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Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,766,834 times
Reputation: 7185
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheStupid
Security is my main concern, of course.
I did all of them but a few that I did not pre-drill. I hope it's OK. :-( I'll back those (not pre-drilled) out 1 turn tomorrow.
A Remington 870 is relatively inexpensive and will hold five 3" #4 buckshot cartridges in the magazine. That's probably your best bet for keeping things secure.
A good, heavy door with an expensive lock will probably give you ample time to shake the sleep out of your head and rack a round into the chamber.
A Remington 870 is relatively inexpensive and will hold five 3" #4 buckshot cartridges in the magazine. That's probably your best bet for keeping things secure.
A good, heavy door with an expensive lock will probably give you ample time to shake the sleep out of your head and rack a round into the chamber.
And again last night homeowners shot someone breaking in here in Houston... It's happing more and more here where homeowners are shooting first asking questions second...
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,766,834 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by Houston3
And again last night homeowners shot someone breaking in here in Houston... It's happing more and more here where homeowners are shooting first asking questions second...
Really though, if someone has broken into your home while you are occupying it, he or she has basically answered any questions that you would need to ask. I don't think that the rates of intruders being injured or killed has actually gone up or down appreciably over the last two decades. A contact at the HCDA's office reports that implementation of the castle doctrine has not changed anything except that no-billed homeowners involved in a shooting do not get dragged into civil court.
Breaking and entering is extremely dangerous. It always has been and it always will be. I think that's the way it should be.
And again last night homeowners shot someone breaking in here in Houston... It's happing more and more here where homeowners are shooting first asking questions second...
Legally and tactically, it is dangerous to ask question first then shoot. Like Jim said, when someone broke in, all the questions have already been answered.
We should all thank whoever you believe in that we still have a right to protect ourselves, not like some people in some countries or states.
A Remington 870 is relatively inexpensive and will hold five 3" #4 buckshot cartridges in the magazine. That's probably your best bet for keeping things secure.
A good, heavy door with an expensive lock will probably give you ample time to shake the sleep out of your head and rack a round into the chamber.
The 1" spongy pine door jambs suspended in the air never made any sense to me. Not only for security, but how long can they last just with the normal pressures caused by slamming, swinging, wind loads, etc? I told our carpenters to construct door frames very close to the size of the jambs. Our carpenters were very good at convincing me that I do not know much about carpentry, however evnetually I discovered that it apparently the other way around. They said that it could not be done, so I built one, installed a door and showed them how I wanted it done. If you have 2x4 studs within 1/8" of the 1" jambs, then you do not need 3" screws to get decent strength. You can use lots of small screws and even glue if you choose (I did not want glue). I put in about a dozen plus 2" screws and tied the cheapo door jambs securely to the 2x4 stud. It seems very sturdy. I had a lod of screws to cover up before painting (most of them were under the molding, but not all). However my concern was more one of longevity than security. Even with my demonstration, they still failed to build several door frames close to the size of the doors. That made me angry, but by the time I discovered it, it was too late to do anything about it. One door has already ripped the door jamb apart at the hinges becuase the jamb lacked sufficinet support to withstand the loads (the left a 1" + gap and just stuck in a whole bunch of shims). Can someone explain why it is difficult to build a door frame the same size as the door jamb? I had no problem doing it and I am not even close to a professional carpenter, I am a terrible carpenter, but I can muddle thorough with a decent book and some pointers from my brother. Later, I put in two more doors and did it the same way only I measured very carefully and built the frames to the exact size of the jambs - no shims. It makes it much easier if you do not have to mess around with shims and it seem much more solid. Why do the pros scoff at the idea of building a door frame the same size as the jamb?
It seems to me that no matter what you do to your door, a bad guy can just throw a rock or a brick through the window and be inside in less than five seconds. Or if he wants to be quiet he can just use a simple glass cutter, some duct tape and a dent puller or other suction cup to keep the cut piece of glass from falling on the floor. Even if you do not have stucco, it is pretty easy to peel away a section of wall with a crow bar. I have done it a few times salvaging materials from houses that were going to be torn down. It only take minutes, but it make a bit of noise. Unless you have plaster or 5/8" commercial drywall, they can then just walk through the interior drywal without even slowing down (plaster is harder to get through). Why worry about your door when the windows are your weakest point and your walls are not much better?
You could save your money and move to a safer area, buy a really big dog, get an alarm system, buy a goose, put up a fence, or buy a shotgun and some NRA lessons. All of these things seem like they would provide more security than buying fancy locks. No matter what you do to your doors, you can not make your windows and walls impregnable. Instead of keeping them out, you may be better focused on making them not want to come in.
Frankly if I were a thief, I think that I would pull up in a van that says "Mikes Home Improvements" or "Jim's termite Repair Service" on the side of it, lay down a tarp to make it look good, and just go to work on the wall at the back of the house, make a big hole and carry out what I want into my van. No need to open the door or break a window and be obvious about it. Heck the neighbors may even come over and ask for a card and see if I can do their house next. ("No problem- let me take a look at it (and see whether you have a nice plasma TV)"). As long as the owner did not come home, no one would ever know that you were not supposed to be there. If you have tools there are many other ways that you could get into a house while appearing to be doing improvements. Even if the owner came home, you might get away with acting suprised and pretending that you had the wrong address to do the work. "I will come back and fix it tomorrow, sorry." Some people are gullible enough that they would not even call the police until they noticed something missing.
Last edited by Coldjensens; 10-05-2009 at 04:15 PM..
It seems to me that no matter what you do to your door, a bad guy can just throw a rock or a brick through the window and be inside in less than five seconds. Or if he wants to be quiet he can just use a simple glass cutter, some duct tape and a dent puller or other suction cup to keep the cut piece of glass from falling on the floor. Why worry about your door when the windows are your weakest point?
You could save your money and move to a safer area, buy a really big dog, get an alarm system, buy a goose, put up a fence, or buy a shotgun and some NRA lessons. All of these things seem like they would provide more security than buying fancy locks. No matter what you do to your doors, you can not make your windows and walls impregnable. Instead of keeping them out, you may be better focused on making them not want to come in.
Surprisingly, most bad guys try the door first. Crawling through windows is a bad idea:
1. breaking window sends a lot of noise
2. cannot carry too many stuff out of window
3. more difficult to run away if owner is at home
Most bad guys who use windows look for unlocked window that they can get in with minimal effort.
It's actually pretty easy to secure windows besides locking them. Just use 3M Security Film. I am having one installed for me right now on a window that has easy access. With that thing on, it takes a considerably big rock and effort to break a window.
I am pretty big on firearm too but I don't recommend that to people as the defense tool. Personal defense must be layered and should actually be used.
We should do all we can to avoid the ultimatum of pulling the trigger even though I have no sympathy for anybody who is killed because he/she illegally broke into other people's residence.
Believe or not most break-ins happen at 2:00PM when your nice and shining guns are sitting at home waiting to be stolen.
So put up ADT signs, get good locks, fix doors and frame, lock windows and set alarm. Very simple and basic security measures that probably save some lives.
And again last night homeowners shot someone breaking in here in Houston... It's happing more and more here where homeowners are shooting first asking questions second...
I guess these criminals have already forgotten about Joe Horn huh Houston3. He is our hero.
Recently the break-ins around here have occurred in the middle of the night at homes where the garage or walk-in side garage doors are left open.
They break in while people are asleep and steal credit cards, money, small items only.
I can't remember the last time I left a door open and did not have the deadbolt thrown (we have a deadbolt on door from that garage also), and the alarm set.
And we live in a safe neighborhood. Now where I grew up....
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