9 Tips to Keep Your Home Secure While Renovating

Renovating and worried about security? We have some tips for you! Remodelling or renovating your home is stressful enough without the added anxiety of home security. Whether the job is big or small, renovating exposes your home to extra security threats, and trying to monitor your extra property visitors – contractors, builders and handyman – can feel like a full time job! We’ve got you covered, with these 9 security tips to increase security and peace of mind during your renovations.

1: Inform your Neighbours

Alert your neighbours and neighbourhood watch to your upcoming construction, as well as to which alteration company you will be using for the renovations. This will not only ensure that they won’t panic if they see additional workmen near your home, but will help them to determine if someone who shouldn’t be on your property or in your neighbourhood and allow them to respond accordingly.

2: Document Everything

Before your contractors start, document your home! Taking photos or a video will not only allow you to quickly notice if something is out of place (or worse: missing), but also ensure that you are able to monitor the progress as the renovations progress. This is also a great way, if your builders break something along the way, for you to be able to prove who made the defects when it comes to claiming from insurance or the contractor’s.

3: Right Person for the Job

Using a reputable service or a builder referred to you by a friend or family member will go a long way to home security. Not only does this guarantee their workmanship but eliminates a lot of anxiety as to whether they are trustworthy or not. Considering you are giving a lot of access to your home to strangers, choose trust over price every time to limit security and safety risk!

4: Keep Watch

Use a nanny cam or previously installed home security systems to keep a watchful (video) eye on your remodelers. This will ensure you can monitor what is going on in your home from your phone or office computer despite not being on site. Also don’t be shy to let your contractors know that you are indeed monitoring your home, as this will minimize the temptation of theft considerably.

5: Codes and Keys

If you have no choice but to supply keys and codes to the foreman in charge of installing or renovating, do so with caution. Only give access to areas you absolutely have too, and once the job is done, it is highly recommended that you change alarm codes and locks for added security. This will ensure that if someone got hold of a key or code during renovations, they will not be able to use it after the job has been completed.

6: Get it in Writing

For any job, big or small, from the odd fix to big construction, have a contract. Not only to include in detail what needs to be completed or fixed, by when and for how much, but also to ensure responsibility for missing or damaged items.

7: Update Your Home Security

This is especially recommended for bigger, longer projects where you are not able to supervise yourself. Putting extra motion detectors in your home that can be armed separately means you can limit entrance to areas of your property that you wish to restrict. Some sophisticated security systems have added monitoring capabilities that will alert you to which doors have been opened. This is very valuable information because in the event that something does go missing, you have record of it.

8: Protect Those Supplies

It’s not just your home and valuables you will want to monitor but also building supplies and tools. These are not only expensive, but can be easily taken by passer-by’s. If you can, store bricks and other building materials inside your gate and remember to do a once over each evening to make sure any of your own tools or ladders, haven’t been left somewhere that makes them easily to steal.

9: Mental Security Checklists

Renovations always bring a lot of foot traffic through your home, and not everyone can be everywhere all of the time. So take the time to do a mental security check a couple of times a day. In the morning, ensure that your home is locked and as secure as possible before leaving your builders for the day. In the evenings, go through your home and make sure doors and windows have all be secured after your contractors have left for the day.

There you have it! 9 stress-busting tips to keep your home secure while renovating. If you have some more tips of your own, we’d love to hear from you!

Have some of your own tips to deal with contractors and handymen? We would love your input. Please send your suggestions to [email protected] and we’ll publish and credit the author.