Home Security Checklist: How Secure Is Your Home?

 

With life getting hectic, top-notch home security can easily slip from your mind. Here is a thorough checklist to go over to ensure that your house is safe:

 

1 – Install good quality locks

Chain locks are shoddy at best, so you need medium to high quality locks to ensure safety. The strongest locks are industrial deadbolt locks, though a solid bored or lever lock should suffice.

 

2 – Check for possible entry points and secure them

It’s essential to pinpoint every entrance (garage, front or back door) and make sure they have a solid lock on them. Security cameras and motion detection are bonuses.

 

3 – Invest in secure doors

You need strong doors that can’t be broken in, preferably one with an eye viewer as well. Sliding doors need to be secured with a wood bar to hold it closed and so that it can’t be forced.

 

4 – Have a hiding place for valuables and personal items

Ideally, you would want to store it away from the house. If this isn’t an option, you need an in-house safe to keep personal items safe.

 

5 – Also record the serial number of your valuables

Recording serial numbers of these valuables is also a good idea so they can be easily tracked or replaced by insurance companies.

 

6 – Draw curtains and blinds after dark

Keep potential burglars from looking in by closing off windows at night. This makes your home less of a target.

 

7 – Change up your routine

If a dedicated group of burglars has your routine down to a science, it makes it much easier for them to plan a robbery. Coming home at different times can throw off a group if you have known burglar activity in your neighbourhood.

 

8 – Secure your garage

It’s the most open-concept place in your home, so it’s important to make sure it’s secured as well with locks and security cameras.

 

9 – Keep your fences and gates secured

As the first obstacle to get to the house, it’s important to secure it with a decent padlock.

 

10 – Set up security cameras for advanced coverage

Having 24-hour surveillance around your property provides the quickest way of knowing when there’s a threat looming about.

 

11 – Automatic light and motion sensors

When a person steps onto your property and a light shines on them, it gives away their position and becomes a crime deterrent.

 

12 – Join Neighbourhood Watch

To get updates on local security problems, joining the Neighbourhood Watch is a great idea.

 

13 – Take holiday precautions

If you plan to vacation away from your home, you need to inform your neighbours, hold mail somewhere else, and make the house look “lived in” (keep a car parked in the driveway, etc.)

 

14 – Make sure your shrubs and trees are trimmed

A large bush provides perfect cover for a burglar to hide behind, so keep shrubbery trimmed back.

 

15 – Make sure your home follows the fire code

The threat isn’t always going to be home invaders, sometimes you need to protect your home from other hazards. Ensuring that your smoke detectors work and that you have an emergency plan when a fire starts are the best ways of ensuring that you’re ready when the unimaginable happens.