Safety Tips on Home Building and Daily Practice to Avoid Home Break-ins
A national survey has revealed that out of ten Americans, nine are unaware that burglars’ main entry point is the front door. This makes houses at risk to break-ins. State Farm has conducted the said survey to come up with safety practices from home construction to the daily practice that would help families in protecting their homes from break-ins.
Last year’s report has shown that stolen properties have amounted to more than $5,000, covering one out of five homes. The survey has shown that the Americans are vulnerable to break-ins for the key entry points in their houses are left unprotected.
- Less than half always lock their front doors
- 33% fail to lock their back doors
- About half have open windows
- 22% fail to lock their doors inside the garage
- 3 out of 10 hide keys outside their homes (ex. under a doormat)
To avoid break-ins, it is very important to lock all home entrances all the time. Next thing, good quality locks with deadbolts should used to ensure security.
FBI has estimated 2 million burglaries in 2007, 61% of which are due to forcible entry. Most Americans assume that there are city and state building codes requiring a certain level of security and quality for home door locks. Unfortunately, most do not even necessitate a lock on exterior doors.
State Farm’s Building Technology Research has conducted a lab test on various door locks and hinges using a standardized weight test to come up with the best front-door safety measures. Here are the recommended door upgrades in home building:
- Choose a deadbolt over a latch bolt
- Choose a lock with American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Grade 1 Classification
- Choose locks with keys that cannot be copied
- Strengthen door jambs with better materials
- Use deadbolt locks with heavy-duty strike plates
Also, people must conduct home inventories regularly and review insurance policies.
