Your Home security Philippines is another big subject you need to consider about your house design. I covered a thought process in the previous articles regarding buying or building a house in the Philippines. Then I covered why building your home in the Philippines does need a good architect and contractor if you want value for money.
I mentioned in my previous articles that I have watched hours of videos on YouTube covering ex-pats who have retired to the Philippines and have built their own homes.
During watching, I focused on several areas that I will talk about now and the following articles.
Home Security
Americans are certainly the worst for this. I think the reason for most of this is that American ex-pats cannot protect themselves in the Philippines with firearms unlike back in the USA.
Only citizens in the Philippines are allowed to own a gun, so unless you want your Filipina to stand between you and the bad guy, you need another plan.
Most of the videos I have seen show that the typical ex-pat wants to be built a two-metre-high wall with solid metal gates and then. Then just to add that extra bit of security, some glass or barbwire on top of the wall.
Once the wall has been built, you will watch them cover every window in steel bars. I watched one ex-pat do this to the point that they could not properly open the nice new windows. The crazy part of this was that if anyone wanted to get into the house, they just needed to break the glass in the door.
We have a phrase in the UK “Curiosity killed the cat.”
First of all, if you build a tall wall with solid gates and barbed wire or glass on top, all you have done is advertise to local criminals you have something valuable to protect.
It has cost you over a million peso to get your wall and gate built. Although several pesos on a ladder will breach it. Think about it! You have moved to a beautiful country to enjoy the culture and the scenery.
Don’t waste money on putting yourself behind a prison wall.
Next, are the bars on the windows. This again has the same effect as a giant concrete wall but could have disastrous consequences.
Locking yourself in a house with bars on the windows will kill you. If there is a fire and you can not get to the door you die.
Unless you are the president of a small nation or an “A-List” superstar. There is no need for the big wall or the risky window bars. If someone wants to get into your house, then these will not stop them.
Good quality windows and doors are enough to slow down a criminal but still won’t stop them. What will stop them is lights and sirens coming on, followed by the sight of movement inside the house.
You will never stop a highly motivated criminal you can only slow them down. You need to figure out how much you need to slow them down to give you the time to get help and get you and your family safe.
Safe rooms
For me, I would want as much notice there is an intruder as possible. Modern security systems and cameras are more than up to the task. Cameras or Infra-Red detectors at your boundary are excellent in letting you know there is movement on your land.
Then with the correct cameras watching the outside of the house. Along with sensors on the doors and windows will give you the time you need to call the police and get yourself safe.
In South Africa, friends of mine designed their house so that one corridor led to all the bedrooms. A steel gate was closed at night that could only be opened from the bedroom side or keycode on the house side.
This created a safe part of the house for the family. If someone did break into the house, they were all safe on the other side of a steel gate.
As I am designing a house from the ground up, I will integrate all the home security features I need. Incorporation of a well hidden safe room included. With only the family knowing how to access it. See my boards in Pinterest for examples.
The house from the outside will look nice but not palatial or extravagant. This will prevent a lot of the “I wonder what he is protecting?” thoughts. A similar concept to hiding something in plain sight. This is one easy home security in the Philippines concept.
Of course, all of this required you to have a secure power supply. It would not take a mater criminal to figure out that no power equals no cameras.
Windows and Doors
I have given a lot of thought to home security in the Philippines in relation to window and door security. You already know you can get the sensors that will not only detect if the window or door opens but also the sensors that can sense breaking glass. Modern sensors are not expensive and do not need miles of cables.
I have talked before about the extreme weather in relation to super typhoons. Doors and windows do not like the pressures that extreme storms can place upon them. Should one of them blow in, the surge of pressure entering your home could be enough to lift your roof.
Along with the pressure of wind on your doors and windows, there is also the risk of flying debris.
So as part of my house design and taking into consideration the weather and security of the house. When we are away on holiday all the doors and windows will have steel shutters that can be lowered and locked. Thus protecting from bad guys and also flying debris during the annual storms.
Just remember home security in the Philippines is necessary but has to be proportionate.