Locking Up Your Place

Posted on: 29 June 2015

The very simple concept of functional locks on a home's windows provide an immense amount of safety and security. Burglars and worse criminals cannot easily enter a home through a locked window. Unfortunately, even durable locks can and do break. Calling a locksmith to fix or replace the broken locks is advised, but a day or so may pass before the work is actually performed. In the meantime, some action must be taken to reduce the chances Murphy's Law rears its head and a burglar puts hands on an unsecured window.

Duct Tape the Window Down

Nailing the window closed is advisable and utilizing duct tape further secures the window in place.

No, duct taping the bottom of the window to the interior ledge is not going to provide 100% reliable security. With the right amount of effort, someone could still force the window open from the outside. What the duct tape may be able to do is fool a burglar into thinking the immovable window is locked. The thief may then just move on.

Place Furniture in Front of the Window

Move a large bookcase or dresser in front of the window. Hopefully, the furniture will be large enough to cover the entire window. Push a couch up against the furniture to ensure a snug fit. While the interior design of your home might suffer a bit with this setup, any burglar who tries to open the window is going to come face--to-face with a major obstacle.

The obstacle surely slows down the burglar's ability to enter the home. Makeshift furniture barriers greatly slow things down for the thief. Hence, the crook may cancel the attempt if too much effort is required.

Tape Up a Fake Wall Covering

Using a free software program, produce and print out several pages of colored paper with images closely matching the exterior surface of your home. You do not have to perfectly match the bricks or siding. All you need is a "mask" that hides the window. This might only work at a distance, but the deceptive tactic is worth a try. A burglar quickly moving through and casing a neighborhood may never even notice the window and just walk on by.

All of these tactics are short-term ones. The broken window lock has to be fixed as soon as possible. Until the lock expert arrives, putting all three of these plans into effect adds a little extra helpful security. For more information, contact a professional like Bellows Locksmith.