10 home security tips for the winter months

With Christmas just around the corner, everyone’s getting ready to relax, eat, and celebrate. However, when visiting your loved ones this Winter, you could be leaving your home vulnerable to burglary. Unfortunately, breaking and entering are at their peak during the festive period, when homes are often unoccupied and full of valuable gifts. Thankfully, we’ve curated this list of top home security tips for this Winter, including:

• Improving your windows
• Upgrading you front door
• Reinforcing patio and French doors
• Protecting your conservatory
• Fitting security alarms
• Installing motion censor lights
• Erecting new garden fences
• Hiding your spare keys
• Stowing away any valuables
• Avoiding posting on social media

Upgrade to double or triple glazed windows

Old, single-glazed windows can be extremely vulnerable to forced breakage. This is due to their weakening frames and their thin, unenforced glass. To bolster your resistance against intruders, you may want to consider upgrading to a new set of double or triple glazed windows with sturdier glass.

Install a new front door

Older front doors may also be more vulnerable to forced entry, especially if they’re made of old, rotting timber. To keep your home safe this winter, we recommend replacing any outdated entrance doors with new ones made from stronger materials. Our composite doors are some of the strongest on the market, thanks to their Glass Reinforced Plastic surface and high-density foam core. Any new entrance door will also be equipped with the latest multi-point locking systems.

Secure patio and French doors

These specific styles of door are often targeted by intruders due to their large panes of glass, which they try to shatter. To combat this, it may be worth installing a glass-breakage detector. Even if the glass is strong enough to withstand such force, we’d recommend reinforcing any patio doors or French doors with tension rods. This will prevent them from being forcibly opened.

Upgrade your conservatory

Historically, conservatories have been vulnerable to burglary. Their abundance of glass makes them ideal entrance points. If your home is empty over Christmas, burglars may not hesitate to shatter the glass. If you’ve had your conservatory for a long time, you may want to consider upgrading it with new A-rated windows with reinforced double-glazing. With stronger glass, there’s less chance of forced breakage.

Fit alarms to windows and doors

This is an incredibly cheap, simple and effective security solution. Triggered when an intruder attempts to enter your home, they’ll alert you and your neighbours to the situation. Before going away this winter, we’d recommend picking one up at your local hardware store.

Consider motion detector lights

These would also help to keep your conservatory safe, if you installed them in the garden. These light up when they detect movement near them, acting as a powerful deterrent for burglars who, obviously, don’t want to be seen.

Set up new fences

Staying in the garden, now is a good time to replace any fallen fences. Winter storms like Storm Arwen are bound to have uprooted one or two fences. If not replaced, they could give intruders easy access to your garden this Winter.

That’s everything to do with hardware. Now let’s quickly cover some of the simple stuff…

Be careful with your spare keys

The biggest catastrophe possible this winter is that a burglar gains access to your home using your own spare key. Most insurance companies won’t cover any losses if there’s no sign of forced entry. To be safe, avoid storing spare keys under rocks or plant pots. Either leave them with a trusted neighbour, or place them in a secure combination-lock box.

Don’t leave expensive items lying around

At this time of year, burglars expect your home to be full of valuable gifts for your children and loved ones. Don’t play right into their hands by putting that new iPad right on the windowsill for all to see. Keep curtains drawn at night, and your gifts in a safe and secure place.

Be careful on social media

Last but not least, something that many people forget about. You never know who’s watching your Instagram story of your Christmas holiday. You could be alerting burglars to the fact that your home is empty. Even if you’re staying home, posting excessively about the gifts you receive could also draw unwanted attention to your property. Unfortunately, social media has proven to be a popular hunting ground for criminals in the last ten or so years.

Let’s make this a winter without incident. Relax and enjoy the company of your loved ones, safe in the knowledge that your home is as secure as it can be.

Quality windows, doors and conservatories across the South East

At Unique Glazing, we manufacture and install windows, doors and conservatories with top-of-the-range security features. We serve areas across London and the South East of England. For more details on our products, or to ask us more questions about home security, please feel free to contact us.