Security in rented apartment

[dcal]

So I've come to realize that my original plan of staying in my less than desirable location for only six months has turned into one year, and will likely last at least another. I live in a small, relatively safe city, sandwiched between two large, relatively unsafe cities. My rented apartment is a second floor "railroad" situated above a restaurant on the main drag in town. There is only one way in and one way out.

Some measures I have taken are:

- A good lock on both the apartment door and entry way door
- Charged cell phone on the nightstand
- 870 next to the bed
- Pistol on the nightstand while sleeping, on my hip or within reach when awake
- A rough plan that's been discussed with my wife that involves securing the bedroom door, calling 911, and pointing a boom stick at the door.
- A floor plan and keys tied to a glow stick.

Some unaddressed security issues that I see are:

1. A hallway light that is only controlled from the hallway making the peephole useless in the late afternoon/evening. Possible solution would be to install a battery powered motion light such as this. I am afraid however it could easily be ripped down.

2. Since I'm on a main road, car noise coupled with window A/C units make sound detection a problem. It is conceivable that a kick down the door situation would fail to wake me (I sleep like the dead). A lock jimmy, or other stealthy entry would definitely go unnoticed. I haven't quite come to a definite solution for this. I was thinking some sort of magnetic door alarm, but I'm not sure about how non-permanent something like that would be. Thoughts?

Given the fact that pets are out of the question, any other ideas would be of great help.

 

[Rokyudai]

deleted

 

[Rokyudai]

I bet you can find a non permanent, wireless, door sentry device that would allow you to keep the "chime" in your room. I would also focus on hardening your door as much as you can. Have you looked at door braces? I don't believe they require much if any hardware. I think they can at the very least delay entry causing enough commotion to awake most.


Be creative too, don't hold yourself to subtle door chimes. Look at devices aimed towards alerting parents with children...like pool gate alarms. I've also seen car alarms that sit on the floor of the front seats which work on C and D cells. These do not make great car alarms but one heck of a motion/vibration alarm if hung on a front door! The decibel level would jolt anyone out of bed.

http://www.defensedevices.com/caralarmraxus.html

Like this doo hicky- capable of working on 6 AAs if needed. Simple enough to convert the lighter adapter into outlet if you have the spirit of McGuyver and a little electric know how.

 

[dcal]

Great ideas Rokyudai. I had looked into door braces and they are indeed a good idea.

I think the loud alarm type is better than a door chime, and I'll look into the pool gate alarm, that sounds perfect.

 

[Maxinquaye]

A good lock is worth nothing without a good strikeplate. They sell replacement ones with a full sheath for the bolt and 4" screws which will reach all the way to the king stud. Some are even the same size as the crappy normal strikeplates so you don't have to mortise anything.

Also replace the screws in door hinges with 4" deck screws - wall side and into the door as well. I'll bet you 5 dollars there's 3/4" screws in there right now.

Your landlord should not have any problem with the above, and it will make your door much more difficult to kick in or pry open. Should cost about ten bucks max.

 

[dcal]

Should I send that $5 via paypal?

Thanks Max.

 

[Maxinquaye]

Anytime...I just reinforced both doors in my place as well, so the research is fresh in my mind. Amazing how standard construction only puts 3/4" of trim and 1" screws between your deadbolt and a swift kick open. I put in 1/8" thick steel strikeplates, then 5 foot long strips of 14 gauge steel for good measure.

One other thing to google is "bumping" locks open. Some surprisingly expensive locks are vulnerable to this attack, and it's one casual thieves know about. Surprisingly the new Kwikset SmartSeries are very resistant and have grade one bolts. There are a couple other vulnerabilities to the lock which can be used to defeat it, but you'd have to be dealing with a pretty knowledgable thief before you have to worry about it.

 

[dcal]

bumping locks

home depot tomorrow!

 

[sendarope]

Think about some covert pinhole or small flush mounted tamper proof IR camera that you could install on the door or wall out side the door. IR cameras are great they serve duel purpose day/night. Some that even can be hidden inside the motion lights or outdoor lantern lights.

There are also digital recorders that can be hidden in a closet/wall/pantry and run off low voltage so can be backed up with battery.

Install is really easy( I did it for 6 months and was shocked how easy and simple they are) . Most setups are cheap and can be found on ebay.

 

[psyopspec]

120 db door alarm for 10 bucks.

Something like this should help to wake you or your wife in the event of a break-in. Another thing I would suggest is getting to know your neighbors. If they're friendly, they can let you know if they notice anything unusual in the neighborhood. If they're shady, at least you'll know after exchanging pleasantries and making smalltalk.

 

[Keegan]

If you want a monitored security system, check out Lasershield. I wish I'd known about something like this when I was an apartment dweller. They even have a [somewhat expensive] attachment that will call the monitoring service via cellular network and a [more reasonably priced] device that will call them via broadband internet connection, for those of us who no longer use a land line.

 

[dcal]

Keegan, thanks for that idea. Unfortunately the motion sensor is impractical for my applications. As the "railroad" style suggests, I must travel through the living room "car" and the kitchen "car" to get to the bathroom "car." The entrance/exit of my apartment is in the kitchen "car." So a late night trip to ye olde thinking quarters would probably trip the alarm. If they only offered a door and window sensor module. That would be tremendous.

This could, however, be a fantastic solution for someone in a two floor setup. Again thanks for that input!

 

[ilbob]

http://www.walkabouttravelgear.com/safety.htm

 

[wheelgunslinger]

You can use a motion sensor activated light that triggers when the door is opened (with on/off swich so you can "arm" it.).
Using a super bright halogen security light will effectively night blind anyone coming in and will back light them if they walk on in the apt. That way you can verify the target.

Combining that with an auditory alarm will be a good way to help wake you (light and sound) and disorient the perp.

 

[Grey_Mana]

Well, there is
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=202346-382-265DCCSEN&lpage=none

"Master Lock Dual function door security bar". It is a bother to remember to put it on each night, but it works pretty well.

A portable lock (or 'travel lock') : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wjqk4tjaiY , http://www.safetycentral.com/firwatpordoo.html , http://www.thisnext.com/item/898B0D72/CCB2723E/Zelco-Lock-Up-Portable-Travel

Likewise a bother to remember. Both principles are straightforward and apartment-usable. I suppose the triangle-bar is the best protection, since it makes the door harder to kick in.

 

[Saba]

Non-lethal Safety Products

Hi,
It appears you are serious about safety - good for you!
Well there are many ways to keep safe. I dont know about brooms.
One thing to keep in mind when thinking safety is what are the three worst enemies of a would be burglar?

They are Noise, Time and sound.

If you can figure a way to enhace these items you will most probably stay safe without needing to use a gun on a would be intruder.

if you go to www.safetybasement.com you can find a lot of good security devices. They have a new door security bar that also has an alarm, that is if you are looking for something super cheap.
but to make security effective, you need to clearly state to a would be burglar that your house is armed. So even having warning stickers that your house has hidden spy cameras, that alone can have that marginal effect of making the would be burglar pass over your house. Incase you want to get these you can get them by clicking here. Warning decals. You can also buy fake security cameras

But if you have a little extra money and want to get serious, you can get a security camera package.
Anyway I cant link all the items I talk about but take a look for yourself.

By the way the is a running discount where you can get 5% off any thing you buy there. i bought a taser gun from them and this was sent in my email. Here is the code incase you are interested: ACD. Good luck.

Saba.