House Shopping with defense in mind?

[1911 guy]

For me, it was a decision to avoid the obvious pitfalls of poor design and just live with the rest. My one insistance was that the kids bedrooms be upstairs and our downstairs. This puts me between any 3 a.m. threat and my kids. Unless some twerp decides to bring my daughter home at 3 a.m. But that's another story.

 

[Alaska444]

There are quite a few things you can do to any house to make it more secure. Alarm with several motion detectors to alert to intruders or more importantly, alert you when returning to the house.

ACE security glass to prevent smash and grab robberies or worse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzaToGdZ6gA

Secure the doors using a Buddybar door jammer or other device on both exterior doors as well as bedroom doors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOm_7U5J8rc

Lighting outside. We use the Phillips Dusk to Dawn that turns on automatically.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFwLnBNXoyI

Gun of your choice. Shotguns are perhaps the best since they give you much more lead on target than any handgun.

Lot's of other things you can do to keep you safe in and out of your house but those are some of the basic things that can be applied to any location.

 

[Crashbox]

When I purchased my house over 11 years ago I didn't really give home defense any thought, although one of the main reasons I bought this house was because of its simple and very logical floor plan. Looking at it further, there is room for improvement but the apparent defense weaknesses are not major.

We're talking new home purchases here, though. Rob Pincus had an excellent home defense strategy video which could give some insight as to what may or may not be desirable in a floor plan.

 

[ilbob]

wood frame homes are pretty easy to breach.

I like the idea of partial concrete walls as some have suggested. Not only does it give you some protection from the weather and shrapnel, but it has some thermal mass to it that keeps the temperatures from shifting real fast. it is pretty much termite proof as well.

 

[Sav .250]

I`ve lived in ,owned 8 homes over the years and not once did I consider Home Defense into the equation.
Schools, travel routes, stores, the possible neighbors, etc. Were formost on
my concerned list. Not is my future home built like Fort Knox. J s/n.