Preventing Smash And Grab Entry - Smash Proof Glass

We have been extolling the virtues of Shatter-Gard window film products for a short time lately and are still conducting our own tests on this fabulous product.

Saf-Glas are a manufacturer of world leading modern polycarbonate glazing products that are so tough that they can virtually prevent any window from being smashed.

Window smashing is well known as one of the primary methods of entry in burglaries. There are a few manufacturers of products designed to reduce the likelihood of this security breach, one being ShatterGard, that we are proud to offer. But if you were to install these type of secure windows during construction of your buildings you will mitigate the potential for suffering a break in from this method, almost completely.

The video above is an excellent example of how and why polycarbonate glazing products are so good.

Many window manufacturers today build double glazed windows with an Argon gas layer between the frames. This is to reduce the heat or cold from getting in. But these windows need to be sealed correctly too. We receive a significant number of calls from people who need seals replaced because of moisture getting between the frames. We do not provide this service.

We also receive numerous leads from people who experience glass breakage due to a stone thrown from a lawnmower that breaks the sliding patio door window. We do not replace glass. Many customers think that replacing the glass in a sliding door is a simple and quick task. Unfortunately it is not, especially when you consider that most windows today are the Argon filled double glazed types. Most replacement windows require to be custom built to suit the application, hence why windows and frames can be quite expensive.

Consider installing polycarbonate glazing as an alternative to typical windows. It may be more expensive initially but in the long term you will save considerable pain and anguish let alone replacement window costs.

The tornado that hit parts of St Louis, Missouri at Easter last year, smashed many of the glass windows at St Louis Lambert International Airport, effectively closing down part of a terminal for close to 6 months. This could have been prevented if builders had used smash proof and tornado resistant polycarbonate glazing products as opposed to glass.

If only we could have the benefit of hindsight to give us 20/20 vision.

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Reinventing Neighborhood Watch

Village Defense, an Atlanta based startup have recently modernized the neighborhood watch program system, popularized at the end of the last century. Remember when we actually knew our neighbors well enough to watch for suspiscious activities in our neighborhoods and worked together to protect each other?

Well, Village Defense is the brainchild of Nathan Black, a Georgia Tech engineering graduate who straight out of school created his vision for modernizing the ages old Neighborhood Watch program that was so popular last century.

Simply put, Nathan devised a system that combines modern communications technology with concerned neighbors action. The system is designed so that if or when a neighborhood resident witnesses or hears a crime in progress, they first call 9-1-1 and then the Village Defense hotline. Village Defense then contact all neighbors in the program to inform them of the criminal activities using cell phones and email alerts.

Would you even know if a crime happened in your street? How do we find out about crimes in our neighborhoods? Usually it is through the local newspaper or police bulletins and quite often, at a significantly later date.

This kind of physical security product is an important weapon in defending our homes I think, because it immediately alerts us of criminal activity and can allow us to be better prepared to protect ourselves, no?

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Keyed Pocket Door Lock - To Be Recontinued

Our very popular Cowdroy P697 Keyed Pocket Door Lock has been selling like hotcakes. We recently revealed our discovery of 3 more units hidden in our inventory. We are down to 2 units left now.

Due to significant demand and various customers contacting the manufacturer we have negotiated a new deal and expect to recontinue this product offering in the very near future.

Pricing details will follow soon, but we expect to have new inventory within 3 months.

EDIT 03/04/2011: Product has arrived.

$105.00

Serrature Meroni Combina Hardware Installed In Canberra Australia

Early last year, we communicated with a discerning customer from Australia intent on purchasing and installing Meroni hardware on their new home.

We communicated back and forth over a period of time, to determine suitable options and solutions, tailored to their specific tastes and desires.

Being a considerable distance away made it difficult to accurately see the site to determine solutions easily .

The result of thorough questioning, enabled us to find a suitable solution to their needs and we transacted a solution that made them very happy.

We recently received an email from them with some pictures of the completed and installed product, that we attach here. As you can see, the product looks amazing and is easy to use and fully functional.

Pictured above is a Serrature Meroni Combina K13 Entrance set in US26D (Matte Chrome) with an LR (Kelon - Red) cover button. This is the inside of the door.

Here (above) is a picture of the outside of the same door.

Pictured above is a picture of the house's entry door with another Serrature Meroni Combina Entrance set in US26 (Polished Chrome), both body and upper cap. The deadbolt above the Meroni is a Lockwood 005 Paradigm deadbolt.

Neverwet Anti-Icing Technology

Brrrr.....winter has hit Missouri and it's been snowing for most of the last 36 hours.

The cold weather snap has reminded me about a recent article I posted here about Neverwet Solutions. The Neverwet product is due to be released in early 2012, commercially.

A few years ago, shortly after moving here and not being familiar with such a cold climate, I experienced the calamity of power failures due to extreme ice and snow during a winter blast that tormented the whole region.

With power lines coming down and electrical transformers blowing due to excessive ice buildup, the power and emergency services were run off their feet trying to repair and allow consumers to warm up. Some counties were without power and heat for days to weeks.

Neverwet have produced another solution that may allow for similar episodes to never be repeated, if the power companies coat their electrical circuits and boxes in their anti-icing solution.

Check out the video of how it works....

http://www.neverwet.com/videos/anti-icing.html

The benefits of this product will change people's perspectives on waterproofing and protect doors, roofs, power transformers and lines from the harsh realities of the wintry forces of nature.

I post this here because I believe that protecting our doors from the elements is a variation on security design. Not only should we protect ourselves from break ins, but also protect ourselves from the elements of nature that can threaten our health and comforts.

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Furniture Locks By Meroni

It is no secret that we have become the source in the USA for Meroni locking system products. We have been extolling the virtues of some of the unique range of Meroni handle designs like the Combina and Pigio and Nova handles.

But do you know how Meroni first developed their market?

A little over 60 years ago, Meroni began developing it's range of products in the Brianza area of Northern Italy, widely known as the epicentre of the Italian furniture industry. Meroni capitalised on their early entry to market by developing long term relationships with many of the leading Italian furniture manufacturers. Italian produced furniture products are known internationally for their quality of workmanship and leading style designs. Adopting Meroni products became an excellent fit for many of these companies and the relationship continues today.

In fact, many of the furniture locks you see by other manufacturers worldwide are based on the original designs that Meroni produced over the last 60 years.

It is no wonder that Meroni continues to be the undisputed leader in it's field with most of the leading furniture companies still preferring Meroni locks for use in their pieces.

We recently provided a range of master keyed cam locks to a discerning buyer for use on an oil platform, that required to be made to very exacting keying specifications. Sure there were many choices on offer for this company, some that were even considerably cheaper. But with the depth of Meroni's expertise and reputation for quality, we were able to provide the perfect solution in the required urgent timeframe. Another satisfied client.

The Meroni catalogue today lists over 7000 items designed for the furniture sector. The enormous choice allows for furniture producers to find ready-made solutions for virtually every need, in a product range that offers a vast spectrum of sizes, materials and finishes.

Some of the Meroni solutions include:

• Cupboard and Wardrobe Doors
• Sliding Doors
• Bureau Doors
• Filing Cabinets
• Drawers
• Tall Boys
• Dressers
• Basquill locks etc.

Serrature Meroni's long experience in producing furniture locks and its close

cooperation with the marketing and design departments of its customers in the furniture sector have enabled them to develop a exceptional capabilities in the analysis and resolution of every kind of design problem. Being able to grasp design requirements immediately, propose solutions and introduce rapid adaptations are key competencies of the Meroni design office.

For this reason, in those cases in which the extensive choice of existing products is not able to meet particular needs, Serrature Meroni's technical centre is always available to create a tailor-made solution. This flexibility is one of the company's strengths and a source of competitive edge for those companies that approach Meroni looking for a creative work relationship and a complete range of design and marketing services.

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Guardian II - Simplified Access Control

An interesting solution just came across my desk that purports to be one of the simplest and most competitively priced access control systems in it's class available today.

The Guardian II is a stand alone system enabled to work with electric strikes, magnetic locks and other door entry products. There are four options as explained in the video, to suit multiple different application parameters.

One of the better options with this simple system is the localized audit trail abilities. An administrator can easily determine who and when a controller has been operated.

These products are available from leading access control and locksmith companies.

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ShatterGard - Security Film

We recently received our test sample of this fabulous product and are putting it through our internal tests.

So far, it seems to be the real deal.

The incidence of break in is rampant across America and due to many Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ's) insisting on property owners NOT using double cylinder deadbolts to secure entry ways that have glass near the door locks (life safety and building code regulations), products like ShatterGard, that actually prevent the smash and grab technique, are being sought for more widely.

If you have ever been broken into, more than likely you have suffered either a smashed window or a door kicked in. The likelihood of having your locks picked, bumped or destroyed, while certainly increasing across society, is much lower than experiencing a kicked in door frame or glass breakage.

Using the ShatterGard product and combining it with a Strikemaster II Pro door frame casing reinforcer, significantly decreases the likelihood of these two primary methods of entry.

We are still testing ShatterGard and are looking to include in our inventory in the very near future.

Stay tuned!

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