Five projects you can do in less than an
hour each to make your home safer and more secure.
by
Jeff
Gorton
Click Image to enlarge.
Making your home safer
doesn’t have to mean building a fire-proof fortress or installing a
top-dollar security system. In fact, simple do-it-yourself measures are often
the most effective. In this article, we’ve assembled five projects that
cost $10 to $40 and take less than an hour apiece to do. These improvements
will help protect you and your family from some of the most dangerous and
easily preventable threats: fire, theft, electrical shock and lead poisoning.
None requires expensive tools or special skills, and all will add an extra
measure of safety or security to your home.
1 Reinforce your strike plate
Most burglars lack finesse—and patience. If they
can’t get in quickly by kicking in the door, they’ll leave and try
an easier house. Reinforcing a door’s weak spot, the jamb, with a
heavy-duty strike plate and extra-long screws is a quick, inexpensive strategy
to send burglars on their way.
Home centers, hardware stores and locksmiths all have a
variety of strike plate–reinforcing hardware available ($5 to $10) that
should include extra-long screws to anchor both the plate and the jamb to the
door framing. Our hardware is unique in having a built-in steel deadbolt pocket
with screw holes in the bottom for extra anchoring.
If the deadbolts on your doors were installed in the last
10 years, they are probably already reinforced. To find out, remove your strike
plate. If the strike plate is heavy steel and secured with extra long screws
(at least 2-1/2 in.) or has a heavy reinforcing plate under it that’s
anchored to the framing with heavy screws, there’s no reason to add more
reinforcement. Otherwise, follow the steps in
Photos 1 – to install a new reinforced
strike.
You’ll need a utility knife, screwdriver, sharp
chisel and drill. We used a 7/8-in. spade bit to remove excess wood in the
strike area and reduce the chiseling required (Photo 3). You’ll also need a 1/8-in. bit
to drill pilot holes for the screws.
Install a heavy-duty strike plate on your garage service
door too. This is another prime target for burglars.
Click Image to enlarge.
1 REMOVE your old strike plate and mark the
centers of the old width and height onto the door jamb.
2 CENTER the new strike plate on the marks on the
jamb. Temporarily screw the plate to the jamb with 1-1/4 in. drywall screws.
Score the plate profile with a sharp utility knife. Cut about 1/8 in. deep,
stopping at the corners.
Click Image to enlarge.
3 REMOVE excess wood in the area between the
scored lines with a 7/8-in. spade bit driven to the thickness of the strike
plate. Remove the remaining wood to the same depth with a sharp
chisel.
4 FIT the reinforcing strike plate into the
mortise. Adjust the depth by chiseling out more wood or adding paper shims if
necessary for a flush fit. Screw the strike plate to the framing with
extra-long screws.
Tip
If you chisel the strike plate mortise
too deep, cut strips of thin cardboard to shim the strike plate
flush.
2 Replace old direct-wired smoke
detectors
Since the early ’70s, direct-wired (AC powered)
smoke detectors have been required in all new homes. Most of these are still in
service, but new research shows that smoke detectors more than 10 years old
should be replaced, whether they’re direct wired or battery operated. The
printed circuit boards and other sensitive electronic parts on these old alarms
wear out and can fail after 10 years. Also, paint and accumulated dust and
grease can interfere with the sensor. If your house is more than 10 years old,
it’s a pretty safe bet that your smoke detectors are also that old and
should be replaced. To check, locate the code number printed on or near the
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) label and call the manufacturer. To find out if
your smoke detector is direct wired, remove the cover to see if it’s
mounted to an electrical box.
You can buy new direct-wired smoke detectors for about $10
or $15 each and install them in less than 20 minutes. To replace your
direct-wired alarms, look for an AC-powered smoke alarm with a battery
backup.
Replacing direct-wired smoke detectors is no different
from replacing a light fixture, with one small twist. Many smoke detectors are
interconnected so that if one is set off, all the house’s interconnected
alarms sound. Interconnected alarms are easy to identify, since they have a
third colored wire in addition to the white neutral wire and the black hot wire
(Photo 3). Luckily, since almost all new
detectors are wired for solo or interconnected use, you can’t go wrong if
you simply connect the new alarm with the same number of wires as the one
you’re replacing.
You must,
however, replace all interconnected alarms at the same time with compatible
units from the same manufacturer.
To replace your smoke detector, follow the instructions in
the package and
Photos 1 – 4.
While you’re at it, install battery operated smoke
alarms in every sleeping room and in other areas of the house not protected by
direct wired alarms. Refer to the instructions included with the alarm for the
recommended number and placement of alarms.
Test all your smoke detectors weekly, or at least once a
month. Occasionally vacuum dust from your smoke alarms with a soft brush
attachment on your vacuum cleaner hose. Change the batteries annually. One good
way to remember is to do it every time you set your clocks back for daylight
savings time.
Electrical Power is OFF
Click Image to enlarge.
1 TURN OFF THE POWER at the main circuit panel and
unscrew the old smoke alarm. Touch the black hot wire and the white neutral
wire with the leads of a voltage tester to make sure the power is off. Then
disconnect or cut the wires.
2 CUT the bent ends from the wires. Then strip the
insulation from the ends of the wires (check the wire connector container for
the amount to strip off).
Click Image to enlarge.
3 SCREW the new smoke alarm mounting plate to the
electrical box through the slots in the plate. Then connect the smoke alarm
wires to the wires in the box with properly sized wire connectors. Connect the
white wire to the white wire and the black wire to the black wire. If your old
alarm was connected to a third colored wire, connect the third colored wire
from your new alarm to this wire. Otherwise cover the exposed end with
electrical tape.
4 PLUG the wires into the smoke alarm and connect
the alarm to the mounting plate according to the instructions included. Turn on
the power and push the test button to make sure it works.
3 Install GFCI outlets: cheap insurance
against deadly shock
GFCI outlets reduce the danger of deadly shock from faulty
plugin cords and devices. A GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) is a
special type of outlet that detects dangerous ground faults and immediately
turns off the power to stop shocks. For less than $10, you can replace almost
any electrical outlet with a GFCI outlet. Correctly wired GFCIs will also
protect other outlets on the same circuit.
While it’s common to find GFCI outlets in bathrooms
and kitchens, the electrical code also requires GFCIs in unfinished basements,
garages, most outdoor receptacles and places where construction activity
occurs. We’ll show you how to replace a standard duplex receptacle with a
GFCI and wire it to protect other outlets.
You’ll need a screwdriver, a wire cutting and
stripping tool, and an inexpensive voltage tester (see photo, far left). We also recommend you add
a GFCI tester to your tool drawer. GFCI testers (photo, right) are available at home centers and
hardware stores (about $10) and are a handy device for troubleshooting standard
outlets as well as GFCIs.
Required box size
To figure the minimum box size required
by the National Electrical Code, add:
1 - for each hot and neutral wire
entering the box
1 - for all of the ground wires
combined
1 - for all of the cable clamps combined
(if any)
2 - for each device (switch or
outlet—but not light fixtures)
Multiply the
total by 2 for 14-gauge wire and 2.25 for 12-gauge wire to get the minimum box
size required in cubic inches. Plastic boxes have their volume stamped inside.
Steel box capacities are listed in the electrical
code.
Before you start, locate the circuit breaker or fuse that
controls the outlet you plan to replace and shut off the power to the circuit.
Plug a lamp, radio or the GFCI tester into the outlet to test for power and
make sure it’s off. Then unscrew and pull out the old outlet and count
the number of wires in the box. Calculate the minimum box size required for all
of the wires plus the GFCI (see “Required Box Size,” p. 82). If the
existing box is large enough, follow the steps in
Photos 1 – 4 to replace the outlet with a
GFCI. Replace an undersized box with a new one of adequate
size.
Using a GFCI to protect additional outlets on the same
circuit breaker or fuse can be tricky. Don’t do it unless you know
exactly where the wires go. In the workshop, we had the advantage of being able
to visually trace the wires.
Test all the GFCIs in your house at least monthly by
pressing the test button or using your GFCI tester. If an outlet fails to trip,
replace it with a new one.
Click Image to enlarge.
1 TURN OFF the power at the main circuit panel and
remove the old outlet. Disconnect the wires by clipping them close to the
outlet.
2 STRIP the insulation from the wires to expose
the amount of wire shown on the stripping gauge located on the back of the
GFCI. Connect the hot and neutral wires that provide power to the
“line” terminals of the GFCI. The terminal for the neutral wire
will be marked “white” or “neutral.”
Click Image to enlarge.
3 REMOVE the tape covering the “load”
terminals and connect the wires leading to another outlet or outlets to these
terminals. Again, the white neutral terminal will be marked. Fold the wires
back into the box and screw on the GFCI and cover plate.
Click Image to enlarge.
4 ATTACH the “GFCI-protected outlet”
label to downstream outlets. Test the downstream outlet by plugging in the GFCI
tester and pressing the test button. The lights on the tester should go out.
Press the reset button on the GFCI to reenergize the outlet.
4 Test for lead dust
Lead poisoning in children is a serious national problem.
Children’s habit of putting their hands and everything else into their
mouths makes them especially likely to ingest lead. And because their
neurological systems are still developing, small amounts of lead are more
dangerous to them than to adults.
Any house built before 1978 may contain lead paint, and
older homes almost certainly do. Lead paint doesn’t present a hazard when
it’s covered and maintained. But renovation, sanding and scraping, or
just everyday wear and tear can expose lead paint and create dust and chips.
The sticky lead dust clings to surfaces where it can be picked up by an
unsuspecting toddler.
If your house is older and has undergone renovation or has
chipping or worn paint, you should test for the presence of lead
dust.
To test for lead dust, buy a test kit and send dust
samples to a lab for analysis. One brand of testing kit is available at some
hardware stores and home centers. You can also order a kit from one of the labs
listed at the end of this article, either by phone or on-line. Test kits cost
about $10 plus a lab fee of about $10 per sample. Follow the instructions
included with the kit to collect, label and mail the dust samples (Photos 1
and 2). You’ll have results in about a
week or two.
The lab report will list micrograms of lead per square
foot of area. The federal government has proposed recommended levels of less
than 40 micrograms of lead per square foot of floor and less than 250
micrograms per square foot of windowsill.
If the lab results show higher levels of lead, contact
your local health department for cleanup and control recommendations. Your
children should have their blood tested for dangerous levels of
lead.
Sources for lead test kits
HOMETEST.COM (formerly METS LAB): (800) 604-1995.
www.hometest.com
PROFESSIONAL
LABORATORIES: (800) 427-0550.
www.leadtestkit.com
1 WIPE a win-dowsill with the moistened paper
towel included in your lead-dust-wipe test kit. Follow the instructions to fold
the towel and wipe again. Then place the towel in the container provided and
label it. Measure the windowsill and note the measurements along with the
sample location and other requested information on the form
provided.
Click Image to enlarge.
2 TAPE off a 12-in. square of flooring and wipe
the area according to the instructions included in the test kit. Place the wipe
in the container provided and label it. Mail the samples along with other
requested information to the lab according to the instructions in the
kit.
5 Pin double-hung
windows
Double-hung windows (windows that slide up and down) are
notoriously easy to break into. Many double-hung window locks are easy to open
from the outside with a simple table knife, and the locks are held on with tiny
screws that pop right out when a pry bar is used to force open the
sash.
Pinning the upper and lower sash together is a quick,
inexpensive method to ensure that breaking the glass is the only way in. Most
robbers would rather not make that much noise. Drilling a second hole in the
top sash (Photo 2) allows you to leave the window ajar for
ventilation while maintaining security. We used a hinge pin, available at
hardware stores, but any solid nail, bolt or metal pin would work. Measure the
combined thickness of the two sashes and mark the drill bit with tape to keep
from drilling all the way through (Photo 2).
Drill the hole slightly larger than the pin for easier insertion and
removal.
Closed position
1 CLOSE and lock the window. Then drill a hole
through the top corner of the lower sash into the upper sash. The hole size
should match the diameter of your hinge pin.
Open position
2 RAISE the lower sash about 6
in. and drill a second hole into the upper sash.
Open position
3 SLIDE a pin through the
lower sash into the upper sash to lock the two together and prevent a forced
entry.
Art Direction •
BARBARA PEDERSON
Photography • BILL
ZUEHLKE
