Early Warning, House Intrusion

[Colt]

The late night intruder, post-bedtime defense plan is as follows:

- kids and wife into the bathtub in the master bath (all the bedrooms are upstairs)
- wife calls 911 on the corless landline and/or cell
- I sit at the top of the stairs with my Model 12 until the cops arrive. (the shotgun is in a quiet-open, electronic safe located on my way out of the bedroom)

I don't plan to head downstairs because that may escalate the situation and get bullets flying inside the house (see: kids). But if an intruder so much as places a foot on the bottom stair, he's dogmeat.

My concern is early warning. I have lights outside that are always on at night, and IMO the physical security of the house would require some amount of noise to bypass. (breaking glass) But I can't be sure. Additionally, in the cold weather the hot water baseboard heat is continuously creaking and cracking, making it impossible to tell if someone is walking around downstairs or not.

I'd love to get a dog, but the kids are allergic.

That really just leaves alarm systems. (I guess) What I'm looking for is a very basic system of 3 or 4 motion sensors downstairs that if tripped would alert me upstairs. Loud alarms waking the entire house (and neighborhood) are not really what I'm looking for. Even 1 or 2 false alarms would be too many, as I want the system to be transparent to the kids. I'd rather not have my 5 year being yanked out of a dream by a screaming false alarm. I'd rather have a semi-discrete notification in the bedroom that would leave the decisions up to me of whether or not to sound an alarm, and when.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm willing to spend some money.

 

[TallPine]

I'd love to get a dog, but the kids are allergic.

Check out the terriers and poodles. The curly haired breeds seem to not be such an allergy problem.

I have a friend who is allergic to most dogs, but he does fine with terriers and poodles.

 

[Unisaw]

Continuing with the dog as early warning system line of thinking...My boss has a son who is extremely allergic to most dogs. They got a Portugeuse (sp?) Water Dog because it has hair instead of fur. His son has not had any problems.

 

[Technosavant]

Get an annunciator.

You know those things that shoot a beam of light across an entryway and make some annoying noise when you enter a store (like Radio Shack)? Get one of those. The only question is moving the noisemaker to a different location- set up a couple in the hall, put the dinger in the bedroom. Shouldn't be too difficult to find them. I think they make wireless ones for use outside on sidewalks and driveways.

Edit: found this website:
http://www.hometech.com/security/optex.html

 

[silverlance]

rofl

"wife and kids in the bathtub"

someone's been watching too much lethal weapon...

 

[rick_reno]

Wow. I don't even lock my doors. Break in crime here in N. Idaho is pretty rare.

 

[spacemanspiff]

what? your house isnt already wired with flashbangs and stun-nades?

if you go with an alarm system, are you thinking about one of those that alerts a central station? or just has audible alert? you should be able to wire up some motion detectors around certain areas of your home that set off an audible alarm only in your room. that annunciator mentioned before is a good idea. not being an expert, i'd assume that you could wire those up across all windows and doors to the outside.

 

[ccw007]

Even 1 or 2 false alarms would be too many, as I want the system to be transparent to the kids. I'd rather not have my 5 year being yanked out of a dream by a screaming false alarm.

I have the dogs and the alarm. We built a huge dog house with AC and Heat and since then our dogs have gotten a little soft. Used to they would bark 100% of the time, but when it is Hot or Cold they are in the dog house and only bark 80% of the time and at night I did not always hear them.
If you get a professionally installed alarm then you should be okay make sure you stay away from the ones that have the wireless sensors though. My alarm Company is just local to NC and SC, but they have a no false alarm warranty. They will pay any fine you may receive for the false alarm if it is hardware related. The only time I have ever had a false alarm was from a result of me not turning it off when opening the door in the morning.

 

[Preacherman]

One important point: if you're upstairs, how bulletproof is your floor?

(And your bath... )

 

[TonkinTwentyMil]

First Things First

Have you...

1. Seriously upgraded all your exterior doors?
2. Reinforced the frames and hinges?
3. Installed QUALITY deadbolt locks... and beefed-up strike-plates (with 3" long screws, etc.)?
4. Replaced any "vulnerable" windows with upgrades?
5. Upgraded the locks/security on any sliding patio doors?
6. Replaced the chintzy hollow-core door to your basement with a Solid-Core door... also upgraded with a dead-bolt and beefed-up (kick-resistant) strike-plate?
7. Upgraded any basement windows? (a favorite burglar entry point)
8. Upgraded the exterior lighting?

All these little "improvements" mean that any intruder will need to make a lot of noise to break in. They also "send a message" to anyone scoping your place out (including dishonest repairmen, visitors, etc.) that you ain't "easy."

Finally, shift into "burglar" mode for an hour and walk around your house. Think "evil." How would YOU break into your house? The answers will be your guide.

Of course, you could always (a) post a "This Is A Gun Free Zone" sign on your lawn, and (b) hang portraits of Hillary, Dr. Howie Dean, the captain of the Chappaquiddick swim team, and Big John Kerry (as a *Real Sportsman* holding a shotgun upside down) where they're readily visible to anyone peeping into your abode... just to fake 'em out.

 

[pbhome71]

I have one of this http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=219390

It seems to be working well. It warns me when someone walk into my driveway.

The only drawback is that my neighbor's dog also trip it, which is kind of annoying.

-Pat

 

[Sharpdogs]

Look in to Irish Terriers. They do not shed and they are very protective.

 

[Janitor]

A Terrier is a good idea. You should see if your sons could live with a dog like that. Good/loyal friend to the family, and you will KNOW if there's somebody at the door. Great watch dogs.

That device that pbhome71 posted above looks like it would work for your application too.
-

 

[Tokugawa]

I am not sure waiting outside the room where your family is ,is a good idea, unless you intend to shoot the intruder as soon as he comes thru your entry door. Reinforce your door to the bedroom and stay inside there with your family. Your wife can provide cross fire on the bedroom door should some one try to get thru it. You do have a phone in the bedroom?
Does your child sleep in the room with you? If not, is thier door reinforced? and locked at night? What I am trying to get at is even with an alert, it can be very difficult to get your self awake and positioned in time. A second layer of solid doors buys time. The tub actually may not be a bad idea for the kid, mine sits on 3" of concrete bedding....The plumber insisted, he said it made the tub feel more solid.

The great fear of mine in a home invasion is shooting a cop. No matter what the situation, if the swat team got the wrong address and you shoot one of them, you are going down. This is another reason to buy time, to call 911.

 

[dpesec]

Here's a different slant on the dog. My dog, while a good watch dog, isn't as good as my parrots. The birds go wild long before the dog even knows somebody's comming up the drive.

You can need to see if the kids are allergic to birds, but they work well. If the kids are fine then then don't even need to know why.

 

[ccw007]

Here's a different slant on the dog. My dog, while a good watch dog, isn't as good as my parrots. The birds go wild long before the dog even knows somebody's comming up the drive.

You can need to see if the kids are allergic to birds, but they work well. If the kids are fine then then don't even need to know why.

Now this is an idea. The African Gray has the ability to count and speak in sentences. They can understand and reply to responses on the level of a 5 year old. They are quite smart and are smarter than a dog. Train the bird to tell you where they are entering and how many there are. He could fly a round giving you their position; however, if they have a shotgun he may not fair so well . I am being somewhat serous here because I think it could work, it would just take a while and a lot of effort to train them. On a good note, they live for about 50-70 years so the training would only need to happen once

 

[Colt]

All great suggestions so far. Thanks for the input.

Have you...

1. Seriously upgraded all your exterior doors?
2. Reinforced the frames and hinges?
3. Installed QUALITY deadbolt locks... and beefed-up strike-plates (with 3" long screws, etc.)?
4. Replaced any "vulnerable" windows with upgrades?
5. Upgraded the locks/security on any sliding patio doors?
6. Replaced the chintzy hollow-core door to your basement with a Solid-Core door... also upgraded with a dead-bolt and beefed-up (kick-resistant) strike-plate?
7. Upgraded any basement windows? (a favorite burglar entry point)
8. Upgraded the exterior lighting?

All these little "improvements" mean that any intruder will need to make a lot of noise to break in. They also "send a message" to anyone scoping your place out (including dishonest repairmen, visitors, etc.) that you ain't "easy."

I've done all this. The most time-consuming was the reinforcement of the entry doors, but now they aren't going to be kicked down without allot of time/effort. I'm pretty sure glass would have to break for someone to get in, unless they picked my locks. (Schlage all around)

The bathtub is better than nothing. There's no such thing as too cautious when it comes to my family. The tub is actually one of the cast iron, claw-footed deals that sleeps 6.

The position at the top of the stairs (that I planned on using once the wife and kids were locked up) is at the opposite end of the house from the bedroom/bathroom.

Thanks again to all who responded.

 

[hammer4nc]

pbhome posted about a remote alarm system. I got a similar one (Regent brand name) at Lowe's for about $30, I think. Motion sensor (variable sensitivity) runs on batteries, can be placed anywhere. Receiver plugs into the wall - goes "ding-dong" (with volume control) when motion is detected outside, also has an aux receptacle which can turn on a light, instead of audible signal.

We've been playing with it, to monitor unauthorized use of the cat dish on the porch; i.e possums

One other note; these have code settings, so you could set up several and label the receivers...poor man's zone control

Neat little gadget.

 

[TallPine]

pbhome71:

What is the range on that unit? IOW, how far away can the sensor be from the receiver? Our driveway is about 500' long and I would like the sensor to be near the county road end.

Edit: nevermind, I just read it too fast I guess.. "up to 1000 feet"

There's not too much detail on the weblink you posted

Cabelas had a thing like that a while back, but it was almost $200 and now it has disappeared from their catalog. I think that one was a metallic detector, so it would only alarm for vehicles (or somebody walking up the drive carrying a lot of guns )

I suppose we would get a lot of false alarms from deer, coyotes, porcupines etc....

 

[ArmedBear]

Yorkshire Terriers have hair, not fur. They don't eat much, they're fun for the kids to play with, and smart.

They make bad guard dogs, due to their size, but they make great watchdogs. Just don't neglect to train them. They're still dogs, and everyone including the dog benefits from training.

 

[Colt]

FWIW

I found this as my initial solution. For a little over $100 I ordered the receiver and 4 motion sensors. The receiver will indicate which zone was tripped with a light on the receiver and a number of audio beeps. Just what I was looking for.

http://www.smarthome.com/7311m.html

I will, however, also research the hypo-allergenic dog solution.

Thanks again for all the input.

 

[Tokugawa]

If they manage to get to the top of the stairs, will your field of fire be safe vis a vis the bedroom? Will the assailant now be between you and bedroom?

 

[dpesec]

Well, that's true. My grey isn't that smart. My Cockatoos are the best. Then again it could just be the grey's cage location. That said, the Macaw is right up there too. Cockatoos and greys have dander/powder which some people are alergic to.
The Macaw is right up there too and doesn't generate the powder. They do make one heck of a mess though.

 

[Colt]

If they manage to get to the top of the stairs, will your field of fire be safe vis a vis the bedroom? Will the assailant now be between you and bedroom?

I think it's a safe position, both for me and my family.

Our second floor is rectangular, with the stairs at one of the far ends, with a pretty good sized landing at the top, where I plan to wait. The first 2 bedrooms from the stairs are for the kids (and would be empty). The master bedroom and bath are at the opposite end of the house, farthest from the stairs.

So while my position would be relatively safe (for my family) if I were shot at. The design of the upstairs and the need to move the kids is why it is important that I have as much warning as possible if someone breaks in: I need to get the kids out of those rooms and to the other end of the house.

After further consideration, I've decided that I would get them first, and only arm myself after they've been holed-up in the bath. I figure if the intruder is armed, and manages to get upstairs before I get the kids put away, he's less likely to fire shots if I'm unarmed. That's just a chance I've decided to take. It would also be easier to carry the kids if I'm not juggling a shotgun, too, since they probably wouldn't wake up enough to walk very quickly.

I know this is all hypothetical, and it probably would never go done as planned, but I feel it's important to plan ahead, do my best to protect the family, and have at least a basic idea of what to do.

 

[pbhome71]

Tallpine,

My sensor is about 150' from the receiver. But I only have 3 walls between the sensor and the receiver. I haven't try for the range, yet.

It has been there for 4 months. The battery in the sensor hasn't died yet.

I should replace the batteries at some point.

-Pasvorn