Self fit burglar alarms
Discussion
Just starting to look into fitting an alarm at our new place so seeking advice. On a tight budget I'm afraid. We have two cats so I was thinking, I'd go for door and window sensors only and ideally wireless for ease of installation. Mainly I'd like a visual deterrent so external alarm boxes front and rear would be handy. Any recommendations?
id just put up dummy boxes then ....
Id either go pro install, with full monitor and response to deter pros (if you have high value items at home etc)
or empty boxes on the outside to deter the casual thief whos just looking for some easy money for todays fix
who actually bothers to come running these days to an alarm in a street? most people ignore them I find as there are so many false alerts
...to me, money is better spent on increased physical security so they wont see your house as the easy target in the street
Id either go pro install, with full monitor and response to deter pros (if you have high value items at home etc)
or empty boxes on the outside to deter the casual thief whos just looking for some easy money for todays fix
who actually bothers to come running these days to an alarm in a street? most people ignore them I find as there are so many false alerts
...to me, money is better spent on increased physical security so they wont see your house as the easy target in the street
I (and a colleague from work) got a system from these guys.
http://www.lockeduphomesecurity.com/products.php?i...
Infinite Prime, wireless (but wired if requd) and you can have as many or a few sensors/keypads a as required.
Took a day to to fit it, but very straight forward. Been installed for 5 months and no trouble to date
http://www.lockeduphomesecurity.com/products.php?i...
Infinite Prime, wireless (but wired if requd) and you can have as many or a few sensors/keypads a as required.
Took a day to to fit it, but very straight forward. Been installed for 5 months and no trouble to date
last weekend my parents house got broken into despite having a monitored alarm system fitted. If you fit an alarm remember that it is only going to be any use if there is a detector of some description that covers every externally accessible room, if you can get in through a window clear the room contents without triggering the alarm it is useless. So either sensors in the windows, or detectors in every room, don't assume a burglar is going to walk out of the room they may well come in through a window empty the room of valuables and leave the same way.
Edited by Engineer1 on Monday 3rd May 22:11
We had a similar experience many years ago. The burglars removed a window and climbed in without disturbing the frame itself (which was alarmed) and took whatever they could pass through the opening.
The good thing was that despite losing some stuff they were restricted to the one room and couldn't make their way around the house to the lounge/bedrooms/etc because the internal doors were all alarmed. So IMO it was worth fitting because a neighbouring house was done on the same night, every room visited, drawers/cupboards tipped open and lots more stuff stolen.
Of course you can by-pass internal sensors but then you're talking about real pros and I doubt any domestic/diy alarm is going to stop those guys.
The good thing was that despite losing some stuff they were restricted to the one room and couldn't make their way around the house to the lounge/bedrooms/etc because the internal doors were all alarmed. So IMO it was worth fitting because a neighbouring house was done on the same night, every room visited, drawers/cupboards tipped open and lots more stuff stolen.
Of course you can by-pass internal sensors but then you're talking about real pros and I doubt any domestic/diy alarm is going to stop those guys.
ymwoods said:
wow to the above two posts, I didn't realise that they were smart enough to check out houses in that much detail. IE to know which room ISN'T alarmed or to know that the house only had sensors on the doors & doors and not IR etc
Shows that they did their homework!
I'm not sure they did, but if you see an alarm box and get in without triggering the alarm, then they may choose not to push their luck.Shows that they did their homework!
I fitted two yAle systems to my parent one house, (its big!) as each one can only run up to 20 sensors and alarm boxes, remotes etc.
It cost about £800 all in, but has everything covered, doors and windows and PIRs in the rooms too, (pet friendly in the rooms the dogs and cats have access to. It's been set up so you can FULLY arm it when they are in, ie asleep upstairs in bed, rather than partially arm it which tends to sut the PIRS out.
Touch wood, to date, no problems at all with it, will be three years in March. Two sensors have needed new batteries, (the boxes tell you when), and I think the alarm sounders will need new batteries next year, (one is up on the chinmey which is 9 meters above ground, so I look forward to that! They have fire / smoke sensors, a flood sensor, all wired into the phone lines to call you if there is a problem and you can operate it remotely through the phone lines too. They have remote keypads atop the stairwells, remoted control in main bedrooms, panic buttons in all the bedrooms and three downstairs too.
Overall, they've been really pleased with it, the settting up is a little complicated, but once you get "into it" it's ok. Its just if you decide to change something a few months later, you really need the instruction book out.
But for a wireless system, its very flexible, had excellent range (al their outbuildings are covered by the one at the back of the house, and for the money, it cannot be faulted IMO. Bear in mind that the cheapest quote from a non self fit outfit was over £3500!
Worth a look as the accessories are pretty good, and available at DIY and ebay at good prices. And it has been 100% reliable so far.
It cost about £800 all in, but has everything covered, doors and windows and PIRs in the rooms too, (pet friendly in the rooms the dogs and cats have access to. It's been set up so you can FULLY arm it when they are in, ie asleep upstairs in bed, rather than partially arm it which tends to sut the PIRS out.
Touch wood, to date, no problems at all with it, will be three years in March. Two sensors have needed new batteries, (the boxes tell you when), and I think the alarm sounders will need new batteries next year, (one is up on the chinmey which is 9 meters above ground, so I look forward to that! They have fire / smoke sensors, a flood sensor, all wired into the phone lines to call you if there is a problem and you can operate it remotely through the phone lines too. They have remote keypads atop the stairwells, remoted control in main bedrooms, panic buttons in all the bedrooms and three downstairs too.
Overall, they've been really pleased with it, the settting up is a little complicated, but once you get "into it" it's ok. Its just if you decide to change something a few months later, you really need the instruction book out.
But for a wireless system, its very flexible, had excellent range (al their outbuildings are covered by the one at the back of the house, and for the money, it cannot be faulted IMO. Bear in mind that the cheapest quote from a non self fit outfit was over £3500!
Worth a look as the accessories are pretty good, and available at DIY and ebay at good prices. And it has been 100% reliable so far.
ymwoods said:
wow to the above two posts, I didn't realise that they were smart enough to check out houses in that much detail. IE to know which room ISN'T alarmed or to know that the house only had sensors on the doors & doors and not IR etc
Shows that they did their homework!
Like the other poster, I'm not convinced we were targeted, just one of those things, we were away and the house in darkness.Shows that they did their homework!
They got in my neighbours the same way, by covering a window in tape, breaking it & then climbing in so I think they just saw our house empty and decided to add it to their list. It was a few years back, the windows were single glazed hence easy to break and alarm systems weren't common so I bet it came as a shock once they actually got in. Easy to tell though because everything was wired. It had bulky switches on the windows & external doors which are easily seen, you'd see the wiring from the internal doors and there was only one PIR covering the lounge. (they were very expensive at the time)
Nowadays with PIRs being much cheaper, multi-zone panels, etc, it's quite simple to make a real nuisance for any would be thief. You won't stop a pro but I'd say it's worthwhile even if you just deter the amateurs - being burgled is no fun at all.
s3fella said:
I fitted two yAle systems to my parent one house, (its big!) as each one can only run up to 20 sensors and alarm boxes, remotes etc.
I fitted a Yale system to my old house 10 years ago. Only installed it as I was going on holiday for 5 weeks and was due to be a witness in a breaking and entering case. Had to give dates I was unavailable to the Police for trial purposes. They said we dont give the other side your address but it doesn't take a genius to look you up in the phone book! So you might want an alarm!So I installed a wireless Yale system and didn't get broken in to therefore I guess it works! Occasional false alamrs but very infrequent, easy to install etc, and I guess they will have improved in the last 10 years.
matts4 said:
I (and a colleague from work) got a system from these guys.
http://www.lockeduphomesecurity.com/products.php?i...
Infinite Prime, wireless (but wired if requd) and you can have as many or a few sensors/keypads a as required.
Took a day to to fit it, but very straight forward. Been installed for 5 months and no trouble to date
This looks quite good. How is the control panel and siren wired? Is it on the mains on battery?http://www.lockeduphomesecurity.com/products.php?i...
Infinite Prime, wireless (but wired if requd) and you can have as many or a few sensors/keypads a as required.
Took a day to to fit it, but very straight forward. Been installed for 5 months and no trouble to date
As he said ^
The main panel is wired via spur (or a plug into socket if you like) and is backed up with a reachargeable battery pack, there is also a siren in the panel.
Upstairs in my loft is another power pack, connected to an external bell box (so mains and rechargeable again) and the panel and bell "talk" to each other wirlessly.
With an adaptor/module (£40 ish) you can actually use any bell box of your choosing
The main panel is wired via spur (or a plug into socket if you like) and is backed up with a reachargeable battery pack, there is also a siren in the panel.
Upstairs in my loft is another power pack, connected to an external bell box (so mains and rechargeable again) and the panel and bell "talk" to each other wirlessly.
With an adaptor/module (£40 ish) you can actually use any bell box of your choosing
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