When a burglar is casing your home, you better believe the windows are considered a primary entry point. Recent studies have shown that 30% of intruders enter a home through an unlocked door or window and 23% of them choose the first-floor window as the main way of ingress, locked or not. Those numbers are frightening and they can act as a sobering reminder of the importance of securing the windows in your home against intruders. Luckily you have a wide variety of options available to burglar-proof your windows and increase the level of security to protect your family and your precious belongings.
Lock the Windows
It’s super simple. Just remember to lock your windows before you leave the home and before you go to bed. Why make it easier for a stranger to enter your home by allowing them to simply waltz right in all because you forgot to lock the window? It’s a good habit to get into, no matter whether you live in the city or the woods. It’s not just the windows either, be sure all your doors are locked as well.
Security Bars
Many homeowners take the extra precautionary step of installing security bars and grilles over the windows to deter criminals from breaking and entering. The purpose of these safety measures is to keep from intruders out even if they manage to smash a window. It’s very difficult to slip through the openings between the bars and when a burglar sees these deterrents on a home, they will just move on to the next target. The only drawback to bars over the windows is that homeowners tend to feel like they’re living in a prison when they look out the window.
Reinforced Glass
Among the most sure-fire ways to achieving increased window safety is by relying on one of the many methods for reinforcing the glass. Reinforced glass can be a very effective deterrent for keeping anyone from getting into your house by making it tougher to shatter. Depending on the glass you have installed and the placement of the window itself, you can strategize accordingly in strengthening your window glass against intruders. Here are a few of your options:
Unbreakable Glass
This is a type of glass that is resistant to impacts at a much higher tensile strength than typical window panes. It’s a glass that you’ll need to have specially installed and you can talk to your local Renewal by Andersen Denver representative to find out what types are available and the costs associated with upgrading your window glass.
Security Screens
This security accessory is actually intended to be a deterrent in the event that the glass in your window is broken. The burglar may have shattered the glass, but now they have to contend with a secondary obstacle of the security screen which is made of steel and is very difficult to cut or kick in. These screens play a similar role to security bars and grilles.
Protective Film
This may be the most economical choice while still providing you with a high degree of window safety. It’s a film that is laid over your existing glass in order to fortify it against attack. If someone breaks the window glass, the film prevents the glass from shattering and coming apart, remaining intact despite repeated attempts to rip it asunder. So while the glass may be broken, the film will firmly hold the entryway shut to intruders. This film also offers a secondary security measure of preventing outside eyes from peering into the window to see what you have inside that might be worth stealing.
Clever Landscaping
Homeowners who plant trees and bushes to beautify the exterior of the home will sometimes position shrubbery that contains sharp thorns and thickets beneath their first-floor windows to deter intruders. When these potentially dangerous bushes are located under and near windows, it makes it far more difficult and uncomfortable for someone to get at the window to break it.
While it’s true that a desperate criminal may be willing to withstand some pricks and cuts just to get at your valuables, many will often decide that it’s not worth contending with sharp thorns to get in the house and move on to another home with fewer security measures in place. That makes your home a safer place to be and intruders will be less likely to try to break in. Just be careful not to plant tall trees near windows as that will make it easier for criminals to climb up and break into windows on the second floor.
