The security of your home is very critical, and that is why you need to keep an eye on all entry points of your house – starting from your doors to your windows. Sadly, most people overlook the basement windows, paying little to no attention to them.
If you reside in a warm climate area or live in an apartment, the chances are that you don’t have a basement. However, those with basements have a variety of options. You can use the basement to store some of your items, expand your living room. Even more, you can use the basement to house some of your most important stuff like the water heater, the furnace or the electrical panel.
Sure, having a basement presents you with lots of opportunities, but it can also pose your house to lots of vulnerabilities. In most cases, many basements have smaller windows, but some will have large egress windows, with some featuring even sliding doors.
When evaluating the security of your house, you need to be wary of every entry point to see if there’s any loophole. And because burglars are aware that most people overlook basements, they always try and see if you’ve made it easy for them to intrude into your home. In this article, we will be going through some of the simple ways you can secure your basement windows to guarantee your safety.
How to Protect Your Basement Windows From Intruders?
1. Get a Security Sticker for Your Casement
Sometimes deterrents can be of significant use, especially when trying to keep away intruders. Getting a security sticker on your window can work great to scare away burglars, even if you don’t have any security system in your home.
Usually, intruders go from home to home, trying to find the easiest targets. After all, breaking into someone else’s house is a big risk, and nobody would like to take it hard on themselves. If you have made it easy for them, they’ll risk breaking into your house.
The reason for putting a security sticker on your window is that you are making the intruders think that you may be having a security system, even if they doubt you have one. It puts them in a dilemma on whether or not it would be safe for them to breakthrough.
Where you should put your security sticker can be a debate. Some people prefer to put them at the front of their door and the backside of their house. You are not limited to any of these suggestions. You can get creative and have different spots to place your security stickers.
2. Select a Good Outdoor Lighting for Your Home
Another absolute deterrent for intruders is a good lighting system in your home. Most intruders will be moving around to check if at all, there are those homes without proper lighting. They’ll be more than happy to find those homes without an adequate lighting system.
However, you must understand that a good lighting system will only be effective if you place them in the right positions. That said, it would help to get your basement slider, front door, and back door well lit. These are the possible areas most intruders will hope to break into. Also, you need to make sure that your basement windows are well-lit as this is their main target point.
A good idea might be to install outdoor lighting in all the entry points of your home. Once that is done, get motion-sensor floodlights to cover all your windows. By doing this, you rest assured that all your entry points are well-lit, which is enough to scare away burglars.
3. Leave Lights on From inside
We’ve been talking about how you can secure your basement windows using outdoor lighting, but here we are saying that you need to also leave lights on from the inside.
If you leave lights, you are giving the intruders the impression that someone is around and still awake. However, we know it might be challenging to sleep with lights on, so you can install a few dull light bulbs near your basement windows and doors. Doing this can give the impression that the entire space is lit.
If you intend to travel and won’t be back for a couple of days, install a smart timer that will automatically turn your lights on and off during specific times you have set.
If you have a smart timer, plug your lamp into your smart timer device and set it to turn on or off your lights in scheduled or random hours. This is one of the ways to keep your home and compound alive even if you are on vacation.
4. Leverage Break-resistant Glass
This is an excellent option but a bit expensive. It involves replacing your basement glass window with break-resistant glass windows. A break-resistant glass or shatter-proof glass is not prone to shattering and also not easy to break. This means that burglars will likely shy away from breaking into your house upon coming across these window glasses.
Apart from break-resistant basement glass windows, you can also opt for polycarbonate sheets. Polycarbonate sheets are also not easy to break like the break-resistant basement window glasses. They are also tough and durable, making them one of the excellent choices for securing your basement windows.
5. Get Window Films or Close Your Curtains
Breaking into someone else’s house is a big risk, and most intruders will only risk their lives if they are assured of getting something valuable from your home. One of the best ideas to keep intruders from looking into your house to see what’s valuable is getting window films.
A window film will secure your windows by giving your basement windows a frosted look or making it dark completely and give zero chances to peep through your house. Some window films go a little extra to hold the glass windows in place in case an object hits your window.
6. Window Well Covers Are Excellent Substitutes of Window Films
Most people install window well covers without knowing that they are doing it for security measures. And this is probably because window well covers offer a ton of other benefits apart from just securing your basement windows.
Window well covers can help prevent small animals from falling into your window well. They can also come in handy redirect rain, and they provide insulation to windows.
However, window well covers can act as a deterrent to keep away intruders. In other words, for a burglar to get into your house, they’ll have first to remove the window well. This can be time-consuming, and most intruders will give up.
7. Keep All Your Windows and Doors Locked
This is a no brainer concept, and at the same time-critical. While most people remember to close their doors and windows while away or sleeping, some tend to forget.
While locked doors and windows won’t prevent a determined burglar from breaking into your house, it goes a long way into protecting your home from invasion.
Worryingly, burglars might still break into your home if it’s the primary target. Probably they must have checked out for the easiest targets before breaking in. If you’re suspecting of such, consider latching your doors and windows to keep them away for good.
8. Install Security Cameras
If you’ve installed security cameras before, you probably know how expensive they can be. Security cameras are perfect deterrents for capturing potential criminals’ footage should someone try to break into your home.
Since we’re not equal financially, this isn’t an option for most individuals. Fortunately, the surveillance system is enough threat to monitor potential burglars. Usually, it runs anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. So you can opt for a camera without the cabling and DVR at an affordable price. Well-installed security cameras will often drive criminals elsewhere even when the cameras aren’t connected.
9. Leave Some Electronics Running
Just like you protect your home, use the same concept to secure your window basements. When you leave lights on with some electronics running, you’ll be creating the illusion that someone is home. Radio, television, and speakers are some of the potential electronics you can leave running throughout the night. This is often an excellent way to convince intruders that you’re home when you’re away.
10. Manage the Outdoor Plants Near Your Entry Points
Like mentioned before, outdoor lighting goes a long way into securing your basements. How about adding some lovely outdoor plants? You can place potted plants or large shrubs in front of your windows to reduce the chances of burglars breaking into your house.
And because basement windows are built on the ground, large plants will always obstruct them from invading your house. Meanwhile, refrain from putting outdoor plants near entry points that provide hiding spots for thieves.
11. Obstruct All Your Entry Points (Both Inside and Outside)
Scientifically, it’s not wise to keep large plant life near your basement windows, but you can still use smaller plants as deterrents to your basements. But how is this even possible?
Well, properly-placed plants with thorny backs can make it difficult for burglars to reach up for the window basements. Not only will smaller plants help secure your basements, but it will also add an aesthetic landscape around your house.
Once you’ve secured the outdoor basements, it’s time to work on the inside to make it inconvenient for intruders. Meanwhile, keep furniture away from entry points, as they provide a more enhanced entry and exit of your basements.
12. Protect Sliding Doors
Sliding doors are popular for its weak locking mechanism, but you can still secure them from burglars. Here’s how to secure a sliding door.
Place a rod inside the track of the sliding door, about 2 by 4 inch. If you’re also concerned about the appearance, a large, wooden dowel rod is a great option. You can find it in your local hardware at affordable prices. Meanwhile, paint it to blend with the existing color of your door. Also, there are rods specifically built for sliding doors, but at an extra cost.
13. Install Security Bars
Security bars are a bit more extreme; however, depending on where you live and the security situation, it might work just well.
You will find a variety of window security bars online, so you can choose your preferences. Some are installed permanently, while others can only be opened from the inside. You may also want to install security bars on your window basements while enhancing its appearances from the outside.
Alternatively, use metal grates over the openings of an egress window. If you get one that’s lockable from the inside, use the trick mentioned above on security bars to install the metal egress.
Although security bars aren’t appealing to the eyes, they are worth considering if you aren’t much concerned about the appearance but safety. What’s more, security bars are the most effective deterrents for your home safety.
14. Install a Motion Detection Security System.
The motion detection security system uses the same trick as security stickers. The installation is quite expensive, but it’s a good bet if your budget accommodates the price.
Usually, these security systems will raise alarms or even alert the local authorities when someone is breaking into your home. However, this will depend on the type you go for since security systems vary from different manufacturers. While some will raise alarms through contacts, others will detect motion in designated areas.
Motion detection security systems are ideal for securing multiple entry points, without solely depending on window or door contacts, which can be expensive.
Wrapping it Up
Most households tend to overlook the basements, which is why burglars often resort to basement entry points. By implementing any of these precautionary measures, you’ll be protecting your home from potential intruders, while enhancing its overall security.