Entry point
Ground-Floor Windows
Anybody with windows at ground level, in a house, a garden apartment or a basement conversion. It is the page where the trade-off between security and escape is sharpest, because the same opening is both the weak point and the way out.
What constrains the work
- Windows in rooms used for sleeping are treated as emergency escape and rescue openings and must open from inside without a key, a tool or special knowledge.
- Small children and open windows are a separate and older safety problem, and insect screens hold nobody in.
- Renters can usually fit clamp-on stops without permission but should not assume it.
Start with what costs nothing
These come before any purchase on this page, and on most doors they do more.
- Cut the planting in front of every ground-floor window back below the sill.
- Move bins, planters and anything else climbable away from the walls.
- Close and latch ground-floor windows when the room is empty, including on warm days.
- Walk the house and write down which windows are in rooms people sleep in.
Deter
Change what the place looks like to somebody deciding whether to bother.
A ground-floor window that cannot be seen from anywhere is worth more to somebody outside than any latch is worth to you. Almost all the useful deterrence here is gardening and lighting, and almost none of it costs anything.
Do first
- Cut back the shrub in front of each ground-floor window to below sill height. This is the highest-value free action on the whole site.
- Move the bin, the water butt, the planter and the bench away from under windows. Every one of them is a step.
- Put a light on the side of the house nobody walks down, which is usually the side with the best window for somebody else.
- Stop leaving the ground-floor windows on the latch when the room is empty.
Jobs that add this layer
- Place an Outdoor Camera — Drilling required, 1 to 2 hours per camera
Where hardware is genuinely needed
- Security Cameras — seeing what happened, and knowing where the footage lives
Detect
Know that something is happening while it is still happening.
Windows are poor candidates for motion alerting because the outdoors moves constantly. What works better is a household habit of closing and checking, and a single camera covering the side of the house rather than one per window.
Do first
- Add window checks to whatever the household already does at night, so it happens without anybody deciding to do it.
- Cover the hidden side of the house with one camera rather than each window with none.
- Keep alerting off windows that face a street or a footpath, or you will mute the app inside a week.
Jobs that add this layer
- Place an Outdoor Camera — Drilling required, 1 to 2 hours per camera
Where hardware is genuinely needed
- Security Cameras — seeing what happened, and knowing where the footage lives
Delay
Make the opening take longer and louder to get through than it looks.
A stop limits how far a sash travels, so the window ventilates without opening enough to climb through. On a utility window this is straightforward. On a bedroom window it is a decision with real consequences, and the release type is the whole of that decision.
Do first
- Sort every window into escape openings and everything else before buying a single stop.
- Open every window you intend to fit. A painted-shut window is already a problem and hardware makes it worse.
- Check the existing latches. Many are simply worn or misaligned and adjusting them is free.
Jobs that add this layer
- Fit Window Stops Without Blocking Escape — Basic tools, 20 minutes for the survey, 5 minutes per window, renter safe
- Renter Security Without Drilling — No tools, An afternoon, most of it spent deciding rather than fitting, renter safe
Where hardware is genuinely needed
- Window Locks & Stops — limiting how far a window opens without trapping anyone
Document
Keep a record that still exists when somebody asks for it.
Cameras covering windows are usually covering the side of a house, where the light is worst and the approach is narrow. One well-placed camera along the side path is worth several aimed at glass.
Do first
- Point a camera along the side path, not at a window.
- Check what the frame contains at the boundary and mask what is not yours.
- Decide the storage model before you buy the camera.
Jobs that add this layer
- Choose Local or Cloud Storage — No tools, 30 minutes of thinking, before you buy anything, renter safe
Where hardware is genuinely needed
- Security Cameras — seeing what happened, and knowing where the footage lives