Home security add-ons...

nightofjoy

We're trying to rent a place, but have been forced further out of the city than we'd have liked to afford what we need.

I was wondering, if the property doesn't have an alarm, are there any home security gurus on here who could suggest any products we could buy that are actually worth it without breaking the bank? Retro-fit alarms, hidden cameras for when we go out etc

Cheers.

HappyMJ

nightofjoy wrote: »

We're trying to rent a place, but have been forced further out of the city than we'd have liked to afford what we need.

I was wondering, if the property doesn't have an alarm, are there any home security gurus on here who could suggest any products we could buy that are actually worth it without breaking the bank? Retro-fit alarms, hidden cameras for when we go out etc

Cheers.

What are you trying to protect?

A safe bolted in to a concrete floor would be the ideal place to leave your valuables when you leave the property. Ask the landlord before drilling holes in the concrete.

Bolt other things down. A TV can be bolted to a wall (again you'll need to ask the landlord for permission to put quite large holes in the wall). A computer usually has a Kensington lock but you need an anchor. Don't use the radiator...they'll just rip that from the wall and you'll have water damage.

No alarm will protect your valuables if you leave them out. Camera's are useful to see what happened but every burglar these days will wear a mask and gloves to protect themselves from being identified.

So...just get an insurance policy to cover your contents and make sure you answer all the questions correctly. If you've got key operated window locks and say you do then you must use them at all time. Personally I would just answer no to that question.

I would also replace the lock cylinder's with anti-bump, anti-pick, anti-snap cylinders so that it's much harder to break in.

You won't deter a determined burglar. They'll just break the windows, ignore the alarm and get as much as they can before anyone even notices. Delay them as much as possible and you lose less.

Grenage

Conceal your valued/irreplaceable items and have a decent insurance policy; that's what I would recommend.

dbriggs

These are good and unlike most cloud-recording cameras they don't charge you a monthly fee for the online storage: https://www.y-cam.com/

They actually emailed me a voucher code this morning for 30% off for Easter: http://eepurl.com/bU41Mn

14 day no quibble returns too so you can try it out and see if its for you or not. I originally bought 3 of them but later found my internet connection can only handle 2 cameras being triggered at any one time, so I sent one back and now the other 2 have enough bandwidth to work together. Don't let that put you off, I live in a rural area and my broadband is quite slow.

The main reason I like them is because if someone breaks in, sees the camera and then smashes it up I've already got their face on video stored in the cloud, waiting to download and hand over to the police! It also beeps on your mobile phone when the camera is trigged so you could actually call the police while someone is going through your house. The police love to catch people red handed and without a chase!

dominoman

We have a small device that simulates a TV. It comes on at dusk and switches off a few hours after (adjustable). Costs next to nothing to run as it is just a few LEDs but from the outside you'd definitely think there was someone in watching TV. It's fantastic.

Won't help for daytime, but for night-time it's great.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/FakeTV-FTV-10UKB-Fake-TV-Intruder-Deterrent-FTV10/dp/B004ZDJCDE/

phill99

Gizmos are fine but most are 'after the event' (like alarms, CCTV etc).


High quality insurance approved locks on all doors and windows will be a fat better deterrent.

nightofjoy

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

Yeah, I know good locks and insurance are the best way to go. I just wondered how good the alarms are that you can buy yourself and fit, or if anyone had experience of using hidden cameras in home security.

I friend of mine interrupted a burglar a couple of months back in his home, and the guy was only wearing a hoodie, so cameras would have picked that up. I'm not thinking particularly for a prosecution - more to get to the police to finger the culprit quicky and get round there before they sell all our gear. That's working on the assumption that the criminal was known to the police. You'd have to hope so. Be unlucky to be targeted by a first time thief with nothing on record heh

That would be the only concern, getting as much of the stuff back as possible....

nightofjoy

dominoman wrote: »

We have a small device that simulates a TV. It comes on at dusk and switches off a few hours after (adjustable). Costs next to nothing to run as it is just a few LEDs but from the outside you'd definitely think there was someone in watching TV. It's fantastic.

Won't help for daytime, but for night-time it's great.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/FakeTV-FTV-10UKB-Fake-TV-Intruder-Deterrent-FTV10/dp/B004ZDJCDE/

Love it... just need one that casts silhouettes of people at a party like in Home Alone...

And some paint cans on ropes :rotfl:

nightofjoy

dbriggs wrote: »

These are good and unlike most cloud-recording cameras they don't charge you a monthly fee for the online storage: https://www.y-cam.com/

They actually emailed me a voucher code this morning for 30% off for Easter: http://eepurl.com/bU41Mn

14 day no quibble returns too so you can try it out and see if its for you or not. I originally bought 3 of them but later found my internet connection can only handle 2 cameras being triggered at any one time, so I sent one back and now the other 2 have enough bandwidth to work together. Don't let that put you off, I live in a rural area and my broadband is quite slow.

The main reason I like them is because if someone breaks in, sees the camera and then smashes it up I've already got their face on video stored in the cloud, waiting to download and hand over to the police! It also beeps on your mobile phone when the camera is trigged so you could actually call the police while someone is going through your house. The police love to catch people red handed and without a chase!

Perfect, but pricey. I know you can't put a price on security, but I'm afraid we couldn't afford that. I bet you could cover the cameras with your home insurance in case they got smashed up lol

I just need a cheap alternative. Something that will discreetly shoot footage in low light, and obviously - for your reasons above - send the footage to a cloud server. Hmmmm...

phill99

But if they are on camera, it means that they have already got in and your gear is down at Cash Convertors plus they have damaged the door and windows in the process. High quality locks are far more effective than any camera

nightofjoy

phill99 wrote: »

But if they are on camera, it means that they have already got in and your gear is down at Cash Convertors plus they have damaged the door and windows in the process. High quality locks are far more effective than any camera

Yeah, I get that, but we're renting a property, and we're going to be stuck with whatever locks are already there.

Plus these would be a backup measure in case the thieves are able to get in. I'm sure a determined, experienced burglar can find a way around most points of entry at the rear of a property at night, even if it just means smashing all of the glass out of a securely locked multi-point latch double glazed door.

I would like to think I'd done something just in case a burglar is able to get in...