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Post by tod2 on May 11, 2021 11:29:31 GMT
I'm a little disconcerted by all the comments bemoaning the necessity of/my wanting to have security grates. To me they are a form of insurance. The hope is that you never need it, but you can sleep soundly knowing you have it. Anyway, I think they're pretty & sort of complete the house. The idea of security gates is very relevant here in South Africa. My son is having bespoke security gates made for the staircase to the bedrooms. We don't know quite where it will be positioned yet. Front hallway and stairs. 
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Post by onlyMark on May 11, 2021 11:49:27 GMT
Not only are they a form of insurance, as I have stated with those at our place in Spain, without them you can't get insurance.
When viewed just as a photo from a long way away they are obvious, but when living with them as we do in Spain for months at a time, they fade away to not be noticeable, depending on the colour. There are houses where they've been made a feature, which is fine for those people, but ours are more muted.
When I've been by myself and knowing the nearest 'help' is two km away, and I have seen people in the night up and down our track, they are a reassurance.
In Zambia we were in a bungalow and the rear of the house, on a corridor, was where the bedrooms were. That part of the house had grills and there was a security door between the living room/kitchen area and the back - we closed and locked that every night.
I Amman we lived in two apartments, the first on the floor above the ground floor and that had full grills. The second was on the fifth floor and we just needed a front security door. Both places in Egypt had grills and in Bosnia, second floor, no grills except, what is a renting/selling feature on all properties, a heavy front security door.
In Germany, nothing. Normal doors and windows.
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Post by fumobici on May 11, 2021 14:51:41 GMT
Sorry about mentioning the grates then, other than to say how attractive they are. The first time I saw these in abundance was in a pretty scary neighborhood in South Pheonix, AZ back in the late eighties and I have ever since associated them with urban hellscapes. In Italy you see a lot of these on windows on old buildings but they are both usually beautifully-made and obviously ancient. They would probably cost more today than whatever you are guarding inside.
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Post by bjd on May 11, 2021 15:33:42 GMT
French houses traditionally have shutters on the windows. On windows where no shutters are possible, like small windows for a toilet or bathroom, there are often grates.
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Post by tod2 on May 11, 2021 15:39:38 GMT
No need to apologise Fumobici, we all encounter different forms of security in different parts of the world.
Mark - you mentioned Germany. That was one of the first shocks we got as South Africans when we visited a factory owner at his house near the Black Forest some 40 years ago. When we arrived he unlocked a huge security gate and at that time South Africa hadn't entered the security world. I asked him why the gates and he said to protect from intruders. Intruders? What Intruders? This is Germany!
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Post by kerouac2 on May 11, 2021 15:55:01 GMT
In Paris, many but not all ground floor windows have grates on them. It just takes one time to decide that you need them.
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Post by onlyMark on May 11, 2021 16:51:32 GMT
Tod, security then and now is still a big thing. Anywhere remote or worth burgling has security, both covert and overt. Normal residences have little other than the great difficulty you have and the noise it would make to break in through German engineered doors and windows. Plus, home invasions are not a thing nor is normally car thefts whereby someone waits for your gate to roll back and runs in, or the opposite when you are followed home.
Most cars for example as you've seen, are just parked on the driveway or on the street.
The level of those sorts of crimes tapers off the closer in wealth the social classes are anyway.
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Post by lugg on May 11, 2021 20:01:34 GMT
Wow Bixa - what a transformation. It looks really lovely.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 12, 2021 2:59:02 GMT
Hi ho, Lugg ~ thank you & I hope I didn't intimidate you out of saying what you really think.  Ditto to the rest of you. I wasn't complaining so much as completely taken aback that security bars in general were viewed so negatively. even though I’ve been there, much of the area behind the house still remains a mystery to me Htmb, think "bomb site", at least for the side yard. When you were here, access to that was blocked off by the pile of blocks at the end of my patio, but it could be viewed from the kitchen window. In my opinion the other house on this property should have access to that yard, but no -- it's for the exclusive use of the landlords so they can pass to their two (2) storage sheds and to their goofy cistern. There is a great deal of hoja santa/root beer plant growing out there. This is a tall and rampant plant. Every once in a while the landlords come hack at it and leave all the cut stalks to rot on the ground. After the kitchen annex was finished, all of that was cleared away along with the construction debris. But much of the debris was left in the cistern and that cement & plaster contaminated water was thrown out into the yard when the landlady & I cleaned the cistern. So now, until the hoja santa grows back, it's a bleak empty space with dead white ground. Nice, huh? My son is having bespoke security gates made for the staircase to the bedrooms. Gosh, Tod! I have often read your accounts of intruders on the property, but did not realize that it had gotten to the point that interior security gates were needed. Whatever it takes to sleep calmly, though. When I've been by myself and knowing the nearest 'help' is two km away, and I have seen people in the night up and down our track, they are a reassurance. Exactly. I want to sleep the night away and not be semi-alert and thinking "what was that?" about every little noise. Sorry about mentioning the grates then, other than to say how attractive they are. The first time I saw these in abundance was in a pretty scary neighborhood in South Pheonix, AZ back in the late eighties and I have ever since associated them with urban hellscapes. Please don't be sorry, Fumobici. As I said, I had no idea there was so much negative connotation connected to security grates. When I lived in New Orleans, they were extremely common everywhere & I've taken them for granted ever since. French houses traditionally have shutters on the windows. On windows where no shutters are possible, like small windows for a toilet or bathroom, there are often grates. A lot of older New Orleans houses had those big shutters & the cops said they were extremely effective. They're not that great, though, when you want to have the windows open to the breeze. It just takes one time to decide that you need them. Exactly! |
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Post by tod2 on May 12, 2021 10:47:55 GMT
Gosh, Tod! I have often read your accounts of intruders on the property, but did not realize that it had gotten to the point that interior security gates were needed. Whatever it takes to sleep calmly, though. Oh yes indeed Bixa. Armed gun toting burglars are appearing more and more during the day and as early as 10am. A new ruse is to dress as officials wanting to come and check on some municipal pretense but no-one I know lets them get a foot in the door. Now, apart from my easily leaped over fence railing and large automatic gate, I have no defence but to lock myself inside the house and that's not going to happen. For the nights we still have our two systems of "seeing eyes" which buzz when the beam is interrupted. This only allows us to peek through the windows and see who is there. If an intruder is spotted we can immediately press the "panic button" which alerts the security company to come to our aid. Of course this takes time but at least we know help is on the way. As of yesterday we had the security camera guy come and look at the different areas around the house and how many cameras we will need for surveillance. This is going to be a major step in being able to see who or how many intruders are trying to gain access. All very hi-tech these days but guess what.....the most effective deterrent of all is our staffie! She has hearing second to none and barks when hearing odd noises. Has her own little bed in our bedroom of late as nights are cold now, but in summer sleeps right outside our exterior bedroom door. The internal door is locked so you would have to bash the door down to get to us. Not being able to see how big the dog is helps. Most burglars are terrified of dogs so may back off especially if they cannot feed the dog poisoned meat. |
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Post by bixaorellana on May 12, 2021 14:50:55 GMT
What a way to have to live, Tod! Any idea why the crime situation has gotten so bad? my easily leaped over fence railing Would electric wire be an idea for that area? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_fence |
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Post by tod2 on May 12, 2021 16:24:40 GMT
Bixa to answer your question: Yes it is bad Bixa, but I would rather live here than in Johannesburg for instance. You must also take into the picture is that the law can't cope. There are more thugs than cops. Plus of course the corrupt cops.... I don't think this is an Africa only scenario.
About electric wire: Many many houses have electric fencing. I often see gaps in the surround that makes the fencing obsolete. Also it is not a sure fire safe guard. Burglars have cunning ways to avoid being electrocuted.
About why the situation has got bad - it's always been bad but the influx of citizens from up north have taken many many jobs from the locals. Why? Simply because they are better than what we have here. Better educated, and more intelligent and hard working. Simple as that.
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Post by htmb on May 12, 2021 17:30:53 GMT
Of course, I’m thinking, the idea is to make our homes look as forbidding as possible to encourage lazy thieves to move on to somewhere that might look like an easier job. Here I do have a monitored intrusion and fire alarm system with posted signs alerting anyone interested in breaking in. I live on a very busy street, but have never had a problem, to my knowledge. And, knowing I have a system in place, I do sleep better at night. I guess the thing that concerns me about the bars is the fact that, while you’re keeping someone out, you’re also locking yourself in. Hopefully there are plans in place to allow you an escape in case of fire or smoke.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 12, 2021 18:04:27 GMT
That's a grim situation, Tod. I'm sure you're right that professional burglars know lots of tricks to get around security. I guess the thing that concerns me about the bars is the fact that, while you’re keeping someone out, you’re also locking yourself in. Hopefully there are plans in place to allow you an escape in case of fire or smoke. You are absolutely right about that, Htmb! I lived in a subdivision in the US & a few times went house to house canvassing or delivering flyers. I was absolutely appalled at how many people couldn't open their front doors right away because they didn't know where the keys were. That is almost criminally negligent, especially if there are children in the house. It is not a consideration where I live now, since everything is made of block. I do leave the keys in the door when I lock up at night, in the slim hope I could get myself outside and not crushed in the event of an earthquake. |
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Post by kerouac2 on May 14, 2021 14:44:43 GMT
I also have always left my keys in the door inside, and lately it has been a godsend for never forgetting my mask because I hang my mask on the keys and can no longer forget it. It beats the early days when I would step outside and realise that everybody was wearing a mask except me, and I had to run back up three flights of stairs to get mine.
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