Several steps can vastly improve security of your home

Q. I have a fairly typical two-story house which I think is reasonably secure. There have been several burglaries nearby. What are some simple, inexpensive methods to make my house more secure?

A. Improving security at home is a serious concern for all homeowners, particularly ones with smaller children. There are many ads on television for expensive security systems, and they generally work very well, but there also are many simple improvements you can make yourself to improve the security of your home.

You really do not have to add super-secure products to make your house safer. The National Crime Prevention Council found that burglars generally will not spend more than one minute trying to get into a home. If your minor, inexpensive improvements make it just a little more difficult to get in through windows or doors, the would-be burglar will likely give up and leave.

Unlocked doors and windows are the first place someone will try to break in, so simply checking the locks whenever you leave the house or go to bed is wise. The quality of the doors and frames themselves is as important as the locks. Even if you have the best deadbolt lock on a cheap exterior door, a few stiff kicks may be enough to literally make a hole in the door.

Sliding glass patio doors are a common target for burglars. Once the lock is broken, the burglar can either slide them open or lift them off the track. Simply place a broomstick in the track so the door cannot be slid open. Drill a hole through both the sliding and fixed panels and insert a pin in the hole. This makes it impossible to lift the panels out of their tracks.

For swinging entrance doors, install a rim lock or a surface-mounted deadbolt. Both are reasonable do-it-yourself projects. These can be either key or spring operated to activate the lock when the door is closed. A cylinder deadbolt is slightly more difficult to install, but is more secure than a rim lock.

Burglars sometimes try to partially break through a door and then pull out the hinge pins. To stop this, remove opposing screws from one of the hinges. Drive a double-headed nail into one of the holes to hold the hinge in place. The end of the nail still sticking up fits into the opposing hole where the screw was removed.

Once your doors are secure, tackle the windows. There is only so much you can do with windows because burglars can always break the glass. They would prefer not to do this though because it makes noise when it breaks and they generally do not want to take the time to first tape the glass. Just do the first floor windows if your security budget is tight.

Sliding windows can be secured similarly to sliding glass patio doors. Double-hung windows generally have one or two locks between the sashes. Make sure the locks are totally closed so shaking cannot make them rattle open. Drilling a hole through the upper and lower sash frames and inserting a pin can make them difficult to get opened from outdoors. Always remove the crank handle from casement windows so they cannot be opened even if the glass is broken.

• Ms. Builder's column appears Sundays in Homes Plus. Send questions to Ms. Builder, 6906 Royalgreen Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45244, or visit dulley.com/msbuilder.

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