Posts Tagged ‘window security’
Fitting Security Internally vs Externally
Fitting Security Grilles or Shutters
Internally or Externally
On the continent they fit Security Grilles and Shutters externally; this is usually for Shading and Ventilation reasons.
In this country the Police and Insurance companies recommend that grilles are fitted internally. The reasons for this are;
| Fitted Internally | Fitted Externally | |
| Physical Attack | The thief would have to break the glass and then break through the grille, while the alarm is sounding. | The grille can be attacked all day without anyone knowing about it. |
| Fixings | The fixings are concealed within the grille, so it would be very difficult to undo the fixing through broken glass and with a door/window frame in the way. | The fixings are fully exposed, even if security fixings are used the bricks that hold the fixings, can easily be broken. |
| Product Life | As the grille is fitted internally the product is not going to subject to weathering and corrosion. | Even if the grille is Fully Hot Dipped Galvanised and Powder Coated, it is vulnerable to getting chipped and rusting, which reduce the life of the product. |
| Ease of Use | The grilles fitted internally require the minimum amount of maintenance and can be easily operated from inside. | Grilles fitted externally, require regular maintenance and sometimes have to be operated from the outside, which could mean going out in the dark and wet conditions. |
Roller Shutters are usually fitted externally; this is usually because they are used for Vandalism as well as security. To achieve a Maximum Level of Security we would always advise fitting them internally.
Fixing Security Grilles and Shutters
With over 18 year’s experience of fitting Security Grilles and Roller Shutters, we can provide expert advice on the best ways of securing your product.
When surveying for a Grille/Shutter bear in mind that what you are fitting the product into, as the product is only as secure as the fixings!!
We would always advise on fitting into Masonry and Recess Fix the product rather than Surface Fix as this gives a stronger fixing. We appreciate that this is not always possible and an alternative fixing is required. Please ring our technical team for further advice.
Décor Grille Security provides masonry fixings for all our Grilles and Shutters FREE OF CHARGE with every order. The FREE fixing pack includes the Screws, Wall Plugs, Masonry Drill Bit and Screwdriver Bit.
Security Screws are available but we don’t use them when fitting a grille or shutter internally. The problem with security screws are they are generally a lot more expensive and they are not all that secure as the majority of the security heads are readily available at your local DIY store. We tend to spoil the heads of the screws by either drilling them out or filling the heads with Araldite.
LPC Tested Security Grilles and Shutters have specific fixing methods. This includes the number of fixings, type and size of fixings subject to what the product is being fixed into. Also the fixings MUST be spoiled either by drilling out or filling the heads with Araldite. All these requirements must be followed to ensure the product can be certificated to LPC standards.
Security Grilles vs Burglar Alarms
Most people have a Burglar Alarm fitted and believe that it provides a sufficient deterrent to thieves. Unfortunately this is not the case, I would say that nearly 90% of the burglaries I have attended has had a Burglar Alarm fitted.
The problem is that people ignore burglar alarms, because of the frequency of false alarms. The Police no longer accept direct alarm call outs, they go through a monitoring company, who usually won’t respond unless they get two forms of activation.
A security grille/shutter without an alarm can be attacked all day without anyone knowing about it. At least with an alarm sounding, the thief knows that they have been noticed and help maybe on the way.
The average time spend in a premises is 3 minutes, so by the time any one has responded to an alarm, its usually too late as the burglars have left. We have seen it where they have cleared a property in this time!!
We recommend that Grilles/Shutters and Burglar Alarms work together. The security grille/shutter will provide a Physical and Visual deterrent, while the alarm will hopefully attract some attention. If an alarm is fitted then the thief would have to break the glass, attack the grille through broken glass, whilst the alarm is sounding.
A lot of the times when I have visited break-ins, the alarm sensors are located in the wrong positions, so it hasn’t worked with the security grilles/shutters. It is has been known for a property to be burgled through the security grille and no alarm was activated, because the sensors were pointing the wrong way. I would suggest that you speak to your alarm company and try getting vibration sensors fitted to the windows/doors and getting the PIR sensors pointing toward the windows or door.
Three Main Types of Grilles
There are THREE Types of Security Grilles which can be used to secure windows and doors;
FIXED SECURITY GRILLES
These are usually the most cost effective type of security grille. They are usually fitted internally and come in a wide range of designs and levels of security. The fixed grille range has many options including permanently fixed, hinged, Emergency Keyless Locking, Keyed Locking and Lift Out.
FOLDING SECURITY GRILLES
These are probably the most popular grille, the nice thing with the folding grilles are they can be easily unlocked and folded out of the way, on average upto 15% of the overall opening width. They are fitted internally and range from Low Security up to High Security which is Insurance Approved.
ROLLER SHUTTERS
These tend to be the more expensive option. They are manufactured in either Steel or Aluminium. They can be fitted internally or externally. They can be Manually Operated by either lifting them up (Spring Loaded) or by turning a permanently fixed pole (Rod Crank).
Secured By Design – Police help to design low crime buildings
More homes and buildings have been designed to prevent crime in West Yorkshire than anywhere in the UK outside London according to new figures.
In excess of 10,000 properties in West Yorkshire have now been given Secured by Design (SBD) status by West Yorkshire Police after being designed and built with the assistance of the force’s Architectural Liaison Officers.
Buildings include award winning multi-million pound health centres, housing estates, car parks and more and if put together they would form a small working town in terms of mixture and size.
The success comes with the completion of a new housing estate in Allerton, Bradford, which has been designed in partnership between the Force, Manningham Housing Association and Strata Homes Builders and means there are now 10,019 SBD buildings in the county.
It has been welcomed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) who believes West Yorkshire Police is one of the country’s most successful forces at working in partnership to implement Secured By Design principles in buildings. The Force currently has eight architectural liaison officers who work across all districts with developers and councils to help design new buildings at the planning stage to ensure they are as resistant to crime as possible.
On September 12 the Force is to hold a major conference to promote the subject at the Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford. Delegates from across the county are being invited to attend the briefing to listen to the latest advice and best practice on the subject of designing out crime from national experts.
Michael Brooke, Architectural Liaison Officer for West Yorkshire Police, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have become the first area outside of London to have passed the 10,000 mark for SBD buildings. This demonstrates both the enthusiasm of the Force and our partners for adopting these principles and working together to try ensure the risk of crime in new buildings is minimised.”
This article was taken from the Secured By Design Website – Latest News
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