How to protect plastic windows on the first floor - 11 methods from thieves and tampering

An apartment on the ground floor is the cherished dream of many residents of big cities. But the owners of this dream know that it also has disadvantages. The main one is the great vulnerability for robbers. Today, the women's website “Beautiful and Successful” will tell its readers about how to protect plastic windows on the first floor and thus make housing more comfortable and safer. If you want to know what to do for a restful sleep in a ground floor apartment, read on.

Option from the past: bars on windows

This method of protection came to cities back in the 90s, when crime began to flourish. There were no double-glazed windows then; there were ordinary wooden windows everywhere, which were not difficult to break open. Owners of residential premises on the lower floors began to install bars on their windows, not particularly caring about the aesthetic properties of such protection.

When unreliable wooden windows replaced reliable metal profiles and plastic double-glazed windows, it became much more difficult to break into an apartment on the first floor: breaking such a device is more difficult than a regular frame. However, robbers quickly learned to cope with them, so today new plastic double-glazed windows are also often covered with metal bars.

This method has its advantages:

If there are bars, opening plastic windows from the outside becomes much more difficult. In order to get inside the premises in such conditions, robbers will have to arm themselves with a special tool. They will do this only if there is a chance of a really big jackpot, which is unlikely to be found in the apartment of the average city dweller.
Modern grille models make it possible to make windows truly original and beautiful.

Unfortunately, grilles have much more disadvantages . These include:

Psychological discomfort. Few people, seeing bars outside their window, will feel light and joyful. Although, on the other hand, many people fall asleep much more peacefully when they know that their windows are reliably protected by forged metal bars.
Installation restrictions due to fire hazards. Not every window is allowed to install such protection.
Inconvenience of maintenance of the structure. Cleaning the glass unit behind the bars is quite difficult.
Difficulty of repair. As a rule, if any of the elements are damaged, the grille is completely replaced. Repairs of this kind require time and money.

A modern alternative to forged products are transparent polycarbonate gratings. Essentially these are vertical or horizontal lamellas about 50 mm wide and up to 6 mm thick. They are mounted on metal guides. Unlike glass, polycarbonate has higher elasticity and strength. Plastic slats have light transmittance and help avoid the prison effect.

Modern polycarbonate anti-burglary systems have a number of advantages: they are non-flammable, easy to install, and last a long time.

However, they also have a disadvantage: they refract and absorb the sun's rays. In addition, to comply with fire safety requirements, such grilles must be equipped with a special system. The cost of polycarbonate protection is also not the lowest. In other words, installing protection in the form of some kind of grating is a costly affair. In addition, a house with barred windows takes on, at best, the appearance of an impregnable castle, and at worst, the severity of a government institution, which few people associate with comfort and a pleasant atmosphere. That is why many owners of private houses or apartments on the first floors prefer other methods of protection. Fortunately, as the site sympaty.net found out, today there are enough of them.

Polycarbonate structures - an alternative to window bars

Sun protection options for balcony windows

Devices for shading sunlight on well-lit balconies can be completely different both in design and appearance. Some of them have been known since ancient times, others are easy to make with your own hands, and some represent the latest trends in design solutions.

In general, five different groups of devices can be distinguished:

Various curtains and drapes;
Different types of blinds;
Window awnings called awnings;
Roller shutters;
Stained glass, foil or shading film.

Each group is in turn divided into species.

So, ultimately, choosing a shading device is not an easy task, which can only be tackled after exploring all possible options.

Roller shutters are a pleasant alternative to bars

Designs in the form of shutters in a roll are a very attractive modern option for protecting windows from burglary. They are similar to regular roller blinds, which are wound on a drum closed in a casing. For a tighter fit to the glass unit, roller shutters are equipped with side guides. The advantage of the design is that it can be installed both outside the building and indoors. Experts also call other advantages of roller shutters:

the ability to darken the room at any time;
additional protection of windows from rain, wind or other natural pollution factors;
additional insulation of the room.

There is also a minus. Roller shutters must be constantly raised and lowered. But equipping the system with an electric drive solves this problem.

Those who decide to install roller shutters are recommended to give preference to the metal option. It will cost more than plastic ones, but will pay for itself: PVC products cannot be called reliable protection against burglary and robbery. Although they are quite suitable for covering windows from street dirt. You can install such shutters on profiles protected with anti-burglary fittings.

Some consider the disadvantage of shutters to be their appearance: they, like grilles, do not fit with any architectural style. That is why in some parts of many European cities such structures are prohibited from being installed. There are also such bans in large cities of our country. Fortunately, there are not many such areas.

Modern methods of window protection

Modern engineering has come up with several ways to additionally insure window structures against burglary. Professionals in this business assure that choosing only one of them is stupid and short-sighted, since protecting windows is a complex undertaking. To prevent burglary, it is necessary to additionally strengthen the window frame itself, the sash locking system, and protect the light openings. The use of special anti-burglary fittings will help with this.

Beautiful and Successful knows what will help protect against burglary >>

Advantages of special fittings for windows

Most often, thieves enter through the window sash, since this method is the most silent and requires little time. That is why window fittings are so important in the process of protecting a room from robbery. Its main task is to prevent the door from opening quickly. When installing such mechanisms, it becomes very difficult to press it or remove it.

High-quality anti-burglary systems can even withstand a mount and can protect locking connections. Only a grinder or some kind of electrical cutting device can cope with it. But even such a tool will not cope with a protected window at the right time. Faced with security fittings, a burglar will quickly realize that he is taking too much risk and give up. Reinforced mechanisms also have additional advantages:

the sash opening system will last longer;
the likelihood of corrosion on metal parts is reduced;
the processes of closing and opening the doors become smoother;
windows become more airtight.

Anti-burglary locks differ from a conventional system in their design:

It has more locking points, making opening the sash much easier.
At the top of the design of such windows there is a special part - a mushroom-shaped eccentric. Thanks to its shape, it reliably holds the locking elements; it is almost impossible to tear the sash off the eccentric, since a continuous recess is made in the window plate specifically for it.
The metal parts in anti-burglary profiles are made not from powder alloys, but from more reliable alloys. There are also profiles with titanium elements on sale. It is extremely difficult to open such a structure from the outside.
To solve the problem of how to protect plastic windows from being opened from the outside, manufacturers of especially durable profiles have created handles equipped with a blocking function. This is ensured by a built-in latch that holds the entire mechanism and does not allow it to be opened through the ventilation system. Thanks to the lock, it is impossible to open the window from the outside even through broken glass.
The handle mechanism is insured with a special titanium plate. This will help protect it from being drilled from the outside.
The transfer angle in the lower hinge area helps to further strengthen the doors against skilled thieves. Such protection complicates the process of removing the sash.

Additional protection can be installed in other window elements.

Roller shutters can be fixed indoors or outdoors

How they said goodbye to rapper Kirill Tolmatsky in Moscow

Not a single track recorded by Decl after terminating his contract with his father was a hit. In the film, old hits are instantly recognizable, while the later numbers are probably heard by most viewers for the first time. And it’s not just that Decl lost media support. For a breakthrough, he simply did not have enough talent that Vlad Valov, Legalize and other hit writers had from the first three albums. He was also far from the new school, which at the end of the 2010s ruled the roost in hip-hop and pop music in general. He did not know this language, he lived in another dimension, on the field of endless battle with the whole world, to the little-demanded Jamaican beat. He ended his life writing “protest rap,” but was unable to convey his protest to the mass public, as, say, Face did. Roman Super made a film about the price of dignity and showed what an unbearable burden it is. Especially for a very young person.

Photo gallery

Reinforced PVC profiles

Among the various profile models, there are those that are distinguished by higher burglary resistance. This property, for example, is available in variants with a mounting depth of 70 mm or more. Frames and sashes with steel reinforcement also provide good protection against theft. Such multi-chamber, reliable double-glazed windows have other advantages compared to conventional profiles:

retain heat better;
have higher wear resistance;
differ in rigidity.

High-quality anti-burglary systems have no disadvantages. When choosing windows equipped with tamper-evident protection, it is important to pay attention to the quality of the plastic. Remember: a fake will not provide the properties that manufacturers guarantee.

How to buy quality film?

In order not to doubt the quality of the film, you need to take into account several nuances. First, you should look at the store's assortment. After choosing a film, you should make sure that the brand actually produces such film. If you wish, you can check with the manufacturer whether the seller is its official supplier. Then the technology is as follows:

in the store they ask for a certificate of quality and compliance with established regulations;
review the packaging, comparing it with the one presented on the manufacturer’s website;
clarify the degree of transparency;
select the desired effect;
choose the desired shade and texture.

It is worth paying attention to the packaging. A high-quality product does not have tears, torn edges or a yellowish background. This indicates low quality and an obvious fake. Any change in the logo on the marking also indicates counterfeit. As a rule, such films have poor quality and non-uniform deposition. In addition, quality products are not sold on sale at a discount. This is nothing more than a cunning move to sell a slow-selling product.

It is also worth paying attention to the moment when one of the materials is present in small quantities on the shelf. This is not at all a sign of quality and demand. This is how the buyer is forced to buy something that is not in demand.

You can distinguish the heat-protective coating using a regular lighter. This will allow you to understand how well the material matches the dried effect. When you bring a lighter to a coated glass unit, you can see:

4 flame reflections (2 closer and 2 nearby);
1,2,4 flame reflections will have a natural tone;
The 3rd reflection (farthest) will glow pinkish-red. It is the reflection in red that indicates the energy-saving effect of the coating.

Triple glass windows

Double-glazed windows with triplex also provide additional protection against thieves and are often used in country houses or private homes. Triplex allows you to provide protection against the penetration of thieves through light openings. They are made of two full-fledged durable glasses with a special elastic layer, which complicates the process of breaking the glass.

The soft layer inside the triplex gives the product other attractive properties:

Provide additional protection for children's safety.
Increases the level of sound and thermal insulation of the room.

The only drawback of triplex windows is that they are heavier. Knowing this, experienced manufacturers, complete with triple glazing, use reinforced hinges that securely hold the sashes.

How to close windows from prying eyes: not the best options

Residents of apartments located on the ground floor usually use curtains to protect them from the eyes of passersby. But if you curtain the windows with thick curtains during the daytime, the room will become dark. This option is suitable for night protection. And if you consider that curtains on the first floor collect dust, the rationality of their use is called into question.

Not the most successful way to protect yourself from the eyes of passers-by and neighbors is to tint the windows. Even by darkening a separate part of the glass, the room will become too dark and residents are unlikely to appreciate this effect.

It is also hardly worth filling the inside of the window sills with various toys, flowers and other elements. This does not look very neat and creates a corresponding impression on the residents.

Additional anti-burglary fittings

One of the most convenient moments for intruders is the time to ventilate the room. In the summer, owners often leave windows on ventilation mode, which allows thieves to quickly open the window and enter the apartment.

To protect the room from burglary in this case, it is necessary to equip the windows with an air microcirculation system. Specialists can do this in two ways: by embedding special ventilation valves into the profile itself or by equipping the window with a micro-slit ventilation system. Any of these methods will ensure good circulation in the room without opening the doors.

Another way to protect plastic windows from opening during ventilation is to equip the windows with an electric drive.

Minimize all windows in windows 7

By default, in Windows 7 there is no “Collapse all windows” icon in its usual place, and this sometimes causes some inconvenience for some people. How can I return the “Collapse all windows” icon to its usual place?

To begin with, I would like to note that the “Minimize all windows” function is still available in Windows 7 - these are the same hot keys Win + D, as well as an inconspicuous button in the lower right corner of the screen.

But if you want to have it in a familiar place and in a familiar form. How to do it?

Right-click on the desktop and in the context menu that opens, select New->Shortcut

In the window that opens, in the “Specify the location of the object” field, enter the following line:

C:windowsexplorer.exe shell:::{3080F90D-D7AD-11D9-BD98-0000947B0257}

Click Next, enter a name for the shortcut, such as “Minimize all windows,” and the “Done” button.

Now, for greater effect, we can change the label image. Go to the shortcut properties, open the “Shortcut” tab and click the “Change icon” button, where we select an image familiar to our eyes.

That's it, our label has acquired the shape we need. Now we can pin it to the taskbar in the desired location.

ITfound.ru

Other protection measures

To protect your home from thieves, you can use other measures. Some of them will be cheaper:

Signaling. Window sensors are very popular today because they provide reliable protection from burglars. You can find systems on sale at quite attractive prices.
Protective film on glass. This measure will make it more difficult to break the window and will also be inexpensive. It is worth noting that for a low price you can purchase material that can protect glass even from a traumatic pistol bullet. If you need to not only strengthen the window, but also protect your apartment from the prying glances of passers-by, you can choose a mirror version of the film. Aesthetes will highly appreciate film with a pattern.
Locks on profiles. Another budget option is locks on plastic windows to prevent thieves. They are a mechanism that is installed indoors and does not allow the doors to open. This lock is inexpensive. You can find several types of locks on sale: latches, latches, chains, etc.
Sliding bars for the inside of the window. They can be removed during the day and moved apart at night. This will allow the apartment owners to feel safe.

Experts recommend resorting to comprehensive window protection measures, using several strengthening measures at once. Of course, this will require some costs. But the investment will be worth it, since the damage from burglary and robbery will be many times greater than these costs.

Website www.sympaty.net – Beautiful and Successful. Author: Elena Burenyuk. Learn more about the site's authors.

Mirror film

A special film with a one-way visibility effect is a modern solution that protects from views, only slightly reducing the illumination of the room. By pasting the material on the window, you will see everything that happens outside, and passers-by will only see the street and their reflection.

The film only works during the day and when the light in the room is turned on, it becomes transparent, so it requires additional decor in the form of curtains.

The mirror surface reflects the sun's rays, which will be a salvation from the heat in the summer. Another plus is the protective function. Even if the glass breaks, it will remain in the frame.

Each of the options presented will protect your privacy from prying eyes and provide peace of mind. The choice of suitable material depends not only on individual preferences, but also on the style of the interior.