Preventing Home Break-Ins—10 Window and Door Security Tips You Should Know!

TIP 1. Keep windows and doors locked—even when you or family members are home.

TIP 2. Update locking hardware on your entry doors. Install new keyed locks and deadbolts.

TIP 3. Ensure that window air conditioners are not easily removable from the outside. Bolt them in place from the inside.

TIP 4. Keep drapes or shades drawn—during evenings and at night—so as not to entice intruders. Sheers can help to conceal your home's interior during the day while allowing in light.

TIP 5. Remove shrubs and trees from in front of windows so they can't hide possible intruders. Keep shrubs trimmed low.

TIP 6. Replace old, easily-breached windows with heavy-duty replacement windows that have passed ASTM* structural forced entry tests.

TIP 7. Install new heavy-duty basement windows. Older, substandard basement windows are often targeted by intruders.

TIP 8. Install windows with laminated glass when building a new home or replacing your windows. Laminated Armor Glass is very difficult for intruders to penetrate. A quality laminated glass system consists of one composite pane made up of a polyvinyl butyral interlayer sandwiched by two sheets of glass—and another pane of annealed or standard glass.

TIPS 9. Replace your entry doors with metal or fiberglass doors with peepholes and minimal—if any—glass for the best security. Be sure that they incorporate substantial locking systems.

TIPS 10. Replace old patio doors with new, more secure models. Insist on doors that incorporate laminated glass instead of tempered glass. Tempered glass is designed for safety, but not security.