So I'm currently on a short trip to Taiwan for New Years. Everything has been going good. One of the girls I'm seeing is crashing at my condo while I'm away as it is a more convenient location to stay for work and beats sharing her other space with her roomy. Today I get a message from her telling me some guy tried to get into my condo. Apparently he knocked and rang the bell a few times. She got up to see who it was and looked threw the peephole but said nothing. He stood there for a good minute or so and even tried the handle. My condo door directly faces the elevator lifts, so when some people came out he left. She told security downstairs and they have video, but frankly the security in my current building is fairly useless. It is a large place and lots of people are always coming and going. It is easy just to walk through the keycard door once someone else opens it. So, I'm considering beefing up the security of my door to prevent/deter douche***s from breaking in. What are my options and what would you suggest? I currently just have a normal locking handle, along with a chain lock on the back end. I'm thinking of installing an additional deadbolt lock. Anyone got experience here? My girl is a bit shook up about it and I don't really fancy some pleb trying to knock off my TV while I am out. Any help is appreciated.
You should definitely get a deadbolt. As for brands I suggest Medeco. I was a correctional officer for 10 years and all of our non-cell doors were secured with Medeco locks.
I like how you subtly mentioned that you are seeing multiple girls. LOL!!! Most locks can be picked depending on the skill of the person who is trying to pick the lock. Medeco's do have the reputation of being very difficult to pick. I think I read somewhere that if you want to make a deadbolt harder to pick, you can try installing it upside down.
Don't have much experience with that but my buddy lives in a building were pretty much all the locks and the elevator are accessed via key fob. Definitely harder for people to workaround but he has mentioned that it can be a pain in the ass when the system malfunctions. Problems with a physical lock are less common and easier to remedy. You can just call a locksmith.
i am thinking you get a lady boy with razor blade Lee Press-on fingernails guard your house while you are gone. and if you get really plastered you can sex him.
A couple solutions while you're away: 1) have your friend answer the door so that any would be intruder is aware someone is home. Perhaps this person saw you leave in a taxi or something and knows you live alone. If they know someone is inside, or hear activity, they're less likely to attempt to break in, at least as Id see it. 2) Have her put up a sign on your door that says "smile, you're on camera". - Further to this, she could also get a security sticker and put it on the door, giving the impression the place is monitored. I'd also suggest bringing another girlfriend over so the first one isn't alone or afraid, but you can see how this may cause an entirely different problem for you. When you're home, get a deadbolt for sure. Sorry this is happening. Must be an awful feeling. Hopefully it's in fact a misunderstanding and the events were misinterpreted from your girlfriend due to being scared. IE - maybe it was the maintenance guy or something. Take care my man.
I like the sticker idea. Subtle but could be a nice deterrent. Fool them into thinking I've got some crazy alarm system. How much are these Medeco deadbolt locks? Ballpark figure?
sounds good. this is the plan then 1 - medeco deadbolt lock. 2 - some kind of security/alarm sticker ill put on the door. didn't really consider security an issue but maybe this was a good thing. i travel a fair bit so my place is left unattended fairly often. i don't have a ton of valuable stuff, but it would still really suck to lose my tv and stuff like that. theres also the personal safety part to consider too.
Medeco's are hard to pick in my experience. I've picked a lot of locks at work with the PD. Never had luck with those. Also make sure you have a reinforced strike plate on both the door and frame of the door. A good deadbolt does you no good if it is stuck into a shitty flimsy frame. I've never seen anyone pick a lock to gain entry. I have seen a lot of doors get booted to gain entry.
Locks only keep honest people out. I have a sign that says; Security is provided by Smith & Wesson. You can get a fake security system keypad to mount outside the door. Since you're in a condo, an alarm or actual security system might be the answer.
This. One time I locked myself out of my house. I had an old front door at the time, just the locking handle. It took 2 quick kicks to get in, and not a single neighbor looked out their window. Get yourself a deadbolt and keep it locked and you will be fine.
