How to Keep Your Home Safer and More Secure: Door & Window Tips

How safe and secure is your home? Chances are, if you’re like most of the homeowners we meet with in the greater Minneapolis area to discuss replacing their windows and exterior doors, it’s a big concern.   Perhaps having spent more time at home in the past year than you usually do has made you more aware of the need for home security.  And if you’ve got children living at home, safety is likely also something that concerns you.  The right windows and doors can help address both issues.  (Thank you to our friends from Marvin for sharing some of these tips with us.)

Tips for Home Safety & Security with Windows and Doors

Home security involves a number of components, but let’s start with your doors and windows.  After all, a home invader only has two choices to get in: a door or a window.  Believe it or not, the front door is the most common place of entry, so making sure your front door is as secure as it can be can reduce the likelihood of someone breaking in.

• Choose entry doors that are extremely strong.  Fiberglass and steel will stand up better than wood. Wooden doors can be splintered; fiberglass and steel are much more resistant.
  
• Add an extra layer of security with a strong storm door.  Even full glass can help – burglars don’t want to run the risk of being discovered due to a loud noise, and breaking glass can alert those nearby.  Having to break through two doors is likely to discourage most would-be invaders. 
• Don’t be a show-off: conceal what’s inside your home with art glass, obscuring glass, or similar glass options.  Curtains and blinds – especially on the main floor – can also be a great help.  A burglar could be deterred by not knowing what’s on the other side of that drape.
• Look for stronger glass packages.  For example, Marvin offers what is called laminated glass, a break-resistant material. It’s much stronger than tempered glass, and in fact is often referred to as safety glass.  
• If you don’t already have a home security system, consider installing motion sensors near window and door openings. That way you’ll be alerted if there is movement. 
• Keep pets and children safe with devices that restrict window openings or can lock them in place even partially open. 
• Install lighting that illuminates windows and doors on the first floor.  Even faint landscape lighting will discourage would-be intruders.

Smart Home Window and Door Ideas

Of course, one of the simplest things you can do to make your home safer and more secure is to make sure doors and windows are always locked. Open windows and doors are an invitation for unwelcome guests.

So do you go around and check each window and door before bedtime?  It’s more practical to keep those windows and doors locked whenever possible. Some companies offer automatic locks on windows that engage when the window is closed.  (The kitchen window shown above has the Marvin ‘LiftLock’ option that automatically locks the window when it’s closed.  The lock is incorporated in the hardware used to open the window, which makes it much easier operate.) Others offer smart home locks that can work with a home monitoring system or other ‘smart’ device like Amazon Alexa.  You can go to sleep in peace knowing your doors and windows are locked.  And if you forgot one?  Some companies have smart options that allow you to lock a window or door remotely.

If it’s time to ramp up the safety and security of your home, let’s talk.  We can suggest window and exterior door solutions that can do just that.  We are THE replacement window and exterior door company for the Minneapolis area and surrounding communities like Prior Lake, Savage, and Apple Valley.

 

 

 

Window Outfitters is a premier Window Replacement, doors, siding contractor and installer. As Contractor in the St Paul, Minneapolis, (Twin Cities) Minnesota (MN) metro, we proudly serve, but are not limited to, the following areas: Minneapolis Energy Efficient Vinyl Windows, Replacement Window Contractors Minnesota, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Lakeville, Savage, Bloomington, Edina, Richfield, Eagan, St Paul, Hastings, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Maple Grove, Eden Prairie, Farmington MN, Chaska, Shakopee, Chanhassen, Victoria, Mendota Heights Anderson Windows Minneapolis, Marvin Windows Minneapolis.