How to "fortify" my home
Posted by Docella@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 106 comments
I live in a country that has bulgler bars in front of windows, security doors and a fence around the yard. I am " safe" indoors.
What can i do or buy to have an first line off defence, before my safe space is breached.
wanderingpeddlar@reddit
Dogs, It is hard to beat low tech with teeth.
Line the fence with any plant in your area that was wicked nasty 2" thorns (bonus if it a plant with berries and or fruit that you can eat)
Motion triggered lights. It lets you know when someone is out there.
And the ability to spread caltrops on the paths of most likely approach.
Harden your front door if you have not already. Solid core door, reinforced strike plate, screws that are at least 4 inches deep. Like a door brace that sinks into the floor and will give a battering ram a run for its money.
Doesn't have to be the same one just something like that. They are not hard to make either .
bugabooandtwo@reddit
Dogs are good, but there's also some thing to keep in mind. You need extra cash to pay for their food. They can be destructive in the home (if they can open an interior door, they can get at your preps), they can bring in fleas or ticks...and medical care can be expensive. You're taking on a living, feeling, sentient creature. Not a prop for your preps.
762way@reddit
I've owned dogs most of my long life and I've never had any issues like you describe.
They do cost money but the return they give us is one of the best investments we can make.
Boxers are my dog of choice... They are very intelligent, even more goofy and they become part of the family.
But they are fiercely loyal and they will fight to the death to protect us. I love their lean, muscular builds and they are extremely fast.
A few years some dope heads tried to do a home invasion I was out of town and my wife was home alone and she was crying so hard.
My two boxers threw themselves at the door the dopers were trying to break down. The boxers were gnashing their teeth they were so enraged. Their barking was at their loudest.
Finally she heard them say..we gotta go, those dogs will kill us! Another said, They'll fuck us up I'm out of here too
I flew home the next day and those boxers had steak for dinner.
bugabooandtwo@reddit
I'm saying there is a lot of responsibility that goes with being a good pet owner. And a lot of costs. You don't just chain them up in the back yard and think your security is sorted.
Prestigious_Ebb4840@reddit
You're also not guaranteed to have a healthy doggo.
It's got to be in excess of $25,000 on my 3 year old doggo friend. 🐶 He's not even a guard dog either, he's just a fluffy little cuddly puppy. The poor bugger had a REALLY hard start to life and we spent a lot of time at the vets and on medication and an emergency 8k surgery to save his life.
Wouldn't change it for the world, love him to death, but absolutely agree that dogs can and do cost money, some a lot more than others!
Signal_Brain_933@reddit
Came here just to suggest dogs also. My dad was attacked and shot at through the front window a long time ago, and the first thing he did after was head out and get a large dog to join the family. Always slept sounder after that.
wanderingpeddlar@reddit
I am not one for high energy dogs I like English mastiffs and Great Danes. They hit like a tackle from a NFL lineman. And at the same time they will flop down in a sun beam with you any time. But yeah two or three dogs will make about any home secure.
Resident-Welcome3901@reddit
Endorse the dogs. Consider organizing your neighbors into a neighborhood watch Mutual assistance group.,install exterior siren and strobe alarms with a panic button so you can summon help.
BluWorter@reddit
I use trifoliate orange. Its hardy below zero. Makes little oranges that you can juice but not eat, lots of seeds. They have a nice very strong scent. It hedges nicely and the thorns are vicious.
Trifoliate Orange
Techdan91@reddit
My lemon bushes have some pretty gnarled ass thorns…now thinking it could be a good barrier for protection in the future!
That_Play7634@reddit
Except when you have high tech with teeth! Sharks with laser beams on their heads is the way to go!
Hieulam06@reddit
sharks with laser beams might be a bit over the top
There are plenty of more practical options, like motion sensors or smart cameras, that can help reinforce your defenses without going full sci-fi.
SharkyRivethead@reddit
Would you settle for ill tempered sea bass?
funke75@reddit
I ain’t got time to dig no moat!
Eurogal2023@reddit
Fruit is edible and the leaves are medicinal, super heart medicine actually. (Crataegus)
wanderingpeddlar@reddit
TIL! Thanks
GooseGosselin@reddit
I'm very fortunate, I'm in the woods, the original owner of this house surrounded the place with these. I bought the house from his son, he warned me about them, said they can flatten a bicycle tire. I kinda believe him. Not sure if he was a prepper or trying to keep deer out of his garden!
Many-Health-1673@reddit
Dogs are a great first line of defense.
Exterior lights.
Reinforced windows with security film. Longer screws in exterior doors.
Strategically placed plants with thorns.
Caltrops around windows.
Anti climb spikes on fence.
A 12v hot wire around the top of the fence.
dubious_capybara@reddit
What is a 12v wire supposed to do?
Many-Health-1673@reddit
I should have put 12 volt battery hotwire. Ours on the farm are around 8,000 - 10,000 volts when you touch it, but the battery that powers it is 12 volts.
soaker@reddit
But what does it do?
Once I was leaning over a fence to pet a shoat/geep and got a little zap, not realizing it was electrified. Felt a slightly warm tingly surge from where it hit my nipple down to my foot, but that’s all. Nothing that would prevent me from climbing over a fence if I was desperate.
Ik just trying to get a sense of the power; what’s a warm breeze and what’s deadly. Admittedly I know Jack shit about voltage.
Many-Health-1673@reddit
Properly grounded, the hot wire can grab you hard enough you won't be able to let go of the wire if you grab it. It will make a bull bellow and run like hell if they touch it.
soaker@reddit
Is 12 v a lot?
Many-Health-1673@reddit
A 12 volt battery is what most systems use to provide the power for the shock.
The voltage output provides the ability to get through clothing, or in the case of animals, hair or fur. This would typically be 3,000 -5,000 volts or higher.
Joules would be the actual amount of power the fence puts out in shock.
They sell fence chargers that run from .15 joules to 15+ joules. A 15 joule fence charger would knock you on your ass but would be less than lethal.
SuperimposdEnigmatic@reddit
No one is talking about this but we allllll have to get nets in case they start using drones. It’s what Ukrainians are doing.
soaker@reddit
Tell me more. What do you mean by nets?
928374651029@reddit
Do not forget to make or approximate a safe room.
Achnback@reddit
Plant Holley shrubs in front of your windows. They are quite decorative, cheery, have nice bright green leaves that have extremely painful barbs on the ends. I hate trimming those damn things, oh, the birds eat the red berries, so there's that. Seriously, those things will tear you up and you don't have to feed them, or outlay a bunch of cash on window sensors etc. hope this helps.
Achnback@reddit
a simple perimeter alarm, the kind that uses a primed shotgun shell is a great start. In addition to waking you, the intruder will need to change his underwear
Financial_Resort6631@reddit
Thinking terms of the bad guy. Risk vs reward.
If there is always a reward. There is always a risk.
I am not going to break into Fort Knox to steal a Twix Bar. All that security implies there is stuff worth stealing. But that security works to bump the risk.
My approach. I am going to put junk in my yard, have a dog, have no trespass signs. Maybe I got grandpa’s shotgun. Do I look like a threat? Do I look like I got a high reward? I am probably not worth the risk.
If you have high security you need to maintain I high level of security. Otherwise you alter the risk reward matrix. It’s better to have nothing worth stealing.
Excellent-Effect-931@reddit
This is my thought. Maybe some signs of sickness. "This house has been condemned because of toxic contamination."
dubious_capybara@reddit
Nobody is going to believe that.
Excellent-Effect-931@reddit
Not even a good leprosy sign????
Financial_Resort6631@reddit
Exactly. Do a FEMA diamond and put dead rats and bodies. Board up your house. Junk car in the drive way.
mike-42-1999@reddit
Tape body outline on sidewalk, crime scene tape lots of red food coloring spatter... make'em afraid to approach.
stephenph@reddit
I was exploring the Sierra Nevada mountains when I got my 4x4. We were on a barely cleared forest road that opened into a cleared cross roads.. on one road there was a burned out car, and several burn barrels with skull and crossbones and warning to " keep the F*** out". We headed the warning...
baardvark@reddit
Yeah he has some good shit
Excellent-Effect-931@reddit
Wear prosthetics to make you look like you have leprosy?
stephenph@reddit
A friend had a twenty acre rural farm with a nice large farm house. On the main driveway he put a barely livable mobile home (complete with pink flamingos and a rusted out Buick in the driveway ). If you did not know better you thought it was the main house. They actually did use it as a guest house or for ranch hands. It was even broken into a couple times.
It was the ultimate "honey pot" he even had it wired with cameras and alarms.
East_Research_9688@reddit
In Iraq they use broken glass bottles imbedded in concrete on top of fences
dubious_capybara@reddit
Hell yea brotha
Savag3k1ller@reddit
I think the first line of defense is knowing they are on your property so you have the most time to deal with the threat. They have driveway alarms so you are alerted when people have come onto your property. Motion lights and cameras so you can see who's coming onto your property. Put them in high trees if you want so they cannot be messed with. Even trail cameras would help, knowing every step they take is being recorded if they are doing surveillance or reconnaissance.
Excellent-Effect-931@reddit
Remote pepper sprayers?
Droidy934@reddit
Make sure you have a breathing mask ready .
Excellent-Effect-931@reddit
I'm going full Breaking Bad hazmat yellow.
atreides_hyperion@reddit
That's a funny name for Claymores
Excellent-Effect-931@reddit
I'm thinking more like sprinklers less like swords.
dittybopper_05H@reddit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claymore_mine
Excellent-Effect-931@reddit
I would go with the remote detonation option.
stephenph@reddit
Now that's spicy
i-call-your-bluff@reddit
Claymore mines
Equal_Educator4745@reddit
Lights!
Criminals want the outside of your home to be dark. Get lanterns that are always lit and motion-sensing floodlights.
SeaFaringPig@reddit
Don’t. If you’re worried about the end time scenario or building a bunker, the more fortified it oooks the more value it appears to have.
armacitis@reddit
So you need a shack to hide your bunker
sgtPresto@reddit
You say you have bars on windows. That's good. Must be South Africa. If you dont have windows covered with bars...use 8 Mil Clear Security Window Film and Dow Corning 995 sealant ro secure to frame. Works great to prevent windows breakage. Also use on sliding doors as well. Place wedge bar in to prevent doors being payed open and a sheet metal screw at top of sliding door in slide frame to prevent door being pryed up off frame. For fence (based on type you have) consider anti-scaleing toppers. These are bird spikes with metal felting needles punched through some spikes and glued in place. They are 3 inches long and can penetrate coats or other material someone would use to counter spikes to scale fence. The felting needs rust easily which will create an after effect if it pierces the skin as most people have no idea if their tetanus shot is up to date.
sgtPresto@reddit
Door jam
Fr33speechisdeAd@reddit
Used one of these, absolutely legit. Careful on the tension, you might break your door knob. :-)
rvnguykt@reddit
Bam ba lam
Daedalus81@reddit
Home Alone, but for the apocalypse.
sgtPresto@reddit
Window security film with Dow 995 sealant securing film to frame. Also shown is a window breakage and movement alarm tied into security system.
GoldenParachuteFTW@reddit
Did you DIY the film? I inquired with a company in my area about a similar product and they stated that it was only able to be installed commercially
sgtPresto@reddit
Yes and no. A friend helped me install. The film takes some effort to get the bubbles out. I did order a window film application kit to assist.. the caulking went faster. Im glad I did them because with the window monitors, lift locks and security film I feel secure with a normal vulnerable ingress.
sgtPresto@reddit
FartingWithStyle@reddit
Why would you need to secure the film to the frame?
sgtPresto@reddit
To keep it from breaking away when shattered. It holds it in place
Careful_Fox3449@reddit
This guy needles
sgtPresto@reddit
?
Distinguishedflyer@reddit
good ideas, thanks!
sgtPresto@reddit
Prickly catus and rose bushes under every window.
black296tuuk@reddit
Kei Apple works great too if it will grow in your area.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_apple#/media/File:Dovyalis_caffra_kz1.jpg
SuperimposdEnigmatic@reddit
I jumped out of my aunts bathroom Window trying to sneak out once- I am still traumatized by my fall into a cactus 35 years ago lol
Trevdogg187@reddit
This is the kind of shit I come to this sub for!
stepbar@reddit
You could move somewhere safer. I'm thinking anywhere except South Africa. ,
Lolimnewlmao@reddit
A gun.
mystery-pirate@reddit
Preferably a mounted 50 caliber. On the roof. One at each corner.
Alternative-Ad-9759@reddit
A trench deep enough to catch a car but shallow enough that someone running at night won't see it until their foot drops.
AlphaDisconnect@reddit
In Africa. They have lock doors for bedrooms. Foolproof? No there is always fire. A proper fire axe will go through near any wall.
I reccomend overwhelming firepower. Or the biggest dirt birm. Think house sized.
GSLaaitie@reddit
Pretty sure this guy is in South Africa. Here our walls are all brick. No fire axe is going to help on them
AlphaDisconnect@reddit
Cinder block breaks pretty easy. Proper concrete not so much. Add rebar and you have a problem.
Excellent-Effect-931@reddit
Is a house-sized dirt berm just an invitation?
AlphaDisconnect@reddit
That is the problem. I clearly have something. I am protecting it.
Excellent-Effect-931@reddit
I does sound fun af tbh.
wanderingpeddlar@reddit
In the US interior walls are nothing but 2 layers of wallboard and some insulation.
Kicking through interior walls in the US is trivial
Krissy_ok@reddit
Same in Australia, minus the insulation
AlphaDisconnect@reddit
This is it. Also flammable. More or less.
dittybopper_05H@reddit
Generally I only fortify the living room, and I do it with pillows and blankets.
wageslave2022@reddit
What country?
Tinyberzerker@reddit
I have burglar bars in the U.S. I planted pokey cactus outside every window, put up cameras all over that alert me and I have a watch dog as well as a guard dog. I'm in Texas, so if anyone makes it past all of that in to my home it's going to be a bad day for them.
stephenph@reddit
In AZ they have this cactus called jumping cholla. It features extremely sharp fine thorns that are hooked and are in segmented sections that break off. You stumble into a patch of that and you WILL be having a bad day. The only effective way to remove is a pair of pliers and you will be losing chunks of flesh.
It can grow into 20ft "trees" and is happy growing horizontally as well.
Skalgrin@reddit
Depends what you want to achieve. You can go with razor wire, spikes, security type dogs, highly visible cameras... That is on one hand "no go house" on other hand "let's figure out what they protect".
Or you can go with thorny bushes around fences and under windows, common family dog, reinforced front door etc. It renders a meh household in both aspects. It means they will find your household more difficult to get into and not so attractive. At cost of being relatively easier to get into then the first case.
The first one is like active - you shout at everyone to stay away and doesn't limit you on defensive measures (perfect if attack is anticipated). Second one is rather "grey man" approach, but limits your actual defensive measures accordingly.
dresden_k@reddit
Many countries do have laws about excessive fortification. First things first, getting a knock from something like a bylaw officer is much more likely than collapse in the near term so don't run a foul of that.
Don't let your house look rundown. It signals to people that you don't care and that you aren't able to maintain it. There's a whole psychological effect there.
Hadaka--Jime@reddit
Layers. That's what the Federal US government puts in place in every facility that's needed to be secure.
Outside perimeter like a fence. Motion sensors. Cameras. Dogs. Bars. I hope you own guns.
Bolt your safe to the floor. Put GPS trackers in several important objects & hide them so if need be they can be used.
Reinforce your doors. You can get metal plates that get screwed to your inner door frame. Metal wrap around for the doorknobs. Buy floor door locks & get one for the upper part of the door. Door security hinges so that side of the door is secure. Window film so glass is stronger.
It's about slowing down your attackers so that you can respond before they can run the gauntlet successfully.
You want them to look at your place & decide it's NOT worth it & to move on. You want to be able to see someone standing outside your place before they know that you know.
At that point you have fantastic options. If they come inside the fence you can let the dogs go. Fire at them. Retreat further into your house & call for help.
throwawayt44c@reddit
Just rewatch Home Alone.
tinareginamina@reddit
We have a lot of barb wire fences around our pastures which for the most part create funnels where people are most likely to approach from. I could have more and more gates and it would create more of a control point but what I have works for my current threat level.
DeafHeretic@reddit
Surveillance cams (with notification) so you can be warned before your indoors is breached.
BookLuvr7@reddit
Lights outside, especially that get brighter with motion.
TheCarcissist@reddit
Large planters in front of the house filled with sand. Large decorative rocks placed strategically. Maybe the cheapest option is to get a driveway alarm, you can get them for like $60 and they will notify you in the house if the beam is tripped outside, they usually have multiple zones too.
Hey-buuuddy@reddit
Big ass dog.
PurpleCableNetworker@reddit
I would try to plant some kind of briar bush in front of easily accessed windows. I like the idea of rose bushes in windows where the commons areas of a home are, and to keep the bedroom windows free and clear of obstruction, but have them behind a locked fence. That may or may not work for your home, and you don’t want to remove a vital escape route when sleeping.
Derfel60@reddit
Walls and ditches. The oldest way and the way that everyone overlooks for some reason. You can incorporate motion sensors, dogs, caltrops, guns and whatever else you like but you need obstacles to work with those things to give you time to react.
Preppinainteasy@reddit
I would say, look at the different traps that the north Vietnamese would use during the Vietnam War. Lots of good ideas there.
berlenba@reddit
Dog
milk3njoy3r@reddit
That's illegal. You have to say storm proof. You're not allowed to have a fortress
rbprepin@reddit
Is the fence line the edge of your property or do you own behind that?
I would plant thorny pushes around your entire perimeter and have motion detectors, cameras and other early warning alarms as far out as you can go.
Get a big, nasty dog to guard the house and invest in good drones for recon.
BallsOutKrunked@reddit
Are you in latin america? "nice" homes (ie: they have windows, not just openings) in el salvador and the such are built like this. The level of up-armoring in countries like that is truly impressive.
PurplePickle3@reddit
Book: Protect your castle, on Amazon