Home Security - what we did

[pasusan]

Now that we're retired we take longer trips - but we worry about leaving the house for long. We don't have family in the area and don't have any close neighbors that we'd like to put responsibility on. So we smartened up our home. Here is what we did...

Video doorbell - Ring - which makes a sound notification on your phone when it senses motion or someone rings the doorbell.
We installed it at our back door because that is the most likely door that would be broken into and we live in a semi rural area where everyone naturally goes to the back door.

Smart items that work with the Smartthings hub:
Bulbs that are set to go on and off at different times.
Motion Sensors in 3 main rooms - which can be set to notify on the phone - and they also tell the temperature.


We just got back from a 24 day trip. Before we left we turned off the water and set the thermostat at 52. While we were gone we could check what the temperatures were in the 3 different rooms, check that the lights went on and off as scheduled, and look out at our back yard and driveway. We could do that anytime - from anywhere we had cell service (which was everywhere at least once a day).

While we were gone it snowed a few times and we were able to check out the backyard:
Backyard Video

Hope this helps others...

Edit... I forgot to mention our Fake TV

[Community Alumni]

I'm surprised you would be knocking SimpliSafe systems since you're very familiar with alarm systems. I doubt seriously a burglar is going to have the time to either nuke or drown the base before it sends a signal out.

For the record, I don't have a SimpliSafe system but I'm familiar with how it works.

[ctilsie242]

Those snazzy IoT appliances are worthless. Burglars already know that they just toss most devices that makes noise into a bucket of water to shut it up. The SimpliSafe base station won't be phoning anyone when stuffed in the microwave before its alarm goes off, and cameras are not going to help much when you capture a bunch of guys with hoodies and Guy Fawkes masks.

My alarm system is the old fashioned type. No remotes, no phone apps. Punch the code on the keypad to disarm, mash a button to arm. If needed, punch the code to disarm and the alarm disarms while silently using the cellular connection. The alarm box is not accessible by even me unless I want to spent ten minutes with power tools, and it has battery backup. If I want to open my safes, I enter another alarm code, otherwise, that goes off (and the switch that sets that off is part of the safe's lock, with no external contacts.)

When I'm on vacation, I arm it from the outside keypad, so there is no delay, and the monitoring place knows I'm gone, so they get the police over without waiting around.

Not 100%, but combined with basic physical security (multipoint deadbolts on doors, security film on window panes), it has done me well.

[Sam_Spade]

BurbMan wrote:

Up here in the north we have hydronic heating, a/k/a hot water baseboard, so water pipes not just for fixtures but to every radiator as well.

Seems like I remember that the "hot water" in those systems can actually be mixed with something like automotive coolant to prevent freezing.....to a point.

Maybe it's not worth the trouble/expense just on the off chance that it fails when nobody is around to get it going again.

But my memory isn't what it used to be. 😉

[BurbMan]

Sam Spade wrote:

BurbMan wrote:
I think the he said pipes burst in 20 places....

If freezing is even remotely possible, you should shut the main water feed OFF, along with things like the water heater and ice maker.....and leave a few faucets open. That gives you a fighting chance of having NO pipes burst.

Up here in the north we have hydronic heating, a/k/a hot water baseboard, so water pipes not just for fixtures but to every radiator as well. Draining all the pipes would mean turning the heat off too, which in turn guarantees a freeze, which is not good for things in the home.

OP has a hot-air furnace and did shut the water as you describe, so loss of heat is not as catastrophic. Most homes on LI, if the boiler dies in cold weather the clock is ticking before real damage is done.

Why I asked about a plan of action....it's great to monitor your home when you're away, but what if something actually goes wrong? Helpful to have a plan in place ahead of time, otherwise you wind up like this.

BTW Pausan, not being critical, you're farther along than I am in terms of securing the homestead while you're away. Like the Fake TV!

[pasusan]

BurbMan wrote:

pasusan wrote:
Mostly this just gives us peace of mind that the furnace is working and no one is in there.

If the temp readings indicate that the furnace isn't working, what's the plan? Do you have a repair guy that you can trust to call remotely? How do you let him in? Or do you abandon the trip and return immediately?

Friends of ours (not RVers) were in Florida for an extended period a few years ago and the oil co. missed the automatic delivery. "Arctic Blast" rolls in with temps in low single digits. Boiler quit, pipes froze, and neighbors called them the following week when it warmed up and when they saw water cascading down the front porch steps. Ins co. paid for what was almost a complete re-pipe and all new drywall in the house, damage was extensive. I think the he said pipes burst in 20 places....

We only take our long trips in spring and fall so it's unlikely to get below freezing in the house. Our decision on what we would do if the furnace stopped would have to be made at the time and depend on the circumstances. We might come home early, we might call the repairman, or we might just keep going. We do have a key hidden...

We have forced air heat and when we turn our water off it drains out of the pipes so the worst that could happen is the toilets (and/or water heater) freeze and break. It would have to get pretty cold for that.

Good questions though - every time I checked on the house I wondered how we would deal with a problem. This past trip was completely uneventful - nobody even came to the door the whole time we were gone.

[discovery4us]

Local burglar here when asked why he chose the house he did said "I saw that it was a ring doorbell and when the voice came through the speaker but I did not hear any thing from inside I figured I had at least 5 minutes after kicking the door before anyone would show up." And he was right. He had covered his face as he approached so the ring video did nothing. Luckily the across the street neighbor had two hidden cameras that picked him up and they were able to use that video.

[ctilsie242]

The best alarm system I have seen is what a friend of mine has for his home when he is out of the country for long periods of time:

His alarm system not just makes an alarm, but dumps fog and flashes strobes. It is not made to be a rave, but to ensure that if the burglar can't see it, they can't steal it, and it may delay things that the burglar is still in the place when the cops come.

This is supplemented by the fact that every single door in the house, including hall doors are steel, are "secure classroom deadbolt function" doors, and all have multi-point locking. This means they always open to get out, but can be locked with a key from either side. A burglar not just has to kick down the front door, but kick down a lot of locked, deadbolted doors in order to get to anything. A determined thief might be OK, but a meth-head will wind up driven off, or being taken for a ride downtown for a while. Burglary of a vehicle is considered a joke in Texas, but burglary of a residence is something taken seriously.

[JimK-NY]

I often travel for months at a time. Leaving a house alone for that period of time is a major issue. This is especially true because I live on the East coast and most of my travel is in the Western US. Even when living in the house, we have had all sorts of issues arise including broken pipes, malfunction of heating or AC systems, a leak in the roof, a flooded basement and more.

Fortunately we found a solution. We bought a large house, added a second kitchen and did some additional remodeling. We share the house with my daughter and her family.

[Sam_Spade]

BurbMan wrote:
I think the he said pipes burst in 20 places....

If freezing is even remotely possible, you should shut the main water feed OFF, along with things like the water heater and ice maker.....and leave a few faucets open. That gives you a fighting chance of having NO pipes burst.

[Sam_Spade]

myredracer wrote:
Point is, folks should know what the limitation period is on their own particular policies.

Been buying home insurance for about 50 years now and NEVER had a policy with that limitation in it. Never.

I think it is a "feature" of getting the absolute cheapest rate possible. You get what you pay for usually......and sometimes the cheapest initial cost turns out to be the most expensive in the long run.

But the above statement is indeed true. You should know what you are buying.

[BurbMan]

pasusan wrote:
Mostly this just gives us peace of mind that the furnace is working and no one is in there.

If the temp readings indicate that the furnace isn't working, what's the plan? Do you have a repair guy that you can trust to call remotely? How do you let him in? Or do you abandon the trip and return immediately?

Friends of ours (not RVers) were in Florida for an extended period a few years ago and the oil co. missed the automatic delivery. "Arctic Blast" rolls in with temps in low single digits. Boiler quit, pipes froze, and neighbors called them the following week when it warmed up and when they saw water cascading down the front porch steps. Ins co. paid for what was almost a complete re-pipe and all new drywall in the house, damage was extensive. I think the he said pipes burst in 20 places....

[jplante4]

gemsworld wrote:

myredracer wrote:
Another thing is that insurance companies have restrictions on how long a home can be left unattended (4 days in our policy).

That's ridiculous. Time to look for another insurance company.

Gil - please check with your agent in this. You may be limiting your vacations to 4 days for nothing. Imagine all the fun you're missing!!!

I don't care how cheap the policy is. This would be a non starter for me.

[Rbertalotto]

This year I was away for two months. I had a friend move into the house to “ house sit”...... He loved it and I had complete peace of mind. Never looked at my security cameras once. We had four big snow storms and he used snow blower and cleaned my yard and a few neighbors. Living the life of a home owner for a couple months. He wants me to stay away longer next year!

[pasusan]

Sam Spade wrote:
Excellent post. Some of the new electronic gadgets are actually VERY useful; some others are just toys.

Will those devices still work for a time while the power is off ?

Do you carry a list of local phone numbers with you while travelling.....police, fire, etc.....because dialing 911 from a thousand miles away won't help much !!

No - if the power is out nothing works. Which also responds to the post above - we have thought about the possibility of someone cutting the cable - also causing nothing to work. The good thing is we don't really think a professional would target our house - it's an old farmhouse and it should look like we're home with the lights going on and off.

And yes we do carry the number to the local police. I kind of doubt we'd know if there was a fire. 😞

[TNGW1500SE]

The first thing any half way professional thief is going to do is cut the cable and the phone lines, then the internet to the home is dead. Cell phone back up is the only way to go but even it can be jammed if they want in bad enough. You can also put in "dummy" phone and cable lines and keep the real ones up high so it looks like the dummy lines are real.

If you're handy with electronics, I use these motion sensors that go off when someone gets close to the door. It doesn't wait for them to kick it in.



Sensors