Fred & Gerry say

"Don't Leave Your Home Alone"

But if you have to here are some tips and suggestions that will make

YOU and YOUR home more comfortable

To make it easier for the Summer, install a Power Bolt from  .

Reinforcing your doors and hinges

Burglars tend to attack the weakest point of entry in your home. That could mean an unlocked window or garage door, or a flimsy lock on the front door. The way your doors are actually installed and kept in place can also be a factor. Here are a few quick tips on improving the security of your sliding or regular doors.

• A simple stick is all you need to improve home security. No, you don't wave it at someone when you're feeling threatened. You insert it in the bottom track of your sliding patio or balcony door, between the door and the frame.
  
  
• How is your exterior door hung? You say a door is a door is a door? Wrong. Sometimes doors are hung with the hinge or hinge pins on the outside. That means anyone can knock the pins out and lift the door right off its hinges - whether or not the door is locked. Make sure the hinges and pins are on the inside, where only you can get to them.
  
  
• A screwdriver, some screws and about 15 minutes is all you need to help burglar-proof your entrance-ways. Use longer, heavy-duty screws in the door frame. They should be three inches long or more - long enough to penetrate right into the framing stud. It will make the structure much more rigid, and the door that much harder to kick in.
  
  
• Some people like the protection of a double-cylinder lock that requires a key to open it from the inside. A word of caution - what you gain in personal safety you can lose too. In a fire or other emergency where you have to get out quickly, what happens if you've misplaced the key? CHECK YOUR BUILDING CODE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW DOUBLE CYLINDER LOCKS ON RESIDENTIAL HOMES.
  
  
• Bolt cutters can quickly shear through the padlock you keep on the door of your tool or utility shed. Now there's a shield on the market that covers your doors, gates or boxes, including the hasp of the lock (the hinged metal clasp), which protects it from those nasty bolt cutters.
  

Before you leave on your summer vacation here is a checklist for you, your neighbours and your insurance company....oh yes don't forget your home.

• Just Prior to Departure:
  
• Flush toilets.
  
• Run dishwasher.
  
• Set thermostats higher than normal if you run air conditioning.
  
• Don't turn off A/C or you may have mould problems if you are in a high humidity area.
  
• Unplug nonessential electrical appliances.

• Turn off water to washing machine and toilets. Set timers and lights around the house.
  
• Set several to switch on and off at different times of the day/night and at various intervals.

• Check window locks.
  
• Toss refrigerated items that may spoil while you are away.
  
• Make sure trash is out of the house.
  
• Unhook electric garage door openers and manually lock.
  
• Set alarm.
  
• Lock doors including deadbolt locks.
  
• Leave answering machine turned on.
  
• Have someone stop in and make sure everything is OK, like no water running
  out the front door!

• You can also ad that with Gas Hot water heaters, to set to the Vacation setting, and with Electric Hot Water heaters to just turn of the circuit breakers.
  
• Check Your Insurance Policy
• You should have your home looked at every 4 days. Not all policy's are the same and some say if your just going away for a short time, like 1 week then you don't have to worry about it, but in the small print it still comes up 4 days.