- 1). Inventory all of your home's access points: doors, windows, garage doors, patio doors and pet doors are common examples. Include all possible entry points on all levels of your home.
- 2). Think of these access points as forming a single, unbroken circuit, with each access point providing two contacts that touch as long as the point is closed. Imagine a point--a door or window--opening and breaking its contact. The circuit is now broken.
- 3). Draw a diagram of your home's access points to help you plan your system.
- 4). Plan your system in a way that keeps the circuit intact.
- 5). Layer security devices. Start with such basics as deadbolts and heavy-duty locksets for doors; bars that jam windows and patio doors shut; and exterior lighting that fills shadows near access points. Use these inexpensive options as a launching point for your perimeter security design.
- 6). Identify strategic locations for exterior, motion-detector security lights that would flood access points with light if set off by an intruder. Combine lights with highly visible signs warning that your home is protected by a dog or an alarm system.
- 7). Choose an alarm system with hardware for every type of access point your home has. There are contact devices for windows and doors that open--the alarm goes off when the contact is broken--and glass-break detectors for windows that don't open. There is special hardware made specifically for patio doors and garage-door openers as well.
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