Your home is your castle. You spend time, effort, and money on your residence (and everything inside). Here are five simple ways to secure your home.
1. Secure Your Doors and Windows
Securing your doors and windows is one of the most important things you can do to protect your property. Over a third of burglars enter through the front door. Roughly a quarter of thieves enter through a first-floor window.
By protecting doors and windows, over half of burglaries can be prevented!
Here are some tips to get you started:
- Always lock all of your doors and windows.
- Install a deadbolt on your doors. You can also use a deadbolt strike plate, which is a piece of metal that prevents burglars from kicking down your door.
- Secure sliding glass doors by putting a dowel in the track to prevent the door from opening.
- Install glass-break sensors on windows and sliding glass doors.
- Use window stops, which prevent windows from opening wide enough for burglars to sneak through.
2. Tell Burglars You're Home
Burglars like to break into houses with nobody home. Over half of break-ins occur during weekday working hours. One way to keep your home safe is to make it seem like someone is watching over your home at all times.
Here are some ways to repel burglars:
- Put a "guard dog on duty" sign on your property (even if you don't have a dog).
- Plant a sign that shows your house has a security system (even if it doesn't).
- Keep the TV and lights on when you're gone. You can even buy a fake TV that emits flashes of lights that mimic a real TV.
There are many ways you can fool a burglar into thinking you're home. Get creative and have some fun with it!
3. Maintain Your Roof
Not all dangers to your house come from potential criminals. Sometimes the weather is to blame!
You should have your roof inspected at least once every few years. Getting ahead of roof damage can prolong your roof's life, save you money, and increase curb appeal.
If you neglect your roof, you could find out about a problem the hard way. Do you want to come home to a leaky ceiling and water damage all throughout the top floor of your house? I don't think so. Your insurance company may deny a claim if your roof is damaged in a windstorm but was in need of repairs prior to the storm.
4. Trim Your Trees
Keeping your trees trimmed stops dead branches from falling. A little planning ahead can prevent damage to your home, your car, or even prevent injuries.
Trimming weak branches also keeps the trees healthy. This can help improve your property's appearance and increase its value.
5. Maintain Your Deck
A rotten deck is a nightmare scenario. You don't want to have someone fall through and injure themselves.
Protect your deck by following these simple tips:
- Trim nearby bushes and trees so that they're at least 12 inches away from your deck.
- Keep leaves and other debris off your deck at all times.
- Move furniture, planters, and grills from time to time so they don't leave permanent marks.
- Seal wooden decks in the spring (you can also choose tinted sealers to add some colour).
While it's important to secure your home and guard against danger, sometimes it's not enough. The most important way to protect your home is with homeowner's insurance. You can search for your lowest home insurance rates on Kanetix.ca.
