Peter D. Bowden
Residential
Designer

Even if you have the most advanced home security system, the following common sense measures will help ensure safety from intruders.

To add extra security to windows, drill holes through the window frames where the upper and lower halves meet, and then insert a nail through them. This will keep them from being opened. When you want to open the windows, just remove the nail.

Place a 2” corner brace on the inside top of the door to prevent a sliding door from being lifted out of its track. Or, put a length of wooden dowel or a broom handle on the track and the door will not be able to slide open.

For homes with attached garages, a peephole installed in the door separating the house from the garage will allow you to check out a strange noise safely from inside.

For homes with non-electrical garage door openers, place a C-clamp on the track in front of the roller. The garage door won’t budge this way.

When leaving the house after a light snow, make the extra effort to walk BACK to the door you exited from. Two sets of tracks will fool an intruder into thinking someone is home, while just one set – walking AWAY from the house – will serve as an invitation to enter.