The average American home is built with profits in mind. It’s a minimal materials and rapid deployment mindset.
There is no consideration for home defense or security of any kind. It is up to you, the homeowner, to install the upgrades on home security. Do you know where you should begin?
Every American is capable of turning their home into a fort for survival. This article will cover the planning and the execution of a number of fortifications your home.
Planning Your Fortress
While it can be alluring to pull the drill out and get to work hardening your fortress, you should not disregard the planning phase. This is where you really devise your strategy and make sure you have all the parts and pieces you need to execute.
Start with an outside assessment of your home. Walk the perimeter of the home and take note of all the entrance ways. Note doors, windows, or other means of access to your home and simply write down the course of action you are going to take to harden that access point.
Ex. Back Door: Install Deadbolts, Upgrade Glass, Fortify Hinges.
Take this preplanning phase as deep into the house as you like. You might even consider creating a safe room deep in your home.
Hardening Your Fortress
I understand that the planning phase might seem very daunting if you haven’t the background in home defense. So, we are going to offer up some ideas below, to help you with your planning phase.
Perimeter
You might assume your home has only one perimeter but actually you have successive perimeters around your property and community.
You have the physical perimeter of your home, the perimeter of your property, the perimeter of your street, community and so on.
Affecting bad guys at those larger perimeters is the first and best course of action. You can deter bad guys buy making it hard to get to your home, or by presenting your home as more of a problem then an opportunity.
Deterrents are the most important part of turning your home into a fort because it can eliminate threats long before they step foot on your property.
Fences, walls, sandbags and debris are all great ways of creating a problematic perimeter. You can focus on a concept called Area Denial that covers things like booby traps, funneling and even lethal approaches to perimeter security.
Related: Avoid These 6 Signs On Your Property
Doors
There are many ways to turn your home doors into fort doors. You should start by considering the door itself.
Solid wood doors or hollow metal doors are both good options. I prefer the metal doors because I always prefer metal when fortifying anything. Beyond the door you should install fortified locks and deadbolts on your door.
Hinges can be a weak spot but if you install a metal pole that runs the length of the door, then bad guys will not be able to cut around the hinges. The removal of hinges from the door or the door jamb is one of the quickest ways to overcome a home door.
When a thin metal pole runs the length of the door, on the hinge side, you get protection against a saw Zaw. Door Armor is another great product that can fortify the doorway and keep your door in place.
Patio Doors
Patio doors add a nice touch to homes, but they are all glass and very hard to fortify. You can upgrade the locks and use 3M tape to harden these doors.
Making a true fort of your home will require that these doors get covered with wood or some other material that can keep people out.
Windows
New windows with locks are the first step in turning your home into a fort. If you want to take it to the next level than you can layer the windows with 3M shatterproof tape. This tape prevents the windows from shattering and falling to the ground. Instead, the windows will crack and stay in place.
Sometimes this obstacle is enough to make a criminal run away. You will be alerted long before they gain access into your home.
Walls
Turning your home walls into a fort will be very hard to do if you are just living behind vinyl siding and wood. Obviously, rebuilding your home is out of reach due to budget restrictions. Creating a fortified area of cover in the home using metal or stone can be a great option.
Or retreating to a basement or other fortified portion of the home can help, too!
A cheap option is using sandbags to fortify the outside or inside walls or your home is another option.
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Garages
Garages doors are installed with locking mechanisms. These can often be fortified using locks on the inside. You could also park your cars against these doors as another layer of fortification.
Outsider Interaction
If someone winds up at your fortress and is attempting to test your defenses then you need some plans for that, too. Just turning your home into a fort is not enough. If you are to take advantage of that fort, then you need plans to deal with potential threats should they arise.
Rules of Engagement
Someone is walking towards your home, and you do not know them. They step on your property. What actions do you take? Do you start firing guns? Do you warn them? What if it’s SHTF? What if it’s a normal weeknight?
If you do not have answers for these questions than you need to develop them. Part of turning your home into a fort is having rules of engagement for people you do not know showing up on your property.
Answering the Door
Turning your home into a fort can be totally negated if you open your door to every person who approaches it. All the brick in the world cannot protect you from a threat that is let right in the house.
A common attack in America in bad involves a bad guy disguising himself as a salesman or city worker and convincing you to open the door before barging in.
A fortified door should never be opened until you are 100% sure that what is on the other side is not a threat. This comes down to observing and communicating with that person on the other side of the door.
Many people have a RING system on their home but, home cameras and even a good window that sees the porch or main door can be effective.
Everyone in my home verifies who is at the door before opening it. It’s a good practice, especially for kids. If you do not have an appointment with someone there is really no need to open the door. If you choose to, just come to the door prepared and tell your family what is about to happen.
Related: The Best DIY Traps Against Property Intruders
Fortifying your home does not require a massive investment of money.
It could require time to install new hardware, but it will give you serious piece of mind. Windows, doors, and other entryways can all be hardened for minimal investments. Roofs and walls will cost more but it can be done.
Your fort is only as powerful as the procedures you put in place to keep it safe. You cannot just open your doors to anyone, and you have to have a plan to deal with aggression outside the home.
Just firing rounds out the window is not going to end well for anyone.
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