ScoobySnack

Now the new house searching and mortgage thing is over........

I've decided that the new place will need a decent alarm system. Have checked out a few DIY shops and the price seems really cheap. R they any good????

Can anyone provide any info on systems and what is good. Options like alarming the garage, or keyfob do they exist etc?

Thanks

J

Edited cos spelling attack occured

[Edited by ScoobySnack - 1/14/2002 2:36:49 PM]

ptholt

Please mail me offline if you wish to hear of my experiences with ADT.

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Personally I decided that, compared to the cost of the house and contents it was protecting, a really good professionally installed alarm was still very cheap. I had four separate quotes done and picked the one that sounded most convincing. It was about £800 to supply, install (took 2 men a long day to bury all the cables) and set up, including a few follow-up visits to re-calibrate sensors when my cats set the system off. I've only had one false alarm in two years since then.

I figure that the deterrent effect is the main reason for installing a system - after all, why should anyone try to burgle my house (with a big blue box with the name of a reputable alarm company hanging over the front door) when my neighbours have no such box? The thought of a DIY system just didn't work for me. I'm glad I went with the pro setup.

Andy.

Dave T-S

Did exactly the same as Andy, and totally agree with him. Wouldn't recommend the DIY route. Where roughly are you based? IIRC, sarf of the river....because I would fully recommend the guys that did ours, who are near Harlow.

paulr

Forget the DIY route.
We 've had our alarm 3 years not one problem,my sis also has the same one.
Basically we got a local guy to supply and fit it.Cost about £350 and its great.
All we have is four movement sensors,all downstairs.Dont see the point in anything else.All ways in are covered.
IMO go for something simple,and get it fitted professionally.

zoog

I'm looking for alarms too - but heard bad things about Banham - someone above hints that ADT might be less than ideal too.

Anyone any views?

Mo

SECOM

I don't have any contact details but I'm sure they're based in Croydon or somewhere in that area.

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Dave

Can you give me the number of your alarm installer please?

Cheers

Sal

Huxley

Please avoid that 3 letter company like the plague i can tell you of lots of tricks that they use!!



Huxley

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

J,

You have mail, they alarmed the whole house and garage at a very good price, with back up support as well!

Hope this helps
Andy

Dave T-S

Sal

LOL - they are right on your (old) doorstep - Gilston Alarms in High Wych!

They came on a personal recommendation, and did an excellent job, all wiring hidden, no problems, and never a single false alarm with the system in 2.5 years - would thoroughly recommend them.

You can get them on 01279 722335 or 421003, or mobiles 07836 242558 or 07885 284434

Ask for David or Philip.

Allan

iTrader: (1)

Unless you reasonably competent in all things electrical I would get it professionally fitted.
DIY alarms are perfectly acceptable if fitted correctly and are of a professional type, I'm not talking here about the average DIY store rubbish.
I fitted mine six years ago and the only problem so far has been the main back-up battery dying, easily replaced for £10.
Also with DIY it is easy to add all sorts of protection to the garage without it costing the earth
Allan

fast bloke

Also consider getting it monitored - costs 60 quid a year, or just over a pound a week. If your alarm goes off they will contact a keyholder or yourself. If you get a panic button they will inform the police immediately. I think the police respond more quickly to panic buttons. Maybe just my impression, but when we used the panic button once and the police arrived on Blues n twos in less than 3 minutes. When we where burgled I used the normal 999 method and they took about 20, even though we didn't know if there house was clear

Rum*

From an Insurance point of view you should look at getting a system installed by a NACOSS Approved company

http://www.nacoss.org/

TTFN

Rum*

AndyMc

I fitted my own and was surprised at how cheap they are compared to car alarms.It cost me about £140 all in and that was with battery back up on the alarm and external sirens, and a seperate keypad which allows the main alarm box to be hidden away.I also paid extra to get good quality PIR sensors.

The wiring up was straight forward although routing the wiring was fiddly and time consuming and meant I had to destroy half the upstairs for a couple of days.

So far the only time its gone off is when I've forgotten about it in the morning.For such a small outlay and a bit of time and effort the peace of mind it brings to me my family makes it a bargain.

Andy

Huxley

We also have a radio link from our shed to the house which saves trying to get wires down to the end of the garden, this radio gear is not to be confused with the very cheap quality stuff you get from the likes of B&Q ect the unit we use has a battery lifespan of about 7 years depending on how many times it has to transmit the receiver the cost of the TX kit is about £65.00.

I know this sounds techno geeky but we have a facility on my PC
To check, program and set/unset the alarm system remotely by it’s built in digi modem

Huxley

ScoobySnack

Thanks for all the replys.....

Peter - Thanks for taking the time to type the email on ADT, eye opening to say the least. From that information I will eliminate them from any choices. Cheers J

Dave T-S - I'm down near Bracknell in Berkshire, so not too far. Much obliged.

Andy - I'm keeping well, how are you? As soon as I'm in I'll call the details. Again cheers


Cheers for all the details and everyones time.

It seems i'll go for a professional install based on recommendations. Will call the three people when I get into the new house

Cheers

J

David_Wallis

FastBloke...

Dont take this the wrong way but are you saying you were still burgled, when you had your alarm.. I'm assuming you were out?

David

ozzy

David,

I think what Fastbloke was saying is that if you're unfortunate enough to get burgled, the alarm will go off, but who is going to attend quickly?

The Police will only attend if someone dials 999 or if they happen to be passing in a patrol car.

Will your neighbours rush to your aid if they hear the alarm go off ???

How many times have you driven past some property with the sirens wailing and actually stopped and investigated what's wrong ??

I don't think it'll put many burgulars off robbing you blind just because they set the alarm off. By the time they've forced a window, they could have grabbed your DVD, VCR and made off before anyone has a chance to collar them - especially if plod take 20mins to respond to a 999 call

I certainly wouldn't recommend not having one in the first place, but as Fastbloke says, it's better that you can have your house monitored as well.

Stefan

fast bloke

David - I was in bed. By the time I got downstairs the car was leaving the drive. The alarm gives you 30 seconds to disarm it before tearing your eardrums out. Probably took me another 30 to realise what was going on and get downstairs. Having an alarm won't stop you getting burgled, but a 3 minute response to a panic button at least gives you piece of mind that if you heard someone downstairs you would not need to confront them or have your house cleared.

zoog

An Alarm wont ever completely stop burglaries but it will certainly cut the probability considerably. If you ask burglars what single thing puts them off most will say alarms.

The casual opportunist, who commits the bulk of burglaries, who needs his next heroin hit or rock of crack will be put off. He'll go for the place down the road with no alarm.

It is the professional thief that will not be so put off but again he'll certainly want to be confident there is specific stuff inside he really wants to take the risk.

Then it really gets like car security: if they want it they'll have it pure and simple.

devils_ad69

There seems to be about 6 of us who ALWAYS investigate alarms for houses that are close to us.

Works well (so far!)

mccltd

try www.comfort.org.uk
I'm getting one of these in a couple of weeks time.
Reviews are great and the things you can do with them are unlimitless.

Dave.
(www.medwaycomputers.co.uk)