The joys of travel season are often offset by the usual spike in holiday-period break-ins at homes around the country. Forward planning for home protection while you’re away significantly reduces the chances of your home being a target. Alarms, motion sensors, and cameras are great deterrents, but they don’t physically stop intruders. Fixed security solutions like burglar bars and roller shutters do. Here’s what you need to know before you head out.
How do I Secure my Home for the Holidays?
Electronic home security systems are important in a safeguarding plan, whether it’s your permanent home or your holiday property. They’re an excellent way to get alerts about a break-in, and the noise of an alarm may just scare the robbers away.
Fixed burglar bars, internal and external roller shutter doors, and other types of physical burglar guarding, however, are an essential part of your home safety layers. They make it extremely hard for intruders to get access into the home.
In South Africa, fixed burglar bars and roller style shutters make a break-in attempt exceptionally risky, particularly if they’re designed to withstand a violent attack. Because they physically stop criminals in their tracks, they increase the danger for them because:
- Tools have to be found to attempt to break through the barrier.
- This takes effort and time that they don’t usually have.
- The risk of being heard or seen by neighbours, security patrols, or passersby is too high for comfort.
Security barriers like Trellidor burglar bars are a simple, highly effective way of blocking intruder entry through doors and windows. Once fitted, they don’t need any attention apart from the normal cleaning you need to do for any home fixture.
If you have sliding security gates on your doors that match your Trellidor Fixed Security burglar guards on your windows, remember to keep these gates locks. It’s important to keep spare keys either with you (or a trusted neighbour) or locked up inside the house. Don’t leave them in the locks where criminals can access them.
Plan your holiday security well in advance of your trip or outing. Contact your security provider and ask them to help you work out where the weak points in your home’s defences are. Then make sure you have it all in place before you leave.
A well-shielded home stands more chance of being left alone by housebreakers when you head out for your holidays than an unsecured one. The same applies to a holiday home when you close up for the season and travel home.
Let’s look at door and window barriers that are up to the task of preventing a house robbery when you leave your home unoccupied.
Fixed Security for your Windows
Burglar bars have been part of South African homes for decades. There are good reasons why they remain so popular for creating safe homes. But there are also pitfalls if you don’t do your homework before making your choice of product.
They’re popular because they’re quick and easy to fit. Custom-made window security bars like the Fixed Burglar Bars available from Trellidor are strong under attack. They’re permanently attached around the window to provide maximum strength against break-in tools.
The downside is fixed security that isn’t up to the task of providing strength under attack. This happens with do-it-yourself burglar guards that are not custom-made, don’t fit well, and are often not framed. In this case, the burglar bars are a visual deterrent but don’t put up much resistance when assaulted.
With superior quality barriers fixed in place next to windows you can head out knowing they will provide:
- Affordable Security
The cost of fixed burglar bars is manageable. If you choose high quality, strong, burglar proofing, they are a cost-effective form of home security. Custom-made and professionally installed burglar bars provide a tight fit, and they last for many years with regular cleaning. This means you get an excellent return on your investment.
- ‘Always On’ Safeguarding
Fixed security is always in place, keeping you and your home safe. It doesn’t have to be switched on and off. It doesn’t have to be monitored. It is highly visible, acting as a deterrent to criminals 24/7.
- Customised Designs
The strongest type of fixed security for windows is made-to-measure, individually manufactured, and installed by a trained technician. These fixed burglar guards can be powder-coated in a finish that works with your home décor.
Places to Fit Roller Shutters
The most common opening that burglars try first when looking for a way into your home is a door. Depending on access points into your property, this could be the front door, back door, patio door, or the door from the garage into the house.
Roller style shutters are fast becoming a popular way of stopping burglars from simply walking into your home through a door after breaching the door lock. Once the roller shutter has been rolled down over your door, it creates a solid barrier that acts as a deterrent to any potential housebreaker.
Trellidor roller shutter doors can be fitted in several ways to protect your home:
- Internal Roller Shutter Doors
Fit these shutters on the inside of any doors that lead outside if the location allows this. Housebreakers then have to first get through the door before being confronted with the shutter. Fit a roller shutter in your passageway too, so that robbers can’t move between rooms within the home. A roller shutter in the passage also creates a safe zone for the family if robbers manage to get into another part of your home.
- External Roller Shutter Doors
Trellidor roller shutter doors are corrosion resistant, so you can have them installed externally too. Protect all your outer doors with roller shutters and with fixed security on your windows, you’ll have all round protection whether you holiday at home or away.
- Entertainment Areas
Sliding doors out onto an entertainment area or patio are vulnerable to a break-in. Fortify these doors with roller shutter doors to prevent them being a weak point for housebreakers to exploit.
- Access Doors into the Home
If you have a door between the garage and the house, between a home office and the house, or from a separate living space into the house, have a roller shutter installed at this point. It will stop criminals simply walking into your home from these outer areas into the main house.
- Smart Home Integration
Automated roller shutters are incredibly convenient to use. They are controlled using hand held remotes and can be incorporated into your central automation system if you have one.
Roller shutters offer so many benefits for holiday homes as well as permanent homes. Aluminium roller shutters require little maintenance apart from regular cleaning. They are corrosion resistant and therefore durable. They block out harsh weather and help reduce outside noise. They even help with internal insulation because they keep out sunlight, heat and cold.
Holiday Home Security in Summary
Finally, our top tips for creating a home that’s as safe as possible from housebreakers when you head out for the holidays are:
- Work with Reputable Service Providers – choose companies with proven experience and quality materials.
- Consider Emergency Exits – for burglar bars, make sure that at least one window has a quick-opening system. A Trellidor sliding gate, for example, matches the fixed version but unlocks and opens in a crisis.
- Match Your Home’s Style – choose designs and finishes that complement your property.
- Combine with Other Security Measures – fixed security works best alongside alarms, cameras, motion sensors, and armed response.
The bottom line is that the right fixed security is an investment in your home that pays off every day. Get a fixed security and roller shutter quote asap and make sure your home is secure whenever you leave it.
