Let's talk about deadbolts / door locks and home security

java230 wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: Can you elaborate on "suck"? Mine's been working just fine for years

Dont hit it with a hammer.... Working construction we go though a lot of lock boxes. The master ones are easy to get into. (at which point someone probably would have broken a window rather than find a lock box and break into it)

Good to know, thanks.

SVreX wrote: In reply to Enyar: PLEASE DON'T USE A KEY ON THE INSIDE (double cylinder deadbolt). I had a friend die in a fire in her own home because of one. I think they should be outlawed, and have never installed one in the past 20 years since my friend died. The "sidelight argument" doesn't really hold water. If a thief is prepared to break glass, he can get into ANY house, anywhere. But here's the problem... In the event of a fire, you will not be thinking clearly. You will be gasping for air, and trying to get out. You will NOT REMEMBER where the key is, regardless of how obvious. That's what happened to my friend. They found her dead in a pile at the back door, unable to find the key, which was hanging on the same nail next to the door it had always been hanging on for 15 years. Sorry, it's one of my pet peeves. I'd rather let the thieves have my stuff than have my kids unable to get out of the building in the event of an emergency.

That's what I was thinking as well but could see the logic on both sides. You pushed me over to the latch side.

Stopping a hydraulic jack is going to be tough. The Israelis developed a backpack portable hydraulic jack thing that they put in the door frame, turn on the pump, instantly pop the door frame and push the door in. You ain't gonna keep Mossad out. People in that country take their front door seriously, which is why they came up with the hydraulic jam spreader thing. There's some importers of their door products, but they are not cheap.

Really, though, you want to slow the thieves down and make them think about some other place. You know, the old "I don't have to run faster than the bear. I only have to run faster than you" thing. And the whole lock bumping thing where they take a key blank and tap it and open your door is why I recommend a restricted keyway. If they can't get a blank, they can't do that to you.

java230 wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: Can you elaborate on "suck"? Mine's been working just fine for years

Dont hit it with a hammer.... Working construction we go though a lot of lock boxes. The master ones are easy to get into. (at which point someone probably would have broken a window rather than find a lock box and break into it)

WTF this is GRM. Hit everything with a hammer

Flight Service wrote: WTF this is GRM. Hit everything with a hammer

Thanks, FS! I needed a good laugh, this morning!

java230 wrote: ^^^Thats funny!! Those master boxes suck. Get one of these style.

I don't know what I did, but I seized mine shut (the pin pad doesn't push in anymore). So, uh, don't get paint or anything stupid on yours.

Also, the best home security is to move your door about 18 feet to the side, block your old door, and put up a sign that says the door is really off to the side. It's how my university secures SSH and it'll darn well work on my house!

We have an electronic deadbolt on the front of the house. Its tied into our alarm system so we can monitor when it is opened and closed, remotely lock or unlock it, etc. If the battery dies we can still use our normal house key. Pretty handy and worth it, IMO. Front door is steel, the Wife really wants one with a window as the entry way is pretty dark, but that's a concern and a bit more work than I want to go through right now.

As for emergency or hidden keys, we took an old pill bottle and glued a small rock on the lid and buried it in the back yard next to a bunch of other rocks that matched it. Since our yard is full of small rocks, you have to know which one is the one with the key. To reach the backyard, one has to climb a locked 6 foot high fence and our neighbors are almost always home and we watch each others homes during the day.

Since there is a decent sized window on the front of the house about 6 feet from the front door along with the two glass doors in the backyard, I'm resigned to the fact that thieves can get in if they really wanted to, so we keep the alarm armed and the expensive stuff upstairs where they are less likely to go during a smash and grab. Anything more than that and well, insurance and/or the coroner will have to deal with the aftermath.

So far we've only had one car hit by prowlers and that was only because I forgot to lock it. They just stole some change and other easily replaced stuff from the car, made a mess and chain smoked like a mofo and left butts all over the inside of the car. It was a bit traumatizing to my wife and made me very angry. So I'm adding motion floods and an outdoor camera once the BMW is out of the garage.

Stefan (Not Bruce) wrote: and chain smoked like a mofo and left butts all over the inside of the car.

WTF?

Keep the really important stuff that can't be replaced easily or at all (pictures, birth records, etc.) elsewhere.

A friend was recently burglarized. They went in through a window. They used blue painter's tape when they broke it, probably to keep from getting cut.

Brett_Murphy wrote: They used blue painter's tape when they broke it, probably to keep from getting cut.

It keeps the noise down.