Home Protection Checklist

Home Security Checklist

An important step in preventing a burglary and increasing home protection is making sure that a home is as secure as possible. Conducting your own home protection inspection is the best way to identify and fix problem areas that could compromise the safety of the home and it's occupants. The following is a home protection checklist that hits on important security issues:

• All exterior doors should have working keyed entry locks and sturdy deadbolt locks installed into the doorframe.
• Hollow core doors are easy to kick in. Strengthen hollow core doors with metal sheets, or replace them with solid core doors.
• Reinforce weak doorframes with concrete or steel.
• All windows need to have either working key locks or be securely pinned.
• If there are glass panels in or near an exterior door, security systems offer glass break detectors, which sound an alarm if an intruder tries to break in through a window.
• Engrave valuables with a number such as a social security or driver's license number. Having valuables engraved not only deters thieves, it also helps in identifying stolen property.
• Visibility means vulnerability for a burglar so landscape accordingly.
• Keep all entrances to the home well lit with outdoor lighting. The object is to eliminate places for an intruder to hide.
• Keep garages and storage sheds locked.
• Keep an up to date home inventory so that if a burglary happens, the police and insurance company are provided with all necessary information.

In addition to utilizing the home protection checklist, an important guideline that always applies to home protection is remembering to lock the door and arm your security system. Locks and security alarms cannot provide home protection unless they are used properly.