Expert Locksmith Advice

What makes a secure front door?

Right, hello, you're looking lovely there. Hope you had a splendid Easter and all that - it'll be summer before you know it.  Now the pleasantries are out of the way, I thought I'd go back to basics on this month's blog. Not in a 1993 John Major campaign type of way because, well,  I'm not John Major, and I've not been up to unspeakable stuff with Edwina Currie - apologies if you thought that was me. Rather, instead of getting deep into the ins and outs of alarm systems, safes, window locks, grilles, and the like, I thought I'd concentrate on one thing and one thing only - the trusty front door. Or at least it should be trusty, but as we'll see, this isn't always the case. 

The simple fact is that if your house has the most secure front door in the neighbourhood, your chances of being targeted by burglars drop significantly. As I've said time and time again, burglars are lazy and want an easy life - 20 years of being in the locksmith business has shown me that they will take the path of least resistance every single time. The front door is still the main point of access for most burglaries, and having the right one in place can be intimidating enough for the burglar to take a glance and then move on looking for an easier target. 

So what makes a secure door? There are a number of factors, four of which I'll briefly touch on below;

Modern home security tips

Easter is round the corner already. I'll be honest, it's a time of mixed emotions for locksmiths. On the one hand there's the chocolate eggs, the odd day off work (if we're lucky), and perhaps a Bond film on the television. On the other hand, our profession took a bit of a kicking with the whole tomb aspect of the tale. I tell you what, if that stone had had a proper lock fitted, I wouldn't have fancied Jesus' chances of escaping from the tomb after his death, Son of God or not.  Clearly the security arrangements of 2,000 years ago left a lot to be desired. 

Security advice for students

I was watching University Challenge the other night, basking in the warm glow of the answers I got right, whilst simultaneously bemoaning the fact that there was yet again no round about the intricacies of the Yale lock, and it got me thinking about the safety of students. No, I wasn't worried that Paxman was about to dive over the desk and begin thumping the team captains for not knowing the answers to the Latin poetry round (though you can never rule that out), but rather the security of the accommodation in which the students would be living. 

Home security advice for winter

Well hello there, and a belated Happy New Year to you all. Hope you had a good festive period and are now all geared up for whatever 2017 may bring. Going by how 2016 went, fasten your seatbelts - it could be quite the bumpy ride.

In this spirit of resolving to do the right thing/change our ways, I thought I'd put together a quick list of ten resolutions every home owner should make for the New Year to improve the security of their home. Don't worry, they're a hell of a lot easier to achieve than learning a new language or training for a marathon in the Sahara, I promise.

How the Grinch stole Christmas...

I have a confession. I'm a bit of a sucker for Christmas songs whether it be The Pogue's Fairytale of New York, Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody, or even Chris Rea's love letter to the M18 - Driving Home for Christmas. But you know which Christmas song I've never really understood? Wizard's I Wish It Could be Christmas Every day. At first glance it seems a nice proposition, but think about it - EVERY day? The food, the terrible TV, the Queen's speech 365 times a year... all those sprouts? It doesn't bear thinking about. And if it really was Christmas every day, when are we going to buy the presents with all the shops shut? The whole economy would collapse around us. You didn't think about that, Roy Wood, did you?

Another reason why Roy Wood may want to think again is that if it really was Christmas every day I fear that all of our home insurance premiums would go through the roof. Because research from Halifax shows that burglaries in the month of December rise by a quarter when compared to other months. Unfortunately, if you see a shadowy figure trying to access your house around Christmas time, it may not be the jolly St Nicholas, but rather a trespasser with far more nefarious intentions than simply filling up your stockings.

Home Security Month | Home security advice

It just seems to arrive earlier and earlier each year, doesn't it? We're still only in September but  you can already feel the excitement. Soon we'll have the adverts, the TV specials, and the shops will leave us in no doubt that it's that time of year again. Yes, of course I'm talking about National Home Security Month. Running for the length of October, this is the fourth consecutive year we'll be celebrating this event, and it acts as an annual reminder for us to do all we can to keep our homes secure as we move into the winter months.

As my own contribution to National Home Security Month, I thought I'd take this chance to give 8 important tips on how you can keep your own home secure. Some of these items will be familiar to regular readers, but a reminder is always worthwhile and the below list is well worth scanning from time to time just to check your security arrangements are up to date.

What burglars look for!

Well, hello there. You may notice this month’s blog is slightly later than usual. Any connection between this, and the fact that the Olympics has been constantly on the TV for the last 2 weeks is purely coincidental, believe me.  Although wasn’t it great to have the sound of Breaking News notifications on your phone and find it signalled more British sporting success and not the latest death/resignation/terrorist atrocity, as sadly so often seems to be the case?

Anyway, now it’s back to reality, so today I thought I’d pen a refresher on the mistakes that people so often make with their home security, leaving their homes and property at greater risk from the threat of burglary and theft. I’ll use as the basis of this a survey carried out by Crimewatch and the BBC which found the things that burglars find most appealing about a property, and I’ll expand on a few of these.

Need a locksmith in Barnsley?

Well, what a month it’s been with Brexit, then the resignation of half of the people that brought us that, not to mention departures from most of the cabinet and shadow cabinet. And of course the PM gone, with quite possibly a new PM by the time you’ll be reading this. Not forgetting the England football manger – also gone. Heck, if the Queen abdicated right now I can’t say I’d be shocked, such is the general sense of uncertainly we find ourselves in. Happy summer! 

In this atmosphere of one calamity leading to another, today I’d like to talk about you getting locked out of your house. No, that’s not a threat, honestly. I just want you to imagine it. An annoying situation, undoubtedly, but the decision you make when it happens can influence whether it remains a minor annoyance or turns into a fully fledged disaster. The disaster in this case would be falling prey to a disreputable locksmith...

Barnsley locksmith advice

That EU Referendum, hey? Is it possible to remember a time before the campaigning started? No, I'm not sure it is.  The saturation coverage seems to be never ending, and whatever the result on the 23rd June, it'll frankly be a relief when it's all over. Of course, with the latest polls showing things are about 50/50, I'm not about to alienate half of my potential customers by coming down on one side or another. No, rather I'm going to use the referendum as an excuse to make this plot halfway topical, by crowbarring in a referendum-esque theme.

The Yes/No decision I'll look at in this blog is now one about the common market, open borders, or Nigel Farage's beer-drinking. Rather, it's one that every burglar makes when looking at a house and deciding whether to attempt a break-in or not. I'll be looking at some of the factors they take into account before making their Yes/No choice. It's a tenuous connection to the referendum, I know, but it's what I'm going with.  And hopefully by looking at this list, you can quickly discover things you can do to help prevent your house being the burglar's next target.

The Burglar's Referendum then. Let's start with the "in" campaign.

Outside security advice

I'll be honest, I've had this blog ready for the last 2 months as it was due to start "Well, the weather's improving and Spring is here",  but following the freezing temperatures and the hail, sleet and snow of late April, it's just never seemed the right time.  But now we're in May and, touch wood, the wintry showers may be behind us, and with a promised heat wave upcoming, I thought I'd take the risk of posting it.

A seasonal problem for this time of year is that people see summer on the horizon and take the opportunity to buy new garden furniture, tools, barbecues, or even garden swings and slides for the children. Many of us will also take on DIY projects, although few will finish them (Fine, I'll get those gutters cleared out ONE DAY) and will invest in new ladders or equipment to help.