Houston locksmith works around the clock protecting Houston area residents from this crime explosion. If you have a chance to hug your local locksmith they need it! They are working thru the night, skipping lunch and missing their families. Leading Houston Texas security expert Fred Trotter with King Safe and Lock tells us that they are working around the clock to secure non rented, for sale and vacant properties from burglaries. These unprotected properties are usually low priority on the owner’s security list. With the economy in the tank the criminals are taking advantage of these unprotected easy targets, stripping these homes and commercial properties of fixtures and almost everything of value from the air condition unit’s right down to the carpet.

In one home inspected the burglars took things you would never think of like the hot water heater and toilet paper dispenser. Vacant rental properties are often ignored by the neighborhood residents because of loss of familiarity with the last tenants. Groups of contractor and repairmen entering the property daily, not to mention the multitude of realtors showing the property make it difficult to keep up with changes in vehicular traffic thus making vacant properties desirable to burglars. Contractor and realtors open windows and leave doors open in their haste to ventilate the musty and hot property making them easier yet. Fred Trotter recommends making your vacant property high on your priority list. You can purchase easy to install window locks with a unique tool to prevent non authorized opening. Make sure all your exterior doors are protected with police recommended double sided deadbolts. Mr. Trotter recommends Medeco High Security Deadbolts to prevent bumping, drilling or picking. Keep your electric power on during the showing process of your home, it will lease faster, your contractors and realtors will be thankful and that alone will allow you to use your alarm system as well. With your personal properties protected, you and your locksmith can relax and take time to enjoy life and family trouble free.

If you think that locking your door at night before you go to bed is enough to keep your residence safe, then think again. Even with your door locked, you may not be as safe as you think. Intruders with knowledge of lock bumping can get into your home almost instantly without even scratching the lock. In this post, we’ll discuss lock bumping and what you can do to protect yourself from it.

Lock bumping is a technique that has existed since the 1950’s. It essentially allows people to open most locks using a “bump key”, which is a specially cut key that tricks your deadbolt into opening. Even some of the nicest locks are susceptible to bumping -in fact, they may even be easier to open with a bump key than lower-quality locks.

There are two ways to keep your house truly safe:

1. Install bump-proof locks, made with specific mechanisms that make it difficult for bump-keys to work.

2. There are also other varieties of locks like electronic locks, magnetic locks, and disc tumbler locks that work differently than a standard deadbolt lock. These will be resistant to bumping simply by nature of their design.

Using multiple locks of different styles would also be a deterrent to intruders. Your locksmith can help you figure out which lock combination best suits your home.

Another option is to use products that deter burglars from entering your home. 9 out of 10 convicted burglars said they would avoid a home with an alarm system. Making sure your home has a well equipped security system, and posting the information on your doors and windows, will keep intruders from even trying

Having a reliable locksmith is the most important part of protecting your home from intruders. The expert locksmiths at King Safe & Lock Co. will make sure that your home is bump-proof. We also service gun and fire safes, transponder chip keys, and provide the best 24-hour emergency locksmith service in town. For more information, visit our website and our showroom today.

In Houston and around the world, burglaries in Houston are an unfortunate fact of life. You can increase lighting at night and lock your windows, but no matter how illuminated your yard may be,any locksmith in Houston can tell you that your door may be the weakest link in your home security system.

Read below to find out how you can further secure your doors to protect your home against intrusion.

Hollow Comfort

Make sure your doors are as robust as the rest of your home security. Have a Houston locksmith evaluate your door, or just knock on it yourself. Hollow doors, in combination with poor or single locks, all but invite burglars that look for the easiest target.

Pick a door that is either solid wood or metal, as these are far more resistant to intrusion. Your Houston locksmith can give you further tips, such as placing three-inch nails or screws at even intervals all around the frame, which further strengthens your door against kicking.

Further Protection

Talk to your locksmith in Houston about a quality deadbolt with a throw of at least an inch. That means that the bolt itself should go into the doorframe an inch deep, and the more bolt you have, the better. And a double-sided deadbolt must be opened on both sides with a key, excellent for doors near to windows.

High-security locks have large and sturdy strike plates and are designed to withstand many kinds of attacks. Multiple locks offer an even greater benefit, because a burglar is looking to take the least amount of time to get in and get out.

Talk to your Houston locksmith and take the time to make sure a burglar will keep walking when they pass your house. King Safe & Lock is the only authorized Medeco dealer in the city, and our line of residential locks, fire safes, and gun safes can provide you the ultimate in home security. Visit our website to see how we can help to keep you safe.

Today’s safes are made to protect nearly anything – documents, valuables, weapons, money, and more. They’ve come a long way from the “iron chests” of the pre-1800s, evolving into the impressive safes of today.

Early Safes/h3>

The earliest lockboxes were made of wood in the 1700s, and while their bolts and locking mechanisms were fairly secure for their day, thieves had little difficulty prying them open.
Safe construction improved when cast iron was used in the late 18th century, and the lock itself became the weakest component of this new strongbox.

Fire-Proofing and Lock Innovation

In the early 1800s, there were several different patents on ways to make safes impervious to flame, resulting in competition amongst inventors -and the creation of the first fire safes.
In 1818, a “detector lock” was invented with the intention that it would not open if someone attempted to pick it. Egyptian pin-tumbler designs were adopted by a father and son and became the common design seen today.

20th-Century Steel and Today

A single piece of steel was used to make safes in the 1900s, and safecrackers and robbers used explosives to open them. Anti-explosive technology improved, and a safe from the 40s survived the Hiroshima atomic blast from a distance of less than 1,000 feet.
Today’s safes feature complex locks, drill- and torch-proof construction, and often have layers of concrete sandwiched between steel.
Fire safes incorporate materials that help the contents resist extremely high temperatures for up to an hour in residential applications, and gun safes keep firearms protected from both tampering and theft.

King Safe & Lock is a premier Houston locksmith specializing in fine safes that are designed to guard your valuables. Our fire and gun safes come in many varieties to best suit your protective requirements. Contact us for all of your safe needs!

In today’s world, people need to protect their homes better than they have before. There were over 200,000 incidents reported in Texas in 2009. Ask any Houston locksmith and they will tell you that the risk of burglary is always high in a large city.

There are steps you can take for keeping your home safe from intrusion, from choosing security measures that make your house hard to enter to discouraging potential intruders entirely.

Secure Windows and Doors

A high-security lock doesn’t ever need to be tested for a burglar to turn away – if a lock looks like it means business, it usually does. For your doors, choose a quality lock from a Houston locksmith. A double deadbolt is an excellent way to secure a door that is near to glass.

With several deadbolt options and no exposed screws, high-security locks are built to withstand anything a burglar chooses to throw at them, and designed to turn intruders away before they have the chance.

Deterrence

Most burglaries can be prevented before they even begin. A burglar looks for the easiest way into your home. Before they pick out your house, they check out your neighborhood, seeking the house that will present the least amount of risk.

Security lights eliminate dark spots near windows and doors, and motion-sensitive lights can offer the same peace of mind without creating light pollution. A well-lit home secured by quality locks makes a difficult target.

For the best in home security, choose King Safe & Lock. As your Houston locksmith, we can secure your home with impervious locks, and our line of fire and gun safes can keep your valuables protected. Contact us today for the best in home protection!

The danger of fire is a constant one, as fire departments responded to nearly 400,000 home fires in the United States in 2009, and 44,867 fires in Houston. While you do all you can to prevent a fire from ever happening, knowing that your most important documents and valuables are protected provides peace of mind.

If the unthinkable were to happen, you can rest assured that the contents of your home fire safe will remain intact.

1. Regular safes are not impervious to fire. In fact, the construction of a regular anti-burglary safe is not intended to protect valuables from fire, but from intrusion. Their metal construction can act like an oven in the event of a fire, all but cooking their contents.

Fire safes are designed to withstand the extremely high temperatures of a fire. Composite materials are used to shield the inner compartment, and many offer a gasket seal to prevent water from getting inside. Some fire safes are rated to withstand temperatures up to 1,800 degrees for four hours.

2. Hybrid safes solve two problems. A safe that is certified against both fire and burglary is capable not only of withstanding the effects of a house fire, but it also protects the contents against intrusive attacks. These kinds of fire safes use insulative material to keep internal temperatures below that of a fire in order to prevent melting or igniting of the contents, while the outer shell is often constructed with attack-resistant steel.

3. Concentrate on your most valuable possessions. In a fire, trying to save material items delays your safe exit and increases the risk that you may become trapped. When you know that your important papers and other belongings will be able to withstand the flames until help arrives, you can focus on getting your loved ones to safety.

Keep your important documents and possessions in a fire safe, and know that they’ll be protected. King Safe & Lock carries a wide selection of fire safes designed to defend your valuables from fire and burglary. Protect your property – contact us to learn more.

Even if you have all of the proper safety equipment to safely own a gun, accidents can still happen. If you want to protect your family from falling prey to accidents involving guns, then you need to keep your weapon locked securely in a safe. Look over our reasons for investing in a secure gun safe, and make the decision to buy one today.

Protect Your Children

There are far too many firearm accidents involving children who accidentally shoot themselves with their parentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ or neighborsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ guns each year. Keeping your firearm in a gun safe will reduce the chances of a tragedy like his from happening to you. Lock your gun away safely to protect your kids.

You Are Responsible

Can you imagine how bad you would feel if someone else used your gun and something terrible happened? Guns draw attention, and sometimes others want to know how it feels to shoot them. If you keep your gun in a gun safe that requires a transponder chip key or another key that you can carry on you, then other people wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be as tempted to try the gun, which can protect you and others from bad accidents.

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Your Property

You keep important documents in fire safes to protect them in case of fire, right? A gun safe can protect your firearm from burglars or other unknown persons, preventing others from taking and potentially using it somewhere else. Your gun is your property, and you should protect the same way you would any other important piece of property.

Having a gun is a big responsibility, one that needs to be taken seriously. Get a gun safe for your firearm and be secure in the fact that you will know where it is at all times.

For dependable gun safes, come to Houston Safe & Lock for the security you seek. We are Houstonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s top locksmith and safe company and are here to help you protect your home and family. Check us out online to see the kinds of safety products we have to offer.

Bob Sallee President of American Security Products makes the grade (A) on quality control for CSC3417 and CSC1717 Burgulary & Fire Safe. These safes are well built and perform as advertised.

Houston Safe & Lock received a call from a long time customer who requested that we open two Fire and Burglary Rated safes she had purchased from us years prior. The safes had been in a large house fire and had been taken to the Houston crime lab by the arson investigators because there were fatalities involved. We inspected the safes at the crime lab the day prior to the scheduled opening and found the safes were made by American Security Products.

Both safes were charred so bad that they were unrecognizable by an average person but once I saw the American Security Products unique spoke handle from the melted remains that used to be a handle and Amsec recognizable heavy duty hinge design made identification an easy task. The arson investigator had shared with me that he had not experienced a fire with that much heat intensity in 25 years. He said the home was a complete burn down.

The safes took hours to open using two highly trained safe technicians with years of experience and exact diagrams and measurements acquired from past openings. Once opened we were all shocked to find that all contents inside both safe were unharmed, from the jewelry right on down to the precious metals ,important documents and folding money. Even the medicine bottles were like new and medicine usable. This news is great to know for coin collectors who are always concerned about protecting their graded pneumatic collectible coins. These coins are already enclosed in a fire protective plastic and have greater value above the spot price of gold and silver because of where they were minted and rare dates.

I will have no problem recommending American Security Products Fire and Burglary Rated Safes to protect coin and stamp collections and other valuables in the future. These safes are well built and perform as advertised. Why use any other product.

If you own a gun, you want to do everything you can to keep it out of the wrong hands. You especially want to be sure that your children or other family members can never accidentally get hold of your gun. While you can employ many precautions to keep your guns out of the wrong hands, you should also invest in a gun safe.

If you collect guns, be sure to buy a gun safe larger than your current collection. This will ensure that your gun safe will be able to hold your collection as it expands.

Make sure that your safe will not only take care of your gun, but can function as a fire safe. This will ensure that, in the case of a fire, your guns remain protected.

You can find many types of gun safes, but go for one that can offer you the best in protection with the right materials and customized locks, which can stop the safe from being tampered with or broken open. Locks can come with both combination locks and key locks.

See if extras can come with your gun safe, like a rifle rack, shelves, and gun slots, so that you can keep your guns and their accessories organized.

Look into getting a gun safe that will anchor to the floor. In case you are burgled, you want to make sure that the burglars are unable to just pick up your safe and walk off with your guns.
Looking for a Houston locksmith who can give you the perfect gun safe for you needs? Visit us at Houston Safe and Lock where you can find what you need to make sure that your gun collection is safe and secure and your home is safe from any gun accidents.

Houston’s leading Locksmith and Security Expert, Fred Trotter with King Safe and Lock, comments on how to prevent Home Invasions like the one in Galveston County just south of Houston, Texas as seen on channel 2 news.  Police in Galveston County are looking for a gang of hold-up men they believe may have pulled off three home invasions in less than a week.  The latest attack happened Monday night at Ashley Simple’s home in the 1700 block of Wayside in Texas City.  Simple was alone in the house with four children. The oldest was 14 years old.  She said the robbers threatened to kill her and the kids as they ransacked the house looking for jewelry and cash.  Monday’s crime is one of three home invasion robberies that have happened in the same part of Galveston County in the last four days.  The same day Simple was robbed, there was a break-in in Galveston.  On Tuesday, an elderly woman was confronted by an armed robber in her home in Baycliff.  Police suspect the same gang of robbers is responsible for all three.  Anyone with information is asked to contact Texas City Police at 409-643-5834.  Houston’s leading Locksmith and Security expert, Fred Trotter with King Safe and Lock, recommends:  Install Medeco High Security Deadbolts on all your exterior doors.  The Medeco Deadbolt is the top level of the High Security and it is used by fortune 500 companies, Police departments, Treasury department and most locksmith shops and there’s a reason for that says Mr. Trotter.  This lock offers features which could have prevented the home invasion of Mrs. Simple’s house and others.  The locks features include a reinforced strike plate with 3 inch screws that reach well into the jam or frame of the door which would help prevent or delay kicking in of the door.  Its other features include restricted key duplication or key control, almost a 2 inch lock bolt with 1 inch inside the door and 1 inch outside and into the jam or frame of the house.  It is pick and bump key proof and drill resistant to most forms of attack available to the general public.  Home invasions are growing as the economy continues to slide.

Houston’s leading Locksmith and Security expert, Fred Trotter with King Safe and Lock, says you can’t afford not to install Medeco High Security Deadbolts because it’s a small price to pay for years of safety.  As proof he states with his 37 years experience he has only Medeco on both his home and his business.