How would you defend this in a home invation situation?

[surfinguru]

Here's the layout, thoughts on where and how to secure the family in the event of a BG entering the house? I fully realize time will be VERY short given the size of the house. (Approx 900sf) It's a tough spot to be in should the BG come in through our son's room. Not sure what to do there other than take cover by the bed. If the BG is in the front of the house, I figure it's lights on, set up in the master bedroom doorway using the door and wall for as much cover as possible and be locked and loaded.

The pic isn't to exact scale, just an approximation.

 

[vicdotcom]

How many kids are there and how old? Thats a big consideration.

Vic

 

[surfinguru]

We have one 7-1/2 yo.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

If your are worried about this, secure that sliding door in the kids room! I am in construction and those things are very easy to open, even if locked. Be careful, some models you can push up and take the door out of the track (Even if locked). Sliding doors are difficult to secure. Even when they are secure, they are typically all glass. IMO that is the weakest link, and its in the worst spot (Kids room). You may put a motion light above it and a battery alarm on the door so it goes off if tampered with.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

All of your exterior doors are difficult to secure. Again, along with the sliding doors, french doors should lock to eachother, as well as top and bottom to the head/sill. Otherwise, they can be easily pushed in.

It seems your exterior doors are not the most secure type out there, and you should do some reasonable upgrades to them. imo

 

[doc540]

Where does the big, bad dog sleep?

 

[3KillerBs]

Personally, I would be extremely reluctant to let a child have a room with an exterior door in it. To the point that it could be a deal-breaker on getting that particular house.

Even if no one ever breaks in its inherently unsafe because the kid could decide to sneak out and get into any kind of trouble.

How well can you fence and secure the back yard where that vulnerable door opens?

Can you at least put some kind of screamer alarm on the doors?

 

[daddyo]

You need to lay a proper length aluminum rod in the track of the sliders. Some folks use a piece of wood, but I prefer aluminum as it blends with the track and will add some confusion as someone tries to spring the door. Cut it so that there is less than 1/8" play. This will make it almost impossible to open the door without simply breaking the glass. I had one apartment where they bent the door with a crowbar trying to open it, and it still held.

To slow them down on glass breakage, get some of that shatter proof window film to put on it.

Now, anyone coming in through the slider will be met with extra time, effort and most importantly noise. Instruct your son to head for the bathroom and stay low if he senses someone trying to get in, then you defend from your bedroom doorway.

 

[vicdotcom]

Well I think one of the problems is that the layout makes it very hard. I guess that is why you are looking for options. The entry points for a BG will probably be the Kitchen french doors or your child's room backyard slider. I would certainly put an early detection system on that slider just in case.

But like you said, since this is such a small place you have a short amount of time to do anything and you have to make a choice. The first thing is the saftey of your child. Securing him is the first priority. I think in this situation, making a stand in his room may be your best choice. Reason is with a BG in the house, you may not have the time to get your gun, find your child, then bring him back to the master bedroom. I would just take the wife and go to his room and stay there. The problem is that you will be vulnerable heading down the hall and into his room.

If BG noises are in the living room, I would probaly do the same as above.

Now if the BG enters though your son's room.... thats bad. So get a detection system for that slider!! And an emergency phone in that room wouldnt be bad either to call 911 on. Hopefully your child will run screaming into your bedroom. In that case your good there and can even leave the house by your slider if need be. But if your child stays in the room, then there can be serious problems. So you may want to talk to him about that, but DONT scare him to the point where he feels unsafe at night. Again an automatic light or alarm back there might not be a bad idea.

Well that is just what I think from seeing the layout.
Your child's room actually looks the best place to stand from what I see because the BG would have to come down that long hallway to get to you and you have another means of exit if you need. A hallway mirror might be a good investment also so you can see down the hall witout loosing cover.

 

[freakshow10mm]

Agree with daddyo

Your son should head to the bathroom. If gunfire erupts, he can get out of the window (hopefully) and right onto the street to get to a neighbor's safely to get help.

I would seriously think about removing the sliding door to your child's room and put a window in place instead. That is a nightmare.

 

[vicdotcom]

Now, anyone coming in through the slider will be met with extra time, effort and most importantly noise. Instruct your son to head for the bathroom and stay low if he senses someone trying to get in, then you defend from your bedroom doorway.

I am sure there are going to be a lot of disagreements on how to handle the situation. Every family is different.

But honestly, I would not send my child to the bathroom and defened from the master bedroom doorway that is RIGHT ACROSS the hall from that bathroom. I wouldnt risk taking a shot in that direction or if the BG is standing right at the doorway, a shot may go through and enter the bathroom with the child. Bathroom doors usualy arent to solid. You can instruct the child to leave through the window, but with the doors closed, can you be 100% sure?

If the child is already running towards the bathroom, he can just as easily make a left and be in the master bed with parents.

 

[yenchisks]

throw your hands in the air, run around and scream like a girl

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

I agree with daddyo, however check the door to see if it can be lifted up. Seriously, I have been around these doors and actually let someone into a condo, they had locked themselves out of by lifting it out of the track. They had the dowell rod in the track too. better models requre the door to be open to lift out. Most newer ones should be this way. But check that.

 

[give]

i like the lay out of our house,our bed rooms are on the second floor with the master bedroom at the top of the steps,my 5 y/o still sleeps with us so thats not an issue,my 15 y/o has the room next to ours,so i am pretty comfortable with that as it will not be in the line of fire should something happen,just put a spot light at the top pf the steps facing down ,did this so if someone did enter and came up the steps i can click it on and they will be blinded,thought it was a good idea,and also use a shot gun for h/d so aming isent a real big issueso i figure,the bg will be at a big disadvantage coming up the steps blind,dog hanging off his leg heading into the path of a 12 gauge,making your house intruder proof is important i agree,but if someone really wants to get in it will happen,so what we dop is make it hard for them to get in then make it a no win for them if they are coming up to do harm

 

[surfinguru]

Yeah, it's a VERY difficult layout to defend. I've been running scenario's left and right and there's just no really good solution that I can put together, only varying degrees of deterrence.

You may put a motion light above it and a battery alarm on the door so it goes off if tampered with.

Check on the motion lights. We've got one above/next to each slider. Good recommendation on the audible alarms. I was just looking at those yesterday.

All of your exterior doors are difficult to secure. Again, along with the sliding doors, french doors should lock to each other, as well as top and bottom to the head/sill. Otherwise, they can be easily pushed in.

Yeah, no kidding! French doors only deadbolt to each other, no overhead to door jam stuff, so add that to my "To Do List."

Personally, I would be extremely reluctant to let a child have a room with an exterior door in it. To the point that it could be a deal-breaker on getting that particular house.

Even if no one ever breaks in its inherently unsafe because the kid could decide to sneak out and get into any kind of trouble.

How well can you fence and secure the back yard where that vulnerable door opens?

Well, moving is simply financial unfeasible at this point, so we're stuck with what we've got. (BTW, the wife bought the house on her own several years ago before I was on the scene.)

The back yard is completely fenced in with several tall lemon trees along the fence line (taller that the fence and they have ALOT of VERY sharp thorns) in addition to a huge rose tree. (again,taller than the fence and full of thorns)

You need to lay a proper length aluminum rod in the track of the sliders. Some folks use a piece of wood, but I prefer aluminum as it blends with the track and will add some confusion as someone tries to spring the door. Cut it so that there is less than 1/8" play. This will make it almost impossible to open the door without simply breaking the glass. I had one apartment where they bent the door with a crowbar trying to open it, and it still held.

To slow them down on glass breakage, get some of that shatter proof window film to put on it.

Now, anyone coming in through the slider will be met with extra time, effort and most importantly noise. Instruct your son to head for the bathroom and stay low if he senses someone trying to get in, then you defend from your bedroom doorway.

Wooden dowels are in play, but I like the aluminum idea - I'll look into that. What size diameter are we looking at? Really like the window film idea as well.

Our kid waking up is just not going to happen. The kid sleeps like a rock once he's out, although that's a great idea heading for the bathroom.

If BG noises are in the living room, I would probaly do the same as above.

Now if the BG enters though your son's room.....

Well, that's where my drawing is a little off. I can actually look at our son in his bed from our door - ZERO chance of getting a shot off in that direction. This is really where I have trouble coming up with a good solution on what to do. BG in the front of the house I think I have pretty well covered. Hopefully the motion light, slider jam, audible alarm and glass film "should" provide me at least some opportunity to hit the lights, make some noise and get the firearm ready so that if said BG opens the slider I'm armed and ready for whatever might come next.

Lastly, one thing not mentioned yet is in our son's bathroom, the window has those hanging wooden bead thingies - super noisy when they're moved. We also keep the pocket door closed so that's a second noise source should BG decide to try that route.

Thanks guys, keep the ideas coming!

 

[Defensory]

Portable wireless motion detector alarm:

http://www.mace.com/index.php/product/index/id/47

 

[Huckle2]

Where does the big, bad dog sleep?

+1 on the big, bad dog Doc.

A good dog will alert you well before motion detectors sense any motion and certainly before any alarm might sound. IMO the dog is key to securing your house. My German Shepherd has full run of the house, day and night. I NEVER, NEVER, "blow off" one of his growls as a stray dog or cat in the yard. When he alerts, I alert.

I have a small house as well, 3 bedrooms, but master down stairs. Time is critical in a smaller home. My dog makes it a little bit bigger.

 

[Browning]

Hardening Your Home To Intruders

Well looking at the layout there's three major blind spots in the layout of the house that you can't see from the doorway of the master bedroom which is where you'd likely be responding from without exposing yourself a great deal.

1. By the French Doors along the left side of your bedroom wall.
2. Right side of the living room in the corner along the wall of your main bathroom.
3. Sliding glass door in your childs room on the other side of a door.

There are a few things that you could do to limit possible forced entry, but with the way the house's layed out it's pretty unlikely that you'd be able to limit the possibility completely.

These are the things that you could do to harden your house.

• Plastic sheeting that goes onto your windows that makes them bullet resistant and smash resistant.
• Outside lights with motion sensors.
• Secure your fence and gate (I'm guessing that you have one although there wasn't any mention of one).
• One or possibly two trained guard dogs.
• An alarm system (at least this means that help would be on the way).
• Strategic placing of large furniture (cabinets, couches, large entertainment systems etc) where someone breaking in can't use the blind spots in those rooms against you and that channels them into the more open areas of the front rooms (so that you're able to open fire on them if neccessary)
• Bricking in the sliding glass door in your sons room completely and just making it part of the wall.
• If you decide that bricking in the sliding door completely isn't an option then securing it a little better with a padlock and latch on the inside and placing rose bushes or cacti right outside of the door in addition to placing patio furniture that would make ALOT of noise if it were moved.
• Making a safe room in your house (steel core door with dead bolts and a bar across the door, reinforced walls and hinges, cell phone with charger that isn't ever moved from the room, fire extinguisher, food, water, flashlight, ammo, long gun, vests).
• Make sure that your wife and son know to never open the door to a stranger (you shouldn't either), just make sure they know to just talk through the door or a window in the door when a stranger knocks on your door.

Plastic Smash and Bullet Resistant Sheeting.
http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/security/security_glass.html

For the thief with his eye on valuables in your car, glass might as well not be there. In only a few seconds and with little noise he can smash the glass, take what he wants and be away.

The windscreen must be made of laminated glass, but all other car windows are generally made from toughened safety glass. When struck, particularly with a sharp object, toughened glass breaks into thousands of pieces. The fragments are smooth and won't cut because it's safety glass.

Latest developments
Glassmakers have now developed a special new type of laminated glass that can be used for side windows.

The new glass, called security glazing, impact-resistant glazing or Enhanced Protection Glazing (EPG) is now being fitted as standard or an option on an ever increasing range of models.
EPG won't resist attack indefinitely but it will prevent quick, 'smash & grab' attacks. The noise and time required to break in means that the thief must take much more account of the surroundings and the possibility of being caught in the act.
Crime prevention is only one of the benefitsof EPG which also reduces interior noise, and blocks UV light so reducing fading of interior trim. It can also reduce the severity of crash injuries by preventing full or partial ejection of occupants.

 

[daddyo]

I still haven't figured out how to do quotes on here.

What I had (we no longer have sliders) was an actual device that I bought long ago. It was 2 pieces of approximately 1/2" aluminum tubing. It had a bracket where it could be mounted to the wall and pivoted up (we never did actually mount it as we moved around too much). It was threaded on the inside and the 2 pieces could be unscrewed to adjust the length. So a piece of 1/2" heavy wall tubing should be effectively the same thing.

And I like the wireless motion detector, might have to get one of those myself. I'm adding some motion detecting floodlights at the corners of my house soon. Remember, you're not going to prevent a determined attack. Just like securing your car, the object to securing your house is to make make him take longer, work harder, make more noise and generally call as much attention to him as possible. I've often thought motion activated strobe lights would be fun.

 

[Fred Fuller]

surfinguru,

IMHO you have identified your vulnerabilities accurately, and that is the major task on the way to overcoming them.

Working to harden all your home's potential entry points is critical. Adding extra lighting, especially motion controlled lighting, is a great idea. Plantings that discourage access to windows might be a worthwhile consideration. A home security system- either DIY or professionally installed- is another consideration as well. I use a DIY system from http://www.x10.com/homepage.htm that will simultaneously sound an alarm and auto-dial up to four telephone numbers to deliver a pre-recorded message if triggered, and am satisfied that it does a reasonably good job.

Even if the end of your house where the sliding glass door is has a fence around it, IMHO you need an extra 'layer' of security at that end of the house. Maybe locking steel burglar bars over the slider, and a key to same in a place where your child has easy access in the event of an emergency where evacuation is necessary would do it. Maybe a tall privacy fence, I don't know. But I'd consider something like that as a primary early step in hardening the perimeter of the house.

As you indicate, you don't have a lot of interior room, so trading interior space for time isn't much of an option in your case. What you need to to is make sure that you are aware any time anyone comes into an area where they shouldn't be. You can do this with video equipment, and you can do it (cheaper) with audio devices. We use the system shown at http://www.buy.com/prod/reporter-rwa300r-the-reporter-wireless-alert-system/q/loc/111/90125222.html (now known as The Chamberlain), with three exra sensors, to monitor the area inside the fence around the house. A second system, with three extra sensors, monitors the area around our property (we have two layers of fencing around the house- a perimeter fence around the property and a fence around the house itself). Extra sensors- the system will handle up to four, total- are listed at http://www.buy.com/prod/Reporter_PI...15/Category/Electronics/loc/111/90125215.html .

We've found the system quite reliable, though it can alert to birds, insects right in front of the sensor eye, wind-blown vegetation in the sunshine, deer etc. Sensors have a detection range of about 30 feet and a wireless transmission range to the receiver of about 300 yards, depending on intervening obstacles. Each sensor transmits a different number of beeps, so you can tell which sensor is going off.

I am of the "use enough dog" school of home defense. You might well not want Brazilian Mastiffs like ours, but a family dog- if you can manage it- would IMHO be a first rate idea. And likely superior to any electronics, as well- not to mention being a lot more companionable. Having a dog in the house is a good way to get advance warning of anyone snooping where they shouldn't, and one more way to trade space for time- by extending your protected space outside the house itself.

IMHO, Job One in any potential home defense scenaro is to get every person in the household secure and under cover. in your case it sounds as if it would be better to set up your safe area in your son's room, and have the adults move to him and then stay there.

Your safe area should provide, at minimum:

1) Cover. Furniture, beds/mattresses, bookshelves, whatever you want to arrange, however you want to arrange it, that will let youu, your wife and son 'fort up' while protected from incoming fire from any direction. A 'frendly wall' (no doors or windows) should be behind you.

2) Control, or Field(s) of fire. While behind cover, you should be able to maintain control of every access to the room you are in with the firearm you have.

3) Communications. You need both a landline and a cell phone in your safe area. The cell phone need not have a current subscription, any working cell phone that can reach a tower can dial 9-1-1.

I had suggested several resources to you earlier with information that will help you formulate a good plan for defending your home. To reiterate, I suggest you take the NRA Personal Protection In The Home class. See http://www.nrahq.org/education/training/basictraining.asp for a locator that will let you know if anyone is teaching the class near you.

Failing that, the class is available on DVD at http://materials.nrahq.org/go/product.aspx?productid=ES 26840 , and the textbook is at http://www.nrastore.com/nra/Product.aspx?productid=PB+01781 . In addition, I like Louis Awerbuck's Safe At Home video also- it's available at http://www.paladin-press.com/product/129/73 .

Developing a good home defense plan (along with effective plans for other emergencies), hardening your home's perimeter, gaining control of the space immediately around your home- all should help you secure your family against unpleasant surprises.

Best wishes,

lpl/nc

 

[darfut]

door protectors

I have read the comments and recomendations. Here is mine. In south america, where I live , we use steel bars over windows and doors as protection against hostile entry. The patio door in you childs room would be next to imposible to enter using these. The exterior doors, the same. How much value do you put on personal safety for you and your family simply depends on what you are willing to invest. My sliding steel door is easily opened and closed and has two locking devices. I sleep like a baby at night.