Can't Afford Security Doors or Windows for Your Business? Six Ideas to Help You

If you can't afford security doors or windows for your business, there are multiple ways you can create your own security without spending a lot of money. All of these ideas can be used on their own, or they can be combined together. Make your doors and windows more secure with these tips:

1. Line doors and frames with strips of metal

Imagine your door and its lock. What happens when a thief pushes on the door? What holds it in place? In most cases, the answer to this question is that a simple bolt in a wood frame locks your door. If you put enough pressure on the door, the bolt can rip through the wood frame.

Strengthen your door and make it closer to a security door by lining the door's edge and the edge of the door frame with strips of metal, or install a new strike plate. Applying metal reinforces the door and frame, making it harder to penetrate.

2. Install locks with codes

Unfortunately locks with keys can be picked or the keys can be lost. Consider replacing your current locks with locks with electronic codes. Ideally, you want these codes to be easy to change – that way you can change them if one of your employees quits working with you.  

However, when choosing your new locks, remember to look at how formidable they are – the mechanics of the locks need to be strong, not just their electronic elements.

3. Secure your door and screen with one-way screws

If you want to ensure no one can remove your main door or your screen door easily, consider attaching your door with one-way screws. These secure screws can be attached to any door, using a regular flat-head screwdriver, but once they are installed, these screws have no visible slot for a screwdriver.

If a thief or vandal approaches your door and hopes to gain entry it by unscrewing the door's hinges, he or she will not be able to do that. Removing one-way screws is a fairly laborious process that requires a special, hard to find tool or an ample amount of time, a vice grip, a dremel and a bit of aluminum flashing.    

4. Apply protective film to your windows

Once your door is super secure, thieves will obviously have no choice but to try the windows. If you don't have money to invest in security windows or to replace single pane with relatively stronger double pane glass, consider the benefits of security film.

Sometimes called hurricane film, security film can be easily applied to your windows by yourself or a professional, and this durable film prevents your windows from being broken by strikes or thumps. Some security film can even stop bullets from passing through your glass.

5. Build DIY window security bars

If you are handy, you can even build your own security bars for your windows using relatively cheap materials, some of which you may even have lying around. You simply need enough wood to build a frame that fits neatly inside your window and a few metal bars – metal electrical conduit works fine.

Measure your window and using four pieces of wood, build a frame that fits snugly into the inside of your window frame. Cut pieces of metal conduit to length so they stretch either vertically or horizontally across the frame – leave enough extra length so that the pieces of metal can nestle inside holes you are going to bore into the wood.

Use your drill to create holes for the metal bars to rest in. There should be two holes for each metal bar, and they should be directly across from each other on opposite sides of the frame. Lay out your frame pieces and your pieces of metal. If you are using hollow metal, you can fill it with expanding foam to give it some extra density.

Gently slot your metal into the corresponding holes, put some wood glue near all of your corners and push the four pieces of your frame together. Use a clamp to hold the frame together until the frame holds on its own. Now, put the frame into your window. If you like, you can use a hinge to attach the frame to the window – that allows you to engage the bars when you need to and open them as needed. You can also build a simple latch to hold the frame of bars to the top of the window frame. That way, even if someone is able to break your glass, he or she won't be able to get past your homemade bars.

6. Call your business insurance provider

Before you start making any security modifications to your business, contact your insurance company. In many cases, insurance companies offer discounts in exchange for business owners taking security measures.

Find out if investing in a security door lowers your insurance premiums. If it does, it may offset the cost and make it possible to buy security doors and windows without engaging in any of these ideas. Visit a site like http://www.aussecure.com.au to see an inventory of security doors.