Let's talk about alarm systems

[Tar Heel]

My house having been burglarized today has caused me to consider an alarm system. I know there are monitored and non-monitored systems. Let's here the pros & cons of each and also the names of companies that sell them. I've heard of ADT but can't remember any others.

So tell me what you have and why.

[ebarr]

Stuart,

I have used CPI for years. I have the system that they come across a loud speaker in the house instead of calling the phone. I also had a panic button installed in the bedroom in case we would be asleep and not have the system set.

My wife and kids have used it when someone has come to the door in the middle of the day. They hit the panic button, and when the alarm company comes across the loud speaker they ask them to stay on while they get the door. CPI has always been very happy to assist anytime we needed to use it this way.

I have had one false alarm since I have had the system (about 7 or 8 years) and that was our fault.

I don't have any other experience with alarm systems so they may all do the same thing. My FIL had the system when I started looking so I really didn't look at other systems.

[nelsone]

Due to an event that occured when my wife and I first got together, I would not recommend ADT. I think they have made improvements to their system, but we had a bad experience with them.

Outside of that I don't have any specific recommendations. Walk the alarm company through some questions and see how they respond. Do they provide a code word? What do their operators do if the code word is not provided? What do they monitor for?

The most effective burglar deterrent is four legged and furry with a big bark.

[DaveO]

My only experience with alarm systems was setting one off at my parents house one time. I was staying there while they were out of town. I was listening to some records and turned the turntable off. I ran out to the store and when I returned 20 minutes later the police had just pulled up and tried to arrest me. It turns out that I had "scratched" the record as I removed the needle and that set off the "glass break" sensor. It was a monitored system, and it took 20 minutes for someone to show up. In that time frame I could have cleaned the house out. Most "seasoned" criminals that might rob you know the delay in a system and the response time of the cops. They will be able to get in and out long before anyone shows up. The "stupid" criminal are stupid enough not to realize that there is an alarm system. The loud noise, flashing light type ones are best to deter them.
IMO the best alarm system is the sign in your yard. If a "seasoned" criminal sees that they know how to get around it, nothing that can be done about that. The "stupid" criminal hopefully sees it and is deterred. The sign costs you little, but the benefits are as good as the services you pay a lot for.
Not to mention that alarm system are a PITA, while visiting my parents a few weeks ago. My dawg set off their system several times by just barking. Being a monitored system they ended up charged for all the false alarms.

MTCW,
Dave

[Glennbear]

Prior to becoming a member of the retired masses I spent a number of years wearing a badge and FWIW I would tend to agree with Dave's comments but with the caveat that you have neighbors close enough and supportive enough to notify the authorities if an non-monitored system goes off in your absence. IMHO a majority of household property crime is one of opportunity so anything that makes things harder to do without a fuss would deter the average dirtbag(s). Having said all that, my neighbor who is an active State Police Officer opted for a central station system.

[McRabbet]

Best home alarm system ever! 110# and friendly to family, but woe be the idiot that tries to invade his space. Requires approximately 50# of food per month; false alarms expected, but has perfect detection record.

[JohnsonMBrandon]

Don't use the big companies. There are many smaller companies that have comparable systems, but charge less than 10 bucks a month for monitoring. A lot of time just a sign saying you have an alarm system by the door is enough of a deterrent. The monitoring is also handled by a large call center....so a small companies system is no worse than a big companies like ADT. In our area though, people have been cutting lines disabling systems and stuff like that. Criminals are getting smarter I guess.

[Keye]

As some have already said, the crooks have started to cut the lines. I had my real lines buried and placed under the house. I installed fake lines on the outside foundation wall.

The cable and phone companies did not want to put the real lines under my house to begin with. I just stood my ground and made them do it the way I wanted it done.

I placed a horn in my attic, close to the gable vent. This horn can be heard for about 2 miles.

If you have a family that comes and goes during the day an alarm sytem may save them from walking in during a breakin. I placed a blinking led at each exterior door. As soon as you drive into the driveway you can tell if the system has been breached.

A remote activation with panic button is always a good idea.

Some locksmiths also do alarm systems. From what I know this may be a better way to go than the large companies.

[TracyP]

I have a Brinks system and have been quite satisfied.

[scsmith42]

I would lean more towards a dog and a handgun/shotgun, most burglers will not attempt to rob a house that they know has a dog, According to interviews of convicted burglers, their greatest fear is an armed homeowner, and their second greatest fear is a mean dog.

A dog can be "proactive" - ie keeping the burgler from breaking in; the alarm is "reactive" - only works after their already inside. Add a fake sign to the yard if you want some extra psycological protection.

If you're away, a nice, large and "protective" dog is also a good comfort to your family, versus being helpless while awaiting the arrival of the police. You'll want a breed that has some protective attributes.

Plus, if you adopt one out of the shelter you can save a life - maybe one day they'll return the favor by saving yours.

[customwood]

I am dealing with several companies at this time on an alarm system for my aunt. There are other reasons for putting an alarm system for most of us who are getting a little older. The first line of defense is always to secure the outside doors, access to attic and crawl space. Being a locksmith, I see installations almost daily that the structural integrity of the doors are in question. Specifically, white pine or spruce door frames with no blocking between jamb and casing at the strike plates.

It is true that a dedicated thief will come prepared with the correct tools to make entrance if he has done research on a particular hit. I always look at "What makes you feel safe". In most cases I try to explain to the my customers that locks and alarms are used to stop crimes of oportunity. Most thieves are lazy and don't want to work hard that why they steal.

Senario-My aunt is 75 years old. She had a heart attack about 10 years ago and lives by herself about 3 miles from the closest town. I requested bids from 3 local alarm companies that use a central monitored alarm system. I first installed Schlage deadbolts on all the perimeter doors. I had to use shims in the garage behind the jamb strikes and use 3" screws to go throught the jamb and catch the wall stud. I also installed single cylinder deadbolt locks on her bedroom doors with peep holes added. The price for her system was close for each of the companies. They range from $2200.00 to $2400.00 and $180.00/year.

Notes on available equipment for alarm systems:

The basic unit price is about a $1000.00 from each of the companies.
Loop back circuits sound the alarm if the phone line is cut or tampered. Some telephone companies provide this service at no additional charge.
Alarm on crawl space access door.
Wireless panic remote control that works inside the house and outside the house.
Medical Alert neck pendant.
Electronic glass break detectors
Fire and smoke detectors
Motion detectors.
Lock box on exterior of house for emergency personnel to get key to premise.

I always recommend carrying cell telephone in bedroom and leave plugged into charger for emergency use.

[pacific493]

I have been working with a locally-owned alarm system company recently called Power Home Technologies and have been very impressed with everyone over there. They work with Vector (competitor of ADT) and do a really good job on price and quality of service. Check them out: http://www.powerhometech.com/.

[JimmyC]

If they want it, they will get it. I agree with everyone about dogs, but some peolpe can't have them. Living in NJ, I was broken into and the thieves managed to get into a room and lock the dogs out and got away with some stuff. I now have 3 bulldogs, but they are of the English variety and only have a good bark, so I have to have an alarm system to protect them. As far as guns are concerned, be careful with them, they can be stolen if you're not there, and if kept loaded they can fall into the hands of the little ones. That being said, "they can take my guns when they pry them from my cold dead hands" and I am care ful with them.

Good Luck,

Jimmy

[cubicdissection]

I've been reading a lot about this lately as well. If you go with a "free install" company you will get an all in one system that just need to be ripped from the wall to turn off the siren. Line cuts are something to figure in as well.

OTOH, if you have a good system installed, it's gonna cost you. If you do it yourself, you know it was done right. Time is money and unless you pay a bundle, you're going to get a subpar system install.

I'm going the inbetween route - professional system self installed, and paying for a small local company to monitor. Bought the system from homesecuritystore.com.

IMHO, if you want a good system, at a minimum you're talking:
-Keypad by door and one in master bedroom to give perimeter alerts at night.
-Separate master control panel mounted somewhere very inaccessable / hidden.
-Cellular backup technology for line cuts. In my system it's actually the primary since I turned off my home phone years ago. I also have a sticker on my phone access box notifying would be thieves that there is an offline backup.
-Sensors on all windows and doors. TWO sensors for double hung windows otherwise the thief can just slide the unprotected part open.
-Several motion detectors.


Of course, this is all secondary to making your house tougher to get into. Most residential lockset implementations are a joke. 3/4" of pine trim is all that's between a boot and your door laying on the ground. I'll bet you $5 the hingers themselves are secured with 1" screws!

Install a decent lockset, and lately you want one that has a sidebar to prevent bumping attacks. Kwikset Smartkey is actually very resistant and a great value. Otherwise you're talking $100+ for Primus, Medeco, etc.

Reinforce your doorframe. Very easy...I bought a couple 6" strikeplates and mortised them in, anchored with 3.5" deck screws. Then I put a piece of 12ga steel 5 feet long screwed in all the way up the frame. On the hinge side, replace the screws with 3.5" deck screws into the frame AND the door itself.

Finally, make the stuff you really want to keep hard to get at. Anyone manages to get into my house, they're welcome to the 42" flatscreen (easy to replace). The gunsafe, which is lag bolted to studs on the bottom, rear and side, is a whole different matter

[Boilermaker]

I am using a company called APX. I have been generally satisfied with them. I think the biggest deterent to a break in is the audible alarm when a door is opened. Even if a company isn't the quickest to respond, alot of times just hearing that an alarm is going off is enough to scare someone off. I also have a feature that is great for me. I have only had a cell phone for the last 8 years, so installing a land line just for the alarm wasn't exactly appealing to me. APX has a feature where the alerting system is a cellular unit so you don't need to install a land line. The only caveat is that you must get a certain signal strength at your house before they will install one so it might not be available to everyone. The other drawback with this (and this has only happened once so far), is that every time the cell unit loses signal with the tower it goes off. They were doing maintenance on the tower at 3am one time and turned the tower off and I was unpleasantly woken up. It was scary at the time since I had no idea why the alarm was going off, but I'm at least able to laugh about it now.