[highwayrider02]

To put it short I live in a rooming house with a bunch of crackheads, alcoholics, petty crooks, and thieves. I've got a 12 gauge and a 30-06 that people have already tried to steal from me. I'm the only legit guy here, I'm not like them. I just moved into a bigger room down the hall and I have a window that abuts the community balcony, and I want to make it more secure. What are some ways I can secure that window and reinforce my door so they can't get in? I know nothing I do will completely secure my stuff but I want to prevent a break-in as much as possible.

[DanT]

MOVE!

No kidding. The building will burn to the ground long before any SHTF scenario happens.

[AlpineZone]

Originally Posted by highwayrider02

To put it short I live in a rooming house with a bunch of crackheads, alcoholics, petty crooks, and thieves. I've got a 12 gauge and a 30-06 that people have already tried to steal from me. I'm the only legit guy here, I'm not like them. I just moved into a bigger room down the hall and I have a window that abuts the community balcony, and I want to make it more secure. What are some ways I can secure that window and reinforce my door so they can't get in? I know nothing I do will completely secure my stuff but I want to prevent a break-in as much as possible.

If the place allows animals I would get myself a small but protective noise maker of a dog.

If your landlord didn't mind a little demo.....I would take out the paneling around the framing of the window on the outside and install headers for which you can bolt down a few bars over the window along with a motion alarm.

If demo is out of question you can still purchase a cheap motion alarm that you can install on the inside of the window that can turn on/off as you need. They might think twice from the noise.

If your on the ground floor you could plant some really nasty juniper or thorn bushes as well in front of it. A few thorny cactus in planters on the inside of the window sill isn't a bad idea either.

For the door make sure you have hinges that are designed to be removed only from the inside and there heavy duty with long lag screws securing them to the hinge jam. Also installing a peep hole isn't a bad idea.

Replace the locks with a dead bolt and heavy duty key lock on the knob, again using lag screws to secure the deadbolt to the jam.

Buying a cheap sticker to put on the door and the window saying the place is "secured using tasco, adt, brinks etc" is also a good idea.

Good luck! Hope this was useful.

[lpm67]

Get out of there. Times are tough (people are looking for ways to make a little extra money), put an add in your local paper that you are looking for Room and Board (or just room) in a private home. Maybe you can rent a room over a garage or a sleepout somewhere. I know this doesn't help your immediate dilemma but this problem wont resolve easily.

[stairman]

Personally Id rather live in a shed in the woods. I have little tolerance for degenerates and would be affraid someone would get hurt. Sorry for your situation, hope things get better.

[dukman]

They make door bars for when you are home, but they won't help protect the door when you are away. My apartment door opens right to a closet. I have been eyeing one of the semi box trailer spreader bars that they use to keep freight from shifting, as a door between the closet wall and my door, but I haven't bought one yet... but in all actuality, if SHTF, I am gone from there. And this is actually a pretty quiet complex as far as criminal activity goes

[Celticwarrior]

If you are staying there, I'd invest in a good gun safe that you can bolt down first off. Next, I'd nail or bolt that window shut and keep a hammer by it in case I needed to break it out in a fire. Lastly, get good solid deadbolts on the door for when you leave, then buy yourself a solid 2x4 that you can notch and wedge under the door handle, and another that you can slip into u-bolts or big solid brackets that you can attach to plates of wood and then nail into the doorframe for when you are at home. I would also see what Radio Shack has for inexpensive entry alarms and screamers/buzzers. Alpinezone's suggestions like the peephole are also great. Anything and everything you can do is just one more hoop you are making the crooks go through to get your stuff. It is easier to go elsewhere for better pickings. Crackheads generally don't want complex and difficult, they want easy and fast.

I agree though. If you have been broken into a couple of times by people looking to steal your stuff, esp. guns, it's time to look at new living arrangements. LPM makes a good point. In this hard economy, there are a lot more people with a "spare room" that will be happy to get an EMPLOYED tenant to rent from them at a reasonable rate. Flats and studio apartments, "mother-in-law" garage dormer rooms, and even just a spare back room with kitchen and bathroom privileges would be better than what you have now. As long as the rents are reasonable and you have the right to secure your room against entry by the landlord or other tenants, I say look around and get into somewhere else before it's too late. That place sounds like 40 miles of bad road to me.

[kevin]

well, the boys seem to have got it all covered. I just want to second two sentiments: 1 = leave (but based on your other threads I know your working on it. 2 = get a safe and bolt it down. protect those guns from the losers.

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

One thing to consider....Your current situation will be the one your in should shtf, so the better current is the better situation shtf will be.

[highwayrider02]

Originally Posted by kevin

well, the boys seem to have got it all covered. I just want to second two sentiments: 1 = leave (but based on your other threads I know your working on it. 2 = get a safe and bolt it down. protect those guns from the losers.

I would love to leave but this place is cheap ($95 a week) and I'm under constant threat of losing my job. So if I do lose my job I have enough rapport with my landlord to let me fall behind until I find another job (if i do considering the market). Otherwise I would've left this place a long time ago. Been here 14 months. Only once has someone tried to break in but they didn't because they were interrupted. They were specifically after my guns, but the irony is I was on a hunting trip and both my guns were with me. lol