How To Make Your Roof Burglar-Proof?

[Guderian]

I'm amazed how insecure the roofs are on the standard houses here. It's no wonder that so many burglars seem to get in by simply removing a few roof tiles. I was wondering if people have done anything to make their roofs secure? I looked at the Lohr foam insulation, but it's very expensive and on another thread BM Rimmer related his negative experiences with it. So what else can one do? Any suggestion?

[Ulysses G.]

Almost every break-in that I have heard about has been through the roof.

[gosompoi]

big hungry mean dog with electric fence and motion sensor in your roof with alarm.

[janverbeem]

big hungry mean dog with electric fence and motion sensor in your roof with alarm.

How do you get all of those in your roof?

[gosompoi]

thanks you made me laugh, you can all of them in your roof but the real problem is getting the dog out later!

[LennyW]

Weldmesh under the tiles.

[scotsman]

I got the roof sprayed with foam from A.R.C about 10 years ago and there has been no problems, it does what it says keeps the house cool and stops people from getting in through the roof.

regards

Scotsman

[Jayman]

I got the roof sprayed with foam from A.R.C about 10 years ago and there has been no problems, it does what it says keeps the house cool and stops people from getting in through the roof.

regards

Scotsman

What approx cost is associated with that? We talking thousands of thb or 10's of thousands or what? Guess if you did it 10 years ago the pricing has changed. I will have to look into that further myself.

[Ulysses G.]

Weldmesh under the tiles.

Expensive?

[rmicheald]

... and motion sensor in your roof with alarm.

That goes off every time a bird lands on the roof.....

[Naam]

Weldmesh under the tiles.

Expensive?

depends on the steel diameter. my ceilings are covered with steel mats (ø 8mm, 15x15cm squares) welded to the roof structure. cost in 2005 approximately 60,000 Baht. peace of mind for the Mrs, will stop a chicken thief but of course not a "professional" burglar with a boltcutter.

[Naam]

... and motion sensor in your roof with alarm.

That goes off every time a bird lands on the roof.....

a motion sensor in the roof senses motion IN the roof/attic, not ON the roof. besides most sensors can be adjusted for size and accuracy, e.g. small dogs can move freely in an area covered by a sensor whereas a human being would trigger it.

[Ulysses G.]

Weldmesh under the tiles.

Expensive?

depends on the steel diameter. my ceilings are covered with steel mats (ø 8mm, 15x15cm squares) welded to the roof structure. cost in 2005 approximately 60,000 Baht. peace of mind for the Mrs, will stop a chicken thief but of course not a "professional" burglar with a boltcutter.

Thanks. a lot of the burglars here do seem to be of the smash and grab variety - judging from what they take. That mesh might cause them to go elsewhere.

[janverbeem]

Weldmesh under the tiles.

Expensive?

depends on the steel diameter. my ceilings are covered with steel mats (ø 8mm, 15x15cm squares) welded to the roof structure. cost in 2005 approximately 60,000 Baht. peace of mind for the Mrs, will stop a chicken thief but of course not a "professional" burglar with a boltcutter.

That would make it worth for the thieve to just steel the mesh.

[Mugg]

Weldmesh under the tiles.

Expensive?

depends on the steel diameter. my ceilings are covered with steel mats (ø 8mm, 15x15cm squares) welded to the roof structure. cost in 2005 approximately 60,000 Baht. peace of mind for the Mrs, will stop a chicken thief but of course not a "professional" burglar with a boltcutter.

Thanks. a lot of the burglars here do seem to be of the smash and grab variety - judging from what they take. That mesh might cause them to go elsewhere.

It would seem that securing the perimeter is much more a deterant..

1.) Thiefs are not drawn to light like bugs. A well installed sensor (motion) supporting a well designed lighting system.

2.) Secondary Timer supporting a light from the inside of the house.

3.) DO NOT construct a 2.5 meter fence around your property, allowing the thiefs to work in privacy undisturbed.

4.) Inform your neighbors when you are taking an extended trip. Leave them with contac numbers.

5.) DO NOT tell the "Yam" or "Security" about your plans, many thieves get their information straight from the Yam as to how much time they have to work

[Guderian]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I found an old thread about the foam roof insulation here: http://www.thaivisa....oam-insulation/

I hope that Rimmer doesn't mind me quoting his response in that thread:

"My guess is that your friend will now have a lot more leaks than when he started where all the tiles have lifted up from the foam.

Must say though it works real well at keeping the heat IN your house after a hot day and the walls are leaching heat into the rooms.

Had it installed once, cost a lot! But it cost more to have air cons try to cool down the rooms at night and all the ceilings replaced from the leaking roof .."

Together with the cost, quoted several years ago as 400-500 Baht/sqm, that is sufficient to put me off the foam roof insulation idea.

The welded mesh sounds like an idea, but I'm surprised by how expensive it is. Would it be possible to instead weld steel reinforcing bars between the roof supports sufficiently close to prevent a burglar from getting through, but not in such a fine grid as a mesh would entail? Without a cutting torch or a powerful saw a burglar couldn't get through reinforcing bars.

If that's not practical, how about using an expoxy adhesive like Araldite to glue the tiles together?

Dogs are not an option as I simply don't like them.

[janverbeem]

I don't know how your house is located on your plot,but mine is far enough from the perimeter wall that they can not jump onto the roof.I have secured my perimeter wall with infrared beams and have a similar prevention for anything that approaches the building.No need to secure my roof as burglars can't fly.

[Gers1873]

... and motion sensor in your roof with alarm.

That goes off every time a bird lands on the roof.....

Can you not ask your birds to use the door like everyone else......??

[Rimmer]

Alternate roof tiles are usually screwed to the steel support rails in the roof and can not be moved without the tiles being broken, a few tiles are always left loose so that they can be slid up providing a place for a roofing contractor to safely walk up the roof on the rails to the apex.

As this topic is not Pattaya specific I will move it to Do it yourself housing forum where we can get more ideas from all the experts over there.

[terryq]

When we previously had a house build we had the upper floor ceiling built solid ie as though we were going to build another storey. That's several inches of reinforced concrete. If burglars gained access they could not get to the rest of the house without serious demolition equipment. More expensive initially, but no burglar access and also provides some insulation.

Of course they would have access to all those important essentials stored there, boxes of unused items and things I didn't want to throw away , what the wife refers to as.......junk !!

[Jayman]

When we previously had a house build we had the upper floor ceiling built solid ie as though we were going to build another storey. That's several inches of reinforced concrete. If burglars gained access they could not get to the rest of the house without serious demolition equipment. More expensive initially, but no burglar access and also provides some insulation.

Of course they would have access to all those important essentials stored there, boxes of unused items and things I didn't want to throw away , what the wife refers to as.......junk !!

How do you get this "junk" up into the area you consider secured? I take it there is some sort of access hatch. Couldn't the burglars use that same hatch to enter your house?

[terryq]

There is no hatch, access is via a balcony area approx 5m x 12 m and through a door into the attic/loft area. No way into the main house from the balcony either.

The attic area was going be made habitable and used for living in, all planned when we built the house, never got round to it and after many years of living here probably never will.

Edit . Just noticed you used the word "junk' have you been talking to my wife !! They are irreplaceable items of extreme personal value .

[Kwasaki]

You can make your roof secure but not burglar proof unless you install sercurity systems, as said by " Rimmer" tiles have battons in close proximitely and if in steel this is like prison bars to some extent, it's not rocket science it's just a roof.

What is your problem. ??

[Hooters]

do houses have guttering here? just attach the mains to it, cant see a problem unless you accidentally climb up there your self

[Forkinhades]

do houses have guttering here? just attach the mains to it, cant see a problem unless you accidentally climb up there your self

until it rains, and the water becomes live

[Hooters]

do houses have guttering here? just attach the mains to it, cant see a problem unless you accidentally climb up there your self

until it rains, and the water becomes live

okay smarty pants.

How about 4 crossbows ( easy to buy) one in each corner with a trip wire. The ear piercing scream would be indicative of a possible capture.

of course exiting the roof after set up could be a bit tricky

[Forkinhades]

do houses have guttering here? just attach the mains to it, cant see a problem unless you accidentally climb up there your self

until it rains, and the water becomes live

okay smarty pants.

How about 4 crossbows ( easy to buy) one in each corner with a trip wire. The ear piercing scream would be indicative of a possible capture.

yep that sounds good

[Naam]

do houses have guttering here? just attach the mains to it, cant see a problem unless you accidentally climb up there your self

do you think people exist who install gutters without downspouts?

[haveaniceday]

I Started a thread on this subject about 2 months ago, some good ideas in it from folks.

do you think people exist who install gutters without downspouts?

Of course, if the moron who called himself a sparky that attacked our place was a gutter fitter, I am 100% sure he wouldn't install a down pipe.

[Naam]

I Started a thread on this subject about 2 months ago, some good ideas in it from folks.

do you think people exist who install gutters without downspouts?

Of course, if the moron who called himself a sparky that attacked our place was a gutter fitter, I am 100% sure he wouldn't install a down pipe.

"moron" is a very polite expression.