Safety alarm question.

Posted by ComplaintOk807@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 31 comments

Hi all! So we recently started renting out our basement after I had a baby. (I’m working part time and avoiding daycare by working opposite shift of my husband. We chose to rent out our basement to help supplement my income.)

Anyway, I love our tenant and it’s going great. But she is a single woman and her door comes into the house. My only safety concern is what if she has a guest who ends up being dangerous or tries to rob the house. Do you know of any type of motion sensor device I could put on OUR stairs that could alert me in the middle of the night if someone comes up them?

Would love any suggestions!

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SafeStreetsHelp@reddit

A self monitored system should be able to have a sensor for that door, and you can customize the delay in the siren being sounded in the app... usually. Door opens, siren goes off instantly, you wake up and go full Rambo. Mission accomplished. Ring did lock their self monitored options behind a paywall a couple years ago but Eufy still has it for no monthly cost. They do however have a poor track record of data privacy and were uploading video steams unencrypted and denied it until it gained national attention a while back. For something basic with just a contact and the siren and no cameras, might be a reasonable idea and affordable.

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nakedonmygoat@reddit

I realize I'm late to this party but they make motion sensors for interior doors for people to use if they're caring for a dementia patient. It's to alert the caregiver if the patient gets up and starts wandering around.

Google "motion sensor for dementia patient." My friend's wife had one while she was caring for her mother, and my friend says they work great.

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kita151@reddit

If it's not a door that gets used except for emergency what about one of those magnet door alarms on your side of it. When the 2 magnets get too far apart it emits a pretty loud alarm. Something like this: https://a.co/d/dBOsUgH

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mosquito_down@reddit

I guess I’m a little confused… are these stairs you speak of, inside or outside of the home?

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ComplaintOk807@reddit (OP)

Inside.

So the stairs from the basement to my home. Like I want something to go off if there’s motion at that entrance so in case something happens, I have enough time to react. Sorry if it was confusing.

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mosquito_down@reddit

Thanks for clarifying. I know Ring offers both motion sensors and contact sensors you can place on doors. You could put a contact sensor on the basement door and a motion sensor in the stairwell. There’s likely a setting that lets you choose when you want to receive notifications—like only during certain hours—if the door is opened or motion is detected. You can adjust those settings to get alerts only during the times you're concerned about.

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jimoconnell@reddit

Ring camera? Driveway alarm? You have plenty of options , that can depend upon whether or not you already have any sort of camera system or alarm system.

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ComplaintOk807@reddit (OP)

It’s just for my stairs. Not a camera but some kind of motion sensor that’s discreet that’ll notify me of movement.

I already have a WYZE camera on all exteriors, and ring doorbell.

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jimoconnell@reddit

Search for "Ring Alarm Motion Detector". I've never used them, but it sounds like what you are describing.

Does your tenant need to use these stairs? If they don't have a legitimate need, then a camera might be appropriate.

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ComplaintOk807@reddit (OP)

I can’t lock the basement door bc it would be a fire hazard. What I’m thinking of in my head is, say she has a man over. He then does something to her then comes to my part of house. I need something to wake me up in case I don’t hear them on the stairs. I do sleep with our room locked. And we have firearms in bedroom but I still need to be woken up.

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24kdgolden@reddit

You can add another ring device with the motion detector and connect it to something like an Amazon echo or Google nest which will announce that someone is on the stairway. Or you can buy a $ 12 motion alarm that will simply set off a loud chime .

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jimoconnell@reddit

Is this a particularly at-risk woman? If she's a normal person who dates normal people, your concern may not be justified, but I won't tell you not to trust your instincts.

If this was my tenant, I'd have the discussion that the basement door will not be locked, but there will be a camera pointed at my side of the door, for my security. Perhaps a nice big sign on her side of the door, too, to make it clear to any visitors she may have that they shouldn't casually use the door.

On a somewhat related note, I live in a 1908 house that was outfitted with brass switches in every exterior door frame, near the hinges, so that an alarm would ring if the door was opened. This included the door at the top of the basement steps. The main staircase from the front hall to the second floor also has a hinged step with one of these switches as well, so that if anyone stepped on that step when the alarm was set, the bell would ring. I believe it was connected to the house's doorbell.

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Kip_Schtum@reddit

I have a driveway alarm for a similar purpose. I’ve had it for years. It’s not overly technical or online, it just makes a loud noise sort of like a doorbell if the motion detector gets tripped.

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johnnyringo1985@reddit

Ring has motion detectors. Both the indoor and outdoor ones work well for me.

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GigabitISDN@reddit

It might be easier to put a door / entry sensor on the interior door itself rather than a motion detector. Most alarm systems have a “notify only / local alert” mode that you can enable for zones, or you can set it to just trip the alarm if the door is only ever used in emergencies.

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ComplaintOk807@reddit (OP)

I think this might be exactly what I’m envisioning bc I have an Alexa in my room. I don’t think anything will likely happen but I would just sleep better knowing I have something to alert me.

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Hollywood32780@reddit

If you have a digital assistant (e.g. Alexa, Google, etc.), you can try this:

https://a.co/d/0j7rpeJ

Their ecosystem is super reliable and requires little maintenance. I've installed many of their items to support basic home automation.

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ComplaintOk807@reddit (OP)

Thank you! I’ll look into it! I’m not the best of tech but now with specific ideas from people, I can then research those options!

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Efficient_Wing3172@reddit

There is nothing “discreet” that is going to wake you in the night. Whatever door leads into your home should have an alarm. You can leave it unlocked, but just make sure it’s always set up to go off and notify you. It should be very loud. Just make sure your tenant knows not to open the door….

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Alarming-Upstairs963@reddit

Does the tenant have reason to access your house? Like needing to come/go?

If so I’d try my best to eliminate that and frame in the door. Some YouTube vids and about $50 in materials it will look like the door was never there.

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Soff10@reddit

There’s tons of motion or driveway alarms on Amazon.

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PNWoutdoors@reddit

You could probably get a Wyze motion sensor and a Wyze smart bulb and create an automation that turns on the bulb when motion is detected.

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ComplaintOk807@reddit (OP)

This is a good idea. So you’re unsure if it actual is possible though? Thx for suggestions!

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PNWoutdoors@reddit

It should be but I haven't used my Wyze motion sensors in a while, but the app does have much better automation tools than it used to.

I just checked the app and I can easily set up an automation that says if Back Deck Motion Sensor detects motion, Turn on Back Deck Light.

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ComplaintOk807@reddit (OP)

Thank you!

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SpaceGoatAlpha@reddit

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=motion+detector+alarm

Also, putting in a very obvious camera high on a wall can a good deterrent. Wyze sells some cheap but decent cameras, and they go on sale every year at home Depot during seasonal/black Friday sales.

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ComplaintOk807@reddit (OP)

So I already have WYZE on all exteriors & a ring doorbell. I like this motion detector since it is Ring but what I don’t understand about this is, it says notification of a door or window is opened. I just want it if someone walks up the stairs during nighttime hours. (Ie she has a guest that turns dangerous)

So would your idea work for that too? Thx so much!

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SpaceGoatAlpha@reddit

Yeah, if you use a wyze device you can configure it to turn a separate smart light or siren when it detects movement, there are some models that have a flood light and siren built in. In addition to that, it can record a video clip of the detected motion and send it to your phone with an alert. Keep in mind that these functions require Wi-Fi and working Internet service.

Alternatively, the simple motion alarms just trigger an alert on a receiver when activated.

If this is such a big concern from a stress/mental wellness standpoint, you could consider checking with a contractor about installing a security door to separate the two living spaces, or just outright reconsider renting out the room in the first place.

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Eredani@reddit

All kinds of driveway alarms can do this. They are motion activated and make an audible alarm at the base station.

However, I would take a step back and say that you have a legitimate concern here and should probably not have strangers in your house. Meaning no tenants, and/or no access to the main house.... or at the very least a hard rule for no visitors.

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b18bturbo@reddit

Put a motion camera up so that way you can see who comes up it might actually be your husband or whoever's renting so it would help to see who it is before getting worked up.

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PainProfessional8285@reddit

I have a Eufy C120 security camera. Works great and plenty of easy setup videos on YouTube.