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154 comments on DrumBeat: April 13, 2007

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PeakOil Tarzan on April 13, 2007 - 10:34am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Hi Gail,

I'm not sure I can give you any advice on "securing the perimeter," but I will comment. Several years ago, I was working in South Alabama and driving through a number of rural communities and small towns.

What struck me was the number of modest homes that were outfitted with heavy iron bars on the windows and doors. When I asked a local resident what that was about, he told me that the "crack epidemic" was wreaking havoc on these communities.

I don't know what percentage of those security packages were sold by hucksters just preying on the fears of elderly folks -- no doubt that was the explanation for some of them -- but, I couldn't help but feel a real sadness as I drove past these fortified homes.

I would assume that these systems were fairly effective at keeping out casual intruders.

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Rudolph Diesel on April 13, 2007 - 11:32am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Heavy bars and grilles in windows and very strong doors were
a feature of architecture, especially urban architecture,
in europe and the near east for many many centuries.. While
in america there is not really an architectural vernacular for
such features, in the old world, such a thing wouldn't even
look out of place. Before street lighting was common, even
rather affluent parts of cities were pretty rife with
petty thefts, burglaries, robberies, and so on.

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Stefan Stackhouse on April 13, 2007 - 1:01pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Yes, one of the things I noticed and really came to appreciate and love during my stay in France were the real working shutters on every window. These were designed to open and shut from the inside, thus providing both a degree of insulation & energy conservation and also a very effective degree of security. I suppose they could be designed (and some maybe were) so even the hinge pins were not accessible from the outside. That would not be enough to stop a rampaging mob (although even during Paris riots and revolutions, shuttered houses are usually left alone). It would be enough to deter all but the most determined intruder.

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AlanfromBigEasy on April 13, 2007 - 2:50pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Standard on the majority of New Orleans homes. The owner can prepare for a hurricane in ten minutes (instead of plywood screwed in place, damaging the wood work).

Two types; batten (wood planks, cheap) and louvered (ley air and light filter in).

Best Hopes,

Alan

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154 comments on DrumBeat: April 13, 2007

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