Window bars in ground floor apt?
I just bought a beautiful ground-floor condo in a good area of brooklyn. The place does not have security bars on the windows, so I’d been planning to put in some nice, custom-designed, decorative ones, but now I’m worried that they might harm the re-sale value of the place. The apartment is right at ground…
I just bought a beautiful ground-floor condo in a good area of brooklyn. The place does not have security bars on the windows, so I’d been planning to put in some nice, custom-designed, decorative ones, but now I’m worried that they might harm the re-sale value of the place.
The apartment is right at ground level, and the windows start at about 4 ft above the floor/ground and extend to about 13 or 14 ft off the ground (ceilings in apartment are high). It would be nice to leave at least part of the windows exposed since they are so large.
Any thoughts? Should I 1) not install bars, 2) install bars 1/2 way up the window to deter burglary/prevent potential burglars from being able to crawl in an open window, or 3) install bars over the entire length of the windows?
Would bars over 10-ft tall windows turn you off of an apartment? Or would you be more turned off by the security risks of not having them at all? Would a middle ground be best? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Talking security takes more than locking doors and windows when you leave home. There are lots of other things to consider like back and front yard, inside and outside lightning, alarms and safes.
http://secure-your-valuables.com/
I hope it will be useful
Talking security takes more than locking doors and windows when you leave home. There are lots of other things to consider like back and front yard, inside and outside lightning, alarms and safes.
http://secure-your-valuables.com/
I hope it will be useful
Get A Dog?
Dogs are a great deterent and “alarm” but
Is a dog really great protection once an intruder is in?
An intruder wouldn’t slash a Dog? There have been reports of intruders spraying oven cleaner in Dog’s faces…
I was told a story by a Burglary victim who had a Large Doberman Pincher…The intruder FED the Doberman and proceeded to clean the home owner out…
Alarms and security systems:
Will a security system be turned on and working when you’re in the Home?
Once an intruder is IN the home only THEN is the electronic siren set off…The noisy electronic siren could be immediately REPPED OFF the wall OR the wire leading to the siren CUT…Rendering the alarm/security system semi-useless.
Even if the Police were notified (via central station) how long will it take the Police to show up?
The average burglary is about 6 minutes, The Police will show up long after the intruder is gone and has carted your Belongings away.
Security Window Gates look nice, are “quick exit” safe and are the only REAL prevention to Window entry…
The average Locked Double Hung window could be pryed open silently in under one minute while you’re sleeping.
For Additional Info See:
http://www.BrooklynSecurityWindowGates.com
The building dates from the 1920s and is visually striking, but it is not in a historic district. I’m almost certain it is not landmarked, because none of the sales materials from the 2004 conversion mention it being an official landmark. Does anyone know how I can find this out for sure? Could I just call the ofice of the landmarks commission? I couldn’t seem to find the info on their website.
You say the building is historic – if it’s situated in a historic district, it may be the case that new window bars would need to conform to the building’s tax photo (if there were bars in place back in the 1940’s; if not, probably fine to match the bars on the windows above). My townhouse’s stoop railing and bars on the ground floor window, and iron fence in front, were all included in the description of the house in the Landmarks Designation Report, meaning you can’t change it w/out getting in trouble, if they catch you.
Thanks for the feedback, everyone…it’s been very helpful.
The comment about preserving the ability to open the windows fromn the top is interesting…I hadn’t thought about the noise issue in that context. The thing is, the tops of the windows are 13 feet up from the floor…we’d literally have to climb a large ladder to open them. Would we realistically be likely to do that?
I do think I would feel safest with bars that extended the full height of the windows, but am having a hard time imagining what that would look like. These are very large windows…about 3.5 by 10 feet…and there are 6 of them in the living room. It might start looking pretty cage-like with all those bars.
We got a good deal on this place and it is perfect in many ways, but I am struggling with how best to deal with the security issues.
Our neighbors in our condo had an attempted break-in even though they have a large dog – thank heavens they did! After that, the condo decided to put window bars on the two front apartments. Both of them also chose to get alarm systems. I would want bars if I were living in a front ground-level apartment.
Don’t worry about resale value. As long as you get nice matching bars built, the next buyer can remove them if they really feel like risking it all to have a bar-free window.
Talk to your installer and explain that you want the bars to be removable by the next owner and to cause as little damage to the stone/brick work as possible.
As for the height, I would go for all the way up. That way you can open the top of the window and your cat/dog/baby can’t get out through the open window. Also, since you are on the ground floor, you’ll be shocked at how much of a passing conversation you are going to hear when the lower part of the window is open. You’ll be happy to open just the top and miss the latest gossip.
if the condo allows it, get a big dog. best and cheapest protection around. plus you get exercise!