Securing my house...No knowledge of electrics

[bhavit1]

Hello All

I have just bought house. Going on much needed holiday but now I am worried that our house is not secure enough. Only thing I have in my new house is a dummy alarm outside of house.

What I want to do to make my house secure
1. Light in Front that will come up few hours in night
2. Put a timer bulb in hallway and bedroom to "try" and fool potential burglar

What help I need from this forum
1. How can I fix this front light as I dont have any electric connection outside of my house. Even if I drill hole in the front wall, spare plug is at least 5 meters away.

2. Where can I find timer bulb (online or in store). All my lights in house are direct electric connection and I cand not use current switches to program so that light comes up at certain time only

Any help is much appreciated. I am not much of an electrician. so I seek easier but effective options

 

[wineo]

you can buy bayonet plug in devices that go between the lampholder and the bulb. these can be set to come on for various times after dusk. normally 3, 6 or 12 hours. bnq among others stock them.

 

[briwire]

I bought a couple from Maplin. It's just a normal bayonet fitting lamp that you change for your hallway, living room etc. It automatically comes on when it goes dark. There's a switch to set it to stay on for 3, 6 or 9 hours after it gets dark. It can also then be set to go on and off intermittantly for the rest of the night as if someone has a bladder problem. It was about £11.

 

[flameport]

A light won't make the slightest difference to the security of your house.
Far better to spend the money on decent locks, doors/frames and windows.

Forget about dummy alarm boxes as well - most of them look nothing like real ones. Same for fake cameras.

 

[Aragorn84]

Given that ACTUAL bellboxes arent that expensive, if i was going to install a dummy i'd just use a real one.

I do agree though, if its a chance break in, then they'll turn up when the lights are out and break in anyway, and if its planned, they'll have cased the place and realise that the lights are timed.

 

[bhavit1]

Ok...gonna get some timer bulb from maplin or b&q. dummy alarm costs only £19ish and has a light that keeps on flashing....

What about light in the front? outside my main entrance door? any ideas on that

Much appreciate all replies so far....

 

[bhavit1]

A light won't make the slightest difference to the security of your house.
Far better to spend the money on decent locks, doors/frames and windows.

Forget about dummy alarm boxes as well - most of them look nothing like real ones. Same for fake cameras.

Thanks for reply. I do have good quality locks (shoot system), brand new window frames/doors but still worried that smashing a door will be easier in our absence....

 

[electronicsuk]

What about light in the front? outside my main entrance door? any ideas on that

You can feed an outdoor light from the lighting circuit or from a ring final ('socket circuit' if you will) via a Fused Connection Unit. Either way, it's probably going to involve taking up floorboards and chasing walls, unless you're lucky enough to live in a bungalow and have easy access to all your wiring.

Please don't take offense to this, but as you seem completely clueless of where to start with installing an outdoor light, this seems indicative that it might be a job for an electrician.

 

[MisterG]

Ok...gonna get some timer bulb from maplin or b&q. dummy alarm costs only £19ish and has a light that keeps on flashing....

What about light in the front? outside my main entrance door? any ideas on that

Much appreciate all replies so far....

You probably also should get a PIR controlled light at the back too. Unless you are in a remote area, you may already have streetlights giving some light at the front, it's at the back where it will be really dark.

 

[GRC]

Do you have any friends or family who would 'house-sit' whilst you're away.....?

Strikes me that's the easiest way to ease your mind....

 

[Steve]

Thanks for reply. I do have good quality locks (shoot system), brand new window frames/doors but still worried that smashing a door will be easier in our absence....

Burglars smash glass as a last resort - they would much rather OPEN the door / window by some means.

Think about it - if your neighbours hear a window smashing, they are going to go and enquire!

To be honest, if you have good windows and doors all round, dont worry about intruders. A couple of timer lights internally, set for realistic times will put off most scumbags.

To put your mind at ease, go outside, lock the doors, and try to push them through! Think like a burglar, who doesnt want to be heard or seen. He's not going to try the front, because he will be seen (streetlights). Concentrate on the back.

 

[JohnD]

you can get plug-in timers for a few pounds at any DIY or hardware store.

You can easily use these with small table-lamps in you hall, landing and living room, and of course you can set a bedroom one to come on say between 11pm and midnight, after the living room one goes off. If you want you can put a small radio on one or more of them too. They are cheaper and easier to fit IMO than special light-sensitive lamps

I use these timers on my own hall and landings, even if I am at home I want the stairs to be illuminated. Using CFLs (energy-saving bulbs, which I can get for 10p each) they are very cheap to run.

BTW if you have plastic doors and windows, these are not actually very strong. Lock them and take the keys out, you can put the window keys on a cup hook on the frame if you want. The spare door and car keys should be concealed or securely locked away to make it difficult for any intruder to carry your belongings away.