficult to break a window with the necessary tools. Burglars test every entry point to your home.
They try to gain entry through the door first. If they fail, they will try their best to get in through the windows. Try out these entryway ideas to secure your windows against possible break-ins:
- Install a window with reinforced glass to prevent impact breakage. Think about Plexiglass and polycarbonate windows. Though they have a similar thickness as standard glass, they are almost ten times stronger and more resistant to impact.
- Install window bars, preferably iron bars. They are one of the sturdiest defenses against intruders. Burglars cannot squeeze through the iron bars even if they break the glass.
- Install a window motion sensor, window monitor alarm, or a glass breakage alarm for additional security.
- Fix a deadbolt locking system on your window.
- Window coverings offer comfort and privacy. They also conceal homes from snooping eyes. Furnish your windows with quality shades and curtains, and avoid using see-through materials. Close the curtains well before leaving to make sure nobody can peep through your windows easily.
- Lock your windows well to eliminate easy entry from burglars.
- Besides, trim trees and bushes around your first-floor windows to ensure no hiding spots.
In addition, secure your second-floor windows if you have one. There is still a chance of a burglar gaining access from second-floor entryways. Don’t take risks. Secure your second-floor windows just like first-floor windows. Use all the necessary measures to protect them against intruders.
Always Lock Your Garage Doors
Many people secure their homes, but they often fail to include the garage. Some homeowners use their garages as the main entrance into their house. They leave the garage door and the door to the house open for ease.
An attached garage provides burglars with an unnoticed entry point to your home. Therefore, you have to work hard to keep burglars out.
It would be best if you took similar security safety measures to your garage the way you do with the rest of your home. Some entryway ideas for keeping your garage entrance to the house safe include:
- Installing a sturdy lock as well as a strike plate for additional defense
- Upgrading the lock on your garage door to a sturdier and more durable one
- Never leave the opener of your garage door in the car.
- Invest in a lock with a programmed entry code for increased security.
- Install surveillance cameras around and inside your garage.
- Get remote access control. It helps when you leave and accidentally forget to shut and lock your garage.
- Your garage door equipment should be of good quality. Wood, metal, or fiberglass works best
- Timers can help close your door, even leave hurriedly, and forget to close it.
- Ensure you have locked the door of your garage every time you leave or enter the house
- Monitor the condition of your garage door through your smartphone. You will get an alert if the door stays open too long or at particular times of the day. Also, you can lock the door distantly from your phone when you are away from home.
Install Quality Cameras
Cameras are majorly considered for home security consumers these days. Installing home security cameras in your entryways is the best way to keep robbers away from your home. There are great devices in the market, with most cameras including phone apps for remote monitoring.
Ring Camera
The ring is a security camera system that uses your Wi-Fi network to send video from your gadget to your smartphone. It’s made to work with a Wi-Fi network, and most smart home devices are compatible with a ring camera.
Prevent burglars with a Ring surveillance camera. The LED floodlights that are activated to motion and full HD camera aid in keeping a tab on actions outside your home.
The ring camera is compatible with most smart devices for fast fixing and management through the Ring app. In addition, its two-way talk function allows easy communication with your guests.
Wyze Cam V3
The Wyze Cam V3 is a reasonably priced outdoor security camera. It’s easy to install using the Wyze mobile app (iOS and Android). The device is petite with a magnetic back to stick it to a metal surface.
Wyze Cam V3 streams 1080p video, which is sharp enough to collect exact details during the night and daytime. In addition, it comes with smoke, motion, sound, and CO alert features.
Rollgan Wireless Security Camera
The Rollgan wireless security camera comes with a big power battery and can offer longevity for working. This camera will offer 2 – 6 months of power before you charge. You should first charge the battery fully before you use it. The Adorcam app (Android or iPhone) allows you to share your camera as well as videos with your love and friends, regardless of where they are.
This home security Wi-Fi camera offers 1080P FHD video. Therefore, you can get a much clearer range to monitor effects. The inbuilt- IR illuminates up to 10m (32ft) of night vision so you can keep watch of your entryway even in the dark. The IR light switches on night vision mode automatically when ambient light is low to make sure you are noticeable in the dark.
Peephole Cameraa
Modern advanced front door peephole cameras like the Brinno Duo Safe Smart Home Security Concealed Peephole Camera have now replaced conventional peephole cameras.
These cameras allow secure and discreet viewing of the person standing outside your front door. They also allow you to carefully look through to see who is outside your door without them knowing.
In addition, the camera doesn’t require looking through the peephole since a single button operation permits viewing the outside view on a bright LCD screen or your phone. Amazingly, some peephole cameras can estimate the number of people in your entryway.
With the modern peephole cameras, you see the entryway clearly all the time and with convenience.
Additional methods, such as keeping your security lights switched on when not at home, getting a security dog, or hiring a security company, may come in handy if you want to maximize your home’s safety.
Bottom Line
Entryways are the most commonly used by intruders to burglarize your house. Intensifying security at these points can help you reduce the probability of break-ins. As a result, you, your family, and your valuables will be safe from harm. With the above ideas for a secure home, you can have peace of mind that your home is protected.
Besides ensuring your entryways are locked, monitoring through home security systems is also important. With smart home security gadgets such as cameras and alarms, you can protect both the interior and exterior of your property even when you’re away. The devices come with brilliant lighting for the outdoors, infrared motion sensors, and more, all geared at effective monitoring of movements at your entryways. Fitted with alerts and sometimes 24/7 professional monitoring, you’ll get to know immediately when someone approaches your monitor entryway.
At ONIT Home, we know the importance of a secure home, and we provide an effective home safety solution. Our professional team is experienced and ready to install and monitor your smart home security systems at an affordable cost. For more information about our video surveillance, break-in detection, and remote system control services, visit our website or get in touch with us now at 1-833-433-0331. Wherever equipment you need, we’ll be ONIT.