Advice Home alarm systems

[old.user4556]

I will move into a new build by the end of the year and I'm currently compiling a list of costs.

One of the things i'm scratching my head on is a home alarm system - there are two options available that the builder can do:

- an industry approved "bells only" system for £770
- an industry approved bells and connection to monitoring company system for about £880

I imagine that there will be cheaper third party options available to me once I move in, but the primary benefit is that the hard wiring is done at build stage so it'll be a nice and clean install.

What's the point in an alarm system? Let's assume you get the "bells only" install, it might perturb some intruders but if someone wants to nick your TV and HiFi then they're going to do it anyway. I ignore the sound of a home alarm system if one goes off nearby, so the only benefit I can think of is if you get a substantial discount on your home insurance. I had a look online and saw some chat about insurers will only discount your insurance under strict criteria such as a) you have the alarm activated any time you were out / in bed or risk invalidating your insurance and b) you need to get it checked / serviced every year which negated the discount by the insurer. Then there are ADT alarms - nevermind the cost of the fitting, but over £20 per month for monitoring / police response? Sheesh!

Throw some counter arguments at me, I can't seem to get my head around the fact you pay for house insurance which will replace a certain number of items up to a certain cost should someone break in. Paying for an alarm system, then a monthly monitoring fee, seems rather unnecessary for the sake of a couple of sofas, a flatscreen TV, a HiFi and a couple of tables and chairs (all of which, the insurance would cover).

So what gives?

 

[Scouse]

What's the point in an alarm system?

None. Unless you like to annoy your neighbours.

Apparently they're no more effective than fake alarm boxes on the front wall of your house. You don't need a working system - when alarms go off, nobody cares anyway.

A mate of mine was burgled, alarm going off all the time. The thief made himself beans on toast and watched a bit of a DVD before helping himself to some goodies. The neighbours were in.

But the chances of getting burgled are low m8. Just make sure you've got proper insurance with a reputable company - save your cash for something worth burgling

 

[old.user4556]

Makes sense, I've just been reading that fake alarm boxes can be more of a deterrent because no noise goes off, so it's more risky to a potential intruder as they don't know if it's silent or someone is actually in. A thief triggering an actual alarm and no one showing up to investigate the noise seems to be a preferred tactic.

 

[Tom]

Depends. I have an alarm, but it's for my piece of mind. It won't stop anyone breaking in, but it might make them think twice. And let's face it, if you're friendly with your neighbours and they notice a big Transit van parked outside your door while the alarm is going mental, they'll check it out.

A burglar inside a house with an alarm going off isn't going to hang around - he'll grab what he can and scarper. If there's no alarm, he'll have more time to look around. There's also the fact that you can set your alarm when you go to bed, which gives you an instant headsup the minute anyone breaks in downstairs. And you can also connect smoke detectors to your alarm system, which is a huge bonus.

Alarms don't have to cost much. I reckon mine was only a couple of hundred, me and a mate wired it up. Works fine.

 

[old.user4556]

I think £700+ from the builder is a joke. Seem to be plenty wireless options now so wiring does not appear to be the ballache it once was.

 

[Scouse]

A burglar inside a house with an alarm going off isn't going to hang around

See my first post...

 

[Tom]

Well at the end of the day, a house with an alarm is absolutely less likely to be burgled than a house with no alarm.

Thieves will always go for the easier target.

 

[Moriath]

Well at the end of the day, a house with an alarm is absolutely less likely to be burgled than a house with no alarm.

Thieves will always go for the easier target.

Your advertising that you have something worth protecting. Otherwise there are enough houses without alarms that houses with should never get burgled using your logic.

 

[old.Tohtori]

I wouldn't look at it from an "i might lose a tv" way, but an "i might lose a daughter/wife" way.

Worse things then burglars out there.

Then again, big ass guard dog deters even the cheekiest burglar

 

[ECA]

Just get a big beware of the dog sign.
No dog needed.

 

[DaGaffer]

No deterrent value whatsoever, and yes, they can be incredibly annoying (our nextdoor neighbour actually gave us the code to turn it off, it went off so much), but, it does bring your insurance premiums down, so there's the cost-benefit calculation.

 

[CorNokZ]

Just get a big beware of the dog sign.
No dog needed.

And a sensor, front and back, wired up to some speakers that will play loud vicious dog barks.

 

[caLLous]

Protect the lightbulbs!

 

[Tom]

Your advertising that you have something worth protecting. Otherwise there are enough houses without alarms that houses with should never get burgled using your logic.

Logic appears to be a quality you lack.

 

[Raven]

They are just a pain in the arse unless linked to a monitoring station, neither will stop a quick in and out thief though. Nobody does anything if an alarm goes off really - usually most people are out anyway as it is usually during the day and opportunist, a window open etc. And with police response time being what it is they aren't really worth it. Better than nothing ofc but meh.

You could also get yourself some internal and external webcams so at least the police have a chance of catching them (and maybe recovering your stuff) afterwards. You can get the base unit and cams fairly cheap these days. You can connect via your phone and watch your stuff being nicked in HD too. Obvious cams are probably more a deterrent than a box on the front of your house.

 

[Mabs]

only other thing to add is, it means youve got something work nicking so might make you more likely to get robbed

 

[soze]

Peace of Mind would be the only reason. I don't think I would care if I got burgled while I was out, but I did like the turning turning the Alarm on when we went to bed. Knowing if someone opens a door or window downstairs I am going to get woken up always gave me a sense of peace.

 

[DaGaffer]

Peace of Mind would be the only reason. I don't think I would care if I got burgled while I was out, but I did like the turning turning the Alarm on when we went to bed. Knowing if someone opens a door or window downstairs I am going to get woken up always gave me a sense of peace.

Never turn ours on when we're in. With two young kids its a recipe for disaster. Plus, baseball bat under the bed.

 

[soze]

Never turn ours on when we're in. With two young kids its a recipe for disaster. Plus, baseball bat under the bed.

I have the Mag Lite and the Bat for self defense but I am a heavy sleeper and the ex was constantly waking me up because she heard a noise. The one time she went to check out a noise she saw some trainers jumping over the back fence with her handbag. So the Alarm just made for better sleep. In a new build I would get one, I would not fit another after market one though.

 

[DaGaffer]

I have the Mag Lite and the Bat for self defense but I am a heavy sleeper and the ex was constantly waking me up because she heard a noise. The one time she went to check out a noise she saw some trainers jumping over the back fence with her handbag. So the Alarm just made for better sleep. In a new build I would get one, I would not fit another after market one though.

Only time I've ever been burgled was in broad daylight, and my housemate was sat in the garden smoking and playing on his DS.

 

[Gwadien]

There was a wave of burglaries around mine - the houses have the living room off to the hallway (as opposed to older houses where the front door goes straight into a heavily used room), so people were literally walking into peoples houses, stopped, waited to see where people were in the house, went to the empty rooms and stole shit, and walked out, and just literally had a van going from house to house down a road rinse repeating.

 

[Raven]

There were a few break ins a couple of weeks ago near me. Never happens.

Odd that a "family" of gypsies had parked up less than a mile up the road at the time.

 

[DaGaffer]

There was a wave of burglaries around mine - the houses have the living room off to the hallway (as opposed to older houses where the front door goes straight into a heavily used room), so people were literally walking into peoples houses, stopped, waited to see where people were in the house, went to the empty rooms and stole shit, and walked out, and just literally had a van going from house to house down a road rinse repeating.

Same as the layout of my house in Shepherd's Bush. They grabbed stuff in reach, mainly consoles, but left big stuff like the flatscreen alone.

 

[soze]

Mine was a smash and grab not a break in. Garages round the back of the houses so a nice dark alley behind your house. Something nice and shiny left in full view and it was just a case of broken windows on door, door open handbag grabbed and back over then fence.

 

[Cadelin]

Interesting, I was looking at moving to a new build. We were told that the wiring for the alarm is done regardless of if you order it or not and that you could get it fitted by an external contractor significantly cheaper. I don't know if that is the case of all new builds or just the fact that the new builds I was looking at had already got past a certain point in the build process.

 

[Tom]

Never turn ours on when we're in. With two young kids its a recipe for disaster. Plus, baseball bat under the bed.

If you ever use it, be prepared to end up in prison. It sucks but that's the law.

 

[DaGaffer]

If you ever use it, be prepared to end up in prison. It sucks but that's the law.

Not in Ireland it isn't... (or not quite anyway).

 

[Raven]

Nor in the UK if its reasonable force.

Ie, don't club someone to death with it.

 

[DaGaffer]

To be honest the actual law in Ireland is pretty similar to the UK, but the outcome of case law has been a bit different, mainly because of all the so-called "Tiger" kidnappings, people generally have more leeway when fighting off intruders.

 

[Tom]

If you have a fireplace in your bedroom, some of those nice wrought iron fireplace tools look very pretty. Especially the wrought iron poker.