HOW TO FIT A BURGLAR ALARM – Imagine coming home to find your home has been burgled! Not a pleasant thought. However with today’s technology there is an increasing amount of products on the market designed to prevent just that. Fitting a burglar alarm, or other Home Security devices, can be a very simple job, especially if you go with a wireless system. More advanced systems will require an expert to install and set up the system. In this guide we provide detailed instructions on how to fit a wireless burglar alarm in your home.
Step 1
First thing is first, you need to decide on the type of burglar alarm system you want to install. There are many to choose from, including wireless and systems that require hard wiring into the home. Almost all come in kit forms and you can buy additional sensors, wiring (if applicable) and other accessories separately to enhance the system you install.
Step 2
Take a walk around your home. Decide on how many sensors you would like and where you would like them to be fitted. Senor’s are small boxes that fit in the corners of a room and emit an infra-red beam once the alarm is set. Anyone, or anything, crossing and breaking that beam will trigger the alarm system, alerting you to a possible intruder
Step 3
The first thing out of the box to fit is the alarm unit and this allows you program in a code, that only you and family members know, which activates and deactivates your alarm system. This is best placed near the front entrance so that you can easily activate or de-active the system as you enter or leave the home. Carefully read the manufacturers recommendations for use and installation before going any further.
To fit the program box, remove the front or back panel (these do vary which is why you need to read the fitting instructions that the manufacturer provided). You should have two or four screw holes – place the panel on the wall and with a pencil, mark each of the screw holes.
Now take your power drill and fit the appropriate drill bit and make your holes. Insert your raw plugs and then screw the panel onto the wall. You can now replace the front panel or if it’s a back panel, slide and clip the unit on – you now have your program and activation / deactivation box fitted to the wall.
Step 4
Within the kit you should have a large alarm box that you can fit to the outside wall to the front, or back, of your home. Some of these have flashing lights in red or blue on the top. When the alarm is triggered these flash and the unit emits a high decibel sound to alert you and others of an intruder. You have a choice of where to place this and most people choose the front exterior wall and high up. However we did say that you can buy additional accessories and it is wise if you buy another of these to fit onto the back of the house as well. These boxes do provide for a visual deterrent and will show any would be thief that you have an alarm system installed. You will need to get yourself a pair of ladders and some help – it is always advisable to have someone hold the ladder at the bottom when working up high. DO NOT try to install the until in wet or windy conditions – it is NOT safe. Wait until you have a nice fine day and then install it.
Step 5
Next out the box are the room senor’s. You can buy additional sensor units if required. These are normally situated in one of the top corners of a room that are angled down slightly so that the beam points approximately to the center of the room. These are mounted on brackets that are easy to fit by marking the screw holes, in the brackets, drilling the holes, inserting the raw plugs and then screwing to the wall. Once the brackets are in place you can slide or clip the sensor units onto the brackets and then adjust their positioning. Again, it’s important that you follow the manufacturers fitting instructions for the best ways to position the angle of the sensors.
Step 6
If you have purchased a kit that includes door and window sensor, which are magnetic strips that fit to the door/window and frame, and will cause the alarm to sound if the two strips are parted, will require you to do a little drilling. Again, the instructions in the box will tell you the size of screw (included) and the drill bit size. Don’t worry, these are very easy to fit and once fitted you won’t even notice they are there.
Step 7
Once you have completed the fitting of your alarm system you need to go back to the control panel, near the front door, and program the unit with your unique code – DO NOT lose this code. You can change the code whenever you like, but you will need the previous code to be able to do this. Read the instructions that came with the kit on how to program the alarm system.
Step 8
Once you have finished programming your new alarm system you should test it. When the alarm sounds it is going to be very loud, so prepare yourself for this. It is a good idea if you go and talk to your immediate neighbors and let them know you are going to test your new alarm. This will save them from having a shock or picking up the phone to call the police – a bit embarrassing having the police turn up only to find that you are simply testing the system.
