Door alarm options?

speedster1

I have a basement door thats half glass and admittedly is probably the weak spot in terms of security for my home. I love having the light that the glass offers but anyone could come by and break the glass and gain access to my home. Since it's on the back side of the house it's private and would be a good spot for a break-in. We've never had any problems in my neighborhood as far as I know but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I'm not considering a paid subscription whole house system (ADT/Brinks). But I would like to have a loud alarm blast if that door is opened at any time. We sleep on the first floor and I keep my 9mm in my nightstand. I am positive that I would hear any intruder that tries to access my two main floor entryways. But honestly I may not hear a thief if they happen to open my basement door.

So I was thinking about getting something like the GE 45117 http://www.amazon.com/45117-Deluxe-Wireless-Door-Alarm/dp/B0014A4JWU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288262883&sr=8-1 . That way if the door is indeed ever compromised I would easily wake up and shoot the bastard lol, or scare them off and make them flee the scene. Sort of an early warning system for myself. This product gets good reviews on all the websites I've found it.

What other options do I have? Anyone familiar with the GE system I linked to?

DangerMouse

Those are fine.... for hotel rooms. How often will you remember to check/replace the batteries?
Better to have it hardwired if possible, IMHO.
And... a video camera behind that glass, (fake or real), looking them in the face is a good deterrent as well.

DM

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Shane1

You could install a double key deadbolt or replace an existing deadbolt with the double key type. Way better than an alarm.

PAbugman

I make service calls and yesterday I was at a house that has infrared sensors guarding the exterior area of doors, driveway, and porch entrys, etc. It sets off an alarm inside the master bedroom, volume adjustable, and indicates which sensor has been activated. It needs to be adjusted for height so that small animals don't set it off, but it was reasonably priced, no subscription needed, just batteries. It has it's pros and cons, but I'm going to learn more about them. They can be hidden or left well exposed, so that a potential burglar would see them, or some of them. It reminded me of a "cat and mouse" dynamic. The guy was retired military, was in the "sand box", as well as many other places. Don't know where he got them, but I'm sure a google search will help, as will our fellow diy'ers, I trust.

ahmed67

You should not ignore the problem. You should give more priority on home security system. It is mostly the safely and security for which man start living in home. You have to make it sure you have a tight security all over in your home.

pacowilson

GE 54117 is not enough, you'd better to choose the wireless alarm system. There are many alarm systems (DIY, with GSM dialer) that doesn't need to subscribe the monitoring service. By the way, you can use active infra-red beam for perimeter protection.

Another tips, a very loud siren is very helpful for alarm system to deter the intruders.

Wireless or wired ?

I recommend the wired alarm system, it's reliable and free maintenance.

raylo32

In 1996 I bought and installed an Ademco (recently bought out by Honeywell) system that uses their 5800 series wireless gear. It can also accept a number of wired connections for alarm zones if desired. I did use a couple of hardwired keypads but for all the remote door, window, glassbreak, motion sensors I used wireless. It has been 100% reliable... only thing to do is replace the transmitter lithium (size 123) batteries every 7 or 8 years.

About a year ago I switched from regular POTS telephone line monitoring to a VoIP solution that is much cheaper and has proved to be extremely reliable.

Install of such a system, especially running wires for the wired keypads and configuring/programming the system, is a pretty serious DIY project but is doable. You could do a fully wired system but that could be a lot more work depending on if you have access to unfinished space below the protected floor to pull wires. I didn't so chose to go fully wireless on the sensors and have not regretted it.

This gear is readily available online.