Urban upgrades House or Appartment

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Silent Earth

A True Doomsday Prepper
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Urban upgrades House or Appartment
Security is an issue for all preppers but probably more so for urban preppers with them living in such

close proximity to each other and in such high dense numbers. And also thanks to social engineering

by well-meaning do gooders over the years the chances are that if you live in a nice, quiet, law

abiding peaceful neighbourhood there is a good likelihood you’re also not far from a crime infested

chav and gang dominated area as well.

Domestic security is undeniably an issue for us all but the more urbanised an area is then normally

the higher the crime rates are as well.

Your URBAN house, flat, bedsit, apartment dwelling prepper by default needs to have his home set

up with a strong emphasis on safety and security, the three foot picket fence and windows secured

by a singly little latch is simply not going to cut the mustard. Even if you are in rented property you

are going to have to spend some money on upgrading your home.

Back gardens need secure fencing and hedging, and in most boroughs this can be up to 2 meters

high for fencing and 3 meters for hedging, a thorny hedge of blackthorn etc intermixed with

brambles is almost impenetrable. Fencing can be upgraded with carpet gripper rods tacked on the

inside edge to catch intruders fingers. In some places that have rear courtyards with walls you can fix

all sorts from broken glass set in concrete to stiff plastic spikes to deter intruders.

All rear entrance gates, doors etc MUST be

substantial with three or four well secured hinges and top quality locking systems.

The fronts of town houses with or without gardens is more difficult to secure but if gates and hedges

are available then common sense says make them as secure and difficult to bypass as possible, you

can also use domestic CCTV systems in a deterrent role as well as a detective role. But once again

your accessible doors and windows must be secured as much as possible. Double or treble glazed

windows perhaps consider losing the curtains and fitting ornate but very secure French window

shutters instead, at the very least affix self-adhesive clear laminating film to the glass and venetian

or similar types of blinds that will make lots of noise and delay intruders somewhat.

Front doors need to be of very solid construction and preferably fire resistant as well so UPVC doors

are NOT recommended, Laminated doors with two sheets of wood effect coated steel over a solid

wood inner core is a much better choice especially when backed up with three or four 100mm brass

and steel bearing hinges secured right through the door frame and into the brickwork with rawlbolts.

A heavy BS3621 5 lever door lock backed up by two or three throw bolts is required to keep the door

shut and safe. This applies equally to apartment residents who may also choose to fit a viewing piece

in the door. If you MUST have your letter box in the door have a fire proof metal mailbox mounted

on the inside of the door to prevent arson attacks.

Metal Keyhole covering escutcheons are recommended on the inside of doors to stop arsonists

squirting flammable liquids through keyholes.

Do not purchase or install doors with “kick out“ panels installed for allowing firefighters to easily

access your home as criminals know exactly what to look for.

If you live in a HIGH crime area you may wish to fit security bars to your windows and an outward

opening security grill door to your front doorway. DO NOT IMPEDE YOUR FIRE ESCAPES.

Multiple dry powder fire extinguishers are essential to deal with domestic fires or arson attacks and

the same devices are great for debilitating intruders with as the dry powder blinds and choke’s them

when sprayed into their faces.

Somehow and some way our urban preppers especially those in apartments who do not have the

luxury or gardens or rooftops to collect water from need to find a place to store lots of essential

clean water. Some preppers use WATER BEDS as water reserves, others store plastic water jerry cans

and others cleaned and recycled 3 litre coke bottles.

If you live in the second, third, fourth etc floors of a block you should consider a telescopic fire

escape ladder as a means of escape if you cannot use the doors in case of intruders or fire etc.

(Ideally you should never be the ground floor resident of a block anyway)
 
Having a concrete block home is a good start. But, you can also add security film to windows, iron bars for windows (some can actually be quite decorative as well as functional), and reinforced doors with advanced security features (like a post that slides into the floor, kickplates, etc.). In non-SHTF times, motion-activated security lights and an alarm system can be handy in scaring off intruders. Fences are great ideas, but may have height restrictions by community. Having a stash of razor wire would be helpful (post SHTF of course). Creating a saferoom is another good idea.

Some preppers use WATER BEDS as water reserves, others store plastic water jerry cans

They make a great plastic water container that allows you to turn your tub into a water reservoir for emergencies. Beprepared.com
 
One thing I suggest to a person on here who lives in a apartment is if they have a spare room or closet is to have nested barrier that can be constructed then put over doors and windows.
 
and make sure you have a way of leaving your apartment, you live on the 2nd floor you might be forced to rapell to safety, if you can,train it some where, it's a shitty thing to train when some one's after your life
 

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