ᐅ New Construction Security Options for Windows and Front Doors

Are there actually exterior paints and roof shingles that show aging? Something like "designed to look worn" or "intentionally weathered"?

netuser schrieb:

Still, NO ONE from the neighborhood heard or saw anything 🙁

There are neighborhoods where work is often being done, so noise might really just blend into the background during the daytime.
In that case, the complete lack of visibility on the property might need to be reconsidered.

Tassimat schrieb:

Oh, I find that a bold statement: (armed) robbery is punished much more harshly than burglary.
I sincerely hope that both society and criminals still have enough "decency" to break in only when no one is home, instead of just ringing the doorbell and overwhelming the unsuspecting occupants.

That’s clear, but both concern property.
What I meant was that burglary is - rightly - punished severely, but various offenses of bodily harm often are not. If someone hits me with a club or chain, stabs me in the thigh or even the abdomen without provable intent to kill, the punishment is generally much lighter.

Tassimat schrieb:

I sincerely hope that both society and criminals still have enough "decency" to break in only when no one is home, instead of just ringing the doorbell and overwhelming the unsuspecting occupants.

Mostly, burglars break in when the occupants are away, and escape via a planned route if someone comes home. However, the unpleasant feeling of having one’s privacy invaded usually remains afterward.

netuser schrieb:

Good question, Tassimat.
Just recently in a circle of friends: On the afternoon of Christmas Day (presumably still daylight), in the middle of a “busy” residential neighborhood, a break-in occurred at a three-year-old house. They do not seem to have been professionals, as they tried to get in on the easily visible terrace. Several attempts were made at the large window, then they moved on to the patio door. There are 18 (!) pry-bar marks where they tried to lever or force the door open, but in the end the triple-glazed glass had to be broken.
This is totally atypical for the method, probably took some time and must have been quite noisy. Yet NO ONE in the neighborhood heard or saw anything 🙁

Let’s hope the friends can come to terms with this. Among acquaintances, a large safe was cut open and welded in a store on the pedestrian street during the night, and absolutely no one reported anything. Unfortunately, this was already happening before airtight houses became common.

pagoni2020 schrieb:

at night, a large safe was cut open and welded back together in a shop on the pedestrian street

My first question would be whether anyone still lives there at all? And second, how loud is it really? Okay, you’d probably hear the angle grinder, but a welding machine? Can you hear that through two walls?

I would definitely look out the window if someone was cutting metal at night... And if it’s in a shop, I would definitely call the police.

Tolentino schrieb:

There are also neighborhoods where people often do DIY work, so the noise might really be more of a background thing, especially during the day.

In this case, it actually happened on Christmas Day. Friends had gone to visit relatives in the afternoon for a few hours (2–6 p.m.), and the break-in occurred during that time.
We are simply outraged by the sheer audacity, since the break-in area is currently very exposed and clearly visible from all the surrounding houses. It’s unbelievable that the burglars dared to work there for so long and presumably loudly, unloading the house. In this case, not much valuable was taken; even perfume (high-end but already opened/used) was stolen. Strange.
The residents are obviously affected by this and have been waiting for two months now for the replacement patio door and window repair. 🙁

Yes, the psychological impact is definitely much more significant.
Some friends of mine lived in a ground-floor rental apartment with a terrace overlooking the courtyard and left the terrace door slightly open in the summer.
The next morning, they only realized that someone had apparently entered through the door and then ran off. The damage was minimal (I think just a tablet?), but the feeling afterward was terrible!

Christmas Day is usually a day when many people aren’t at home. From the description, it really sounds like opportunistic burglars. First, they had no idea what they were doing, and second, there wasn’t much to steal.
Maybe they were even teenagers from the neighborhood?
They probably also used to knock over the portable toilet from the company at my place. Now I’ve ordered a toilet box for it. I secured it with ratchet straps. So far, it’s still standing...

Tolentino schrieb:

Are there actually façade paints and roof shingles that show signs of aging? Like following the motto “looking like nothing at all”?

Exactly. And matching that, the “homeless look” for homeowners—although that has already changed somewhat, when otherwise neat managers want to appear as “dirty boys” in private. There’s even that embarrassing picture of our former foreign minister 😀.
There are senseless break-ins into kindergartens, schools, churches, musty basements... just everything, and many of these break-ins are completely pointless, so relying solely on one’s own reasoning does not necessarily lead to the desired success.

Tolentino schrieb:

My first question would be whether anyone even still lives there? And second, how loud is it really? Okay, you might hear an angle grinder, but something like a welding machine—is that audible through two house walls?

At night, you really hear everything, much more noticeably than during the day. It was such a big operation—the welding even visible from outside, the angle grinder screeching right in your ears. You have to be pretty bold as a burglar. It’s actually surprising that such loud break-ins or burglars aren’t reported more often during their activity. Maybe it’s also because many walkers have headphones on 😀 😀 😀

Tolentino schrieb:

I would definitely look out the window if someone were using an angle grinder at night... and if that happened in a store, I would certainly call the police.

So the best measure would be to clone you and position you in every neighborhood. Jokes aside, perhaps it’s at least partly because people nowadays live more self-centered lives and community spirit has declined.
More technology, more self-armament, etc., certainly do not lead to lasting success. Just like elsewhere, there is no perfect solution; every situation is different and each person affected experiences it differently.