Securing your home

WHILE no one really wants to think about their home being robbed it’s important to be sure your home, your valuables and your loved ones are safe.

There are of course all manner of security systems and devices available from the expensive and high tech to the simple and affordable devices that can help make a house that little bit more secure.

If your thinking about installing additional security in your home the best place to start is with some advice from the gardaí who now more than anyone about home security and the simple steps that can make it much more difficult for a burglar to gain access to your house.

Best of all most of the devices needed are available easily and cheaply from most good DIY stores.

The gardaí advise that there is one simple test you can carry out to see how secure your home is from burglars.

Just go outside as if you’ve lost you’re keys and look at every possible entry point – doors, windows, garage doors – and see is there any way at all you’d be able to get in if you really, really needed to.

If you see something like an out of the way small window that’s locked but might be a bit older than in the rest of the house and you think you could push it in or pull it open if you had to you, then you should address that. Other tips from the Garda include: Fit all wooden doors with five-lever mortice locks and PVC doors with multi-point locking.

Have glass panels on your front or back doors or surrounds fitted with reinforced glass.

Secure all your windows and lock all doors before leaving home, even for a short period to go on a quick school run or to the shop.

Have additional locks fitted to your patio or sliding door.

Install an intruder alarm and consider linking to a monitoring centre.

Change the locks when you buy or rent a new property. You may trusts the person you bought the house from but you can never be entirely sure where everyone of their keys actually ended up.

Have timers fitted that turn on and off lights when you know you will be out for long periods.

Make sure your garage doors close and lock properly and are further protected with quality locks and deadbolts.

Check for tools, ladders and even chairs that could be used by intruders to smash their way into your home or to climb to windows that may be open or be more easily opened than those on the ground.

Trim back excessive hedges and shrubs that might give cover to a burglar trying to gain entry to your home.

Cancel all deliveries when on holidays and ask a neighbour to collect your post and to park their car in your drive some nights. Also, ask them to mow your grass if you are away for long periods.

Finally given how common place the theft of heating oil has become it micght be worth investigating alarms systems for oil tanks. There are many websites which offer cheap alarm devices that will alert you if oil in your tank suddenly drops below a certain level.