Use burglar-proofs that enhance beauty in your home

Theft has been a great threat to people, especially around Kampala areas. This has made most homes adopt the use of burglar-proofs on their windows and doors to bar thieves from entering.
However, in the urge to fight thieves, most houses have lost their beauty due to poor choice of burglar designs. Here is how to incorporate burglar proofs and maintain beauty at the same time.

Choose a good design
Isaac Mutebi, a burglar-proof welder in Goma Seeta, notes that it is not a matter of attaching any kind of design to your window or door. You need to choose burglar-proof designs basing on what adds beauty to the general outlook of the place.
“Burglar-proofs come in a variety of designs and shape, choosing the best for the house depends on someone’s taste. It is very important that you choose the best design to maintain beauty in your house,” he says, adding that some are in oval shapes, flower like shapes, louver form, to mention but a few.

Go for matching colours
Sometimes people choose burglar-proofs without putting in mind the kind of colour your house has. Just putting any colour will mean creating contrast with other house colours hence a bad look. Jackie Biira, an interior designer, notes that it is important to match the colours to have a uniform look.
“Let the colour on your burglar-proof complement the theme colour of the house. This colour should be the same with that of the window or complement it.

Uniformity is key
Sometimes people incorporate different designs on windows and doors, which makes the two belong to different worlds. A good and organised house should have look-alike features, especially windows and doors.
So, the window burglar-proofs should match that of the door.
“The designs on the windows should be similar in shape, design, colour and make. This will give your house an attractive look hence maintaining beauty,” Biira adds.

Add flowers
Complements on burglar-proofs could be flowers, or ornaments. Boniface Wanja, a landscaper and director at Bonre Consultancy Palour, notes that hanging plants could create a great effect on burglar-proofs. Some of the plants you can incorporate include:
Petunias. These grow in a bush shape and will bloom often with many coloured flowers. They attract birds, especially humming birds. They are low in maintainace.
Vine species. These include impatiens, they are beautifully colored flowers.
Mint. These are also a good option. They grow quickly and bring in a feeling of fresh air, they are also good herbs for people, especially those who want to lose weight.

Vegetable hanging. These Plants include cherry tomatoes, egg plants and straw berry and these need to be sprayed to avoid insect invasion.
The verbena flowers. This flower can grow well in any soil type as long as it is well-drained.
Moss rose. When planting these are normally affected with insects and snails that can damage them. It is better you treat them with insecticide or repellents, as needed.
Heliotrope. They are highly fragrant flowers on 3-foot-tall plants. Other plants include Lantana, Signet marigold, Licorice vine and Water hyssop.

Material
Mutebi adds that some burglarproofs are actually weak and may not do the required job, therefore, checking for the strength is important. They should be strong enough to bar anyone from entering.
Light metals may rust easily, therefore, double checking the material strength is important.

Safety and burglar proofs
Some people are skeptical about burglar proofs because they are worried about having a way out in case of a fire. Issac Muhumuza, a fire fighter, notes that every house has to have an emergency door known by only the family members and a fire extinguisher.
“Having burglar proofs is tricky, they have to be strong enough to bar thieves yet may need to be broken in case of a fire. The best option would be having a fire extinguisher to put off the fire,” he says.
He adds that you need to take measures that would keep the house safe from fire to avoid such scenarios.

How to take care of burglar designs
Isaac Mutebi, a burglar design welder in Goma Seeta, notes that since they have a variety of designs, they are prone to habour a lot of dust especially for people living on the road side. They could also habour a number of insects in case they are carrying plants, so taking good care of them is paramount.
Constantly clean them with clean soapy water concentrating on the deep corners where the dust hides most, after wipe dry without leaving any water to avoid rusting.
Spray the plants to reduce insect invasion that could damage the plants of harm the people in the home. Weed the plants regularly to keep the clean and looking good.

Think about cleaning when choosing burglar proof patterns

There are different designs of burglar-proofs on the market and homeowners have a chance to personalise theirs according to their aspirations. As they go about planning the designs of the burglar-proofs, they should consider how they will be cleaned and maintained. Yasin Mukasa, a window cleaner, says: “Most burglar-proof windows are not easy to clean due to the complicated designs of the burglar-proof; the patterns are narrow for a hand to manoeuvre through, which causes a build-up of dust, especially in the joints of the patterns.”

Mukasa says a homeowner should ensure there is enough space left to move the hand with ease while cleaning the burglar-proof as well as the window or door.
He advises that fabricators leave a space of at least five to six inches in between the burglar-proof and the glass of the window.

“Some designs are so intricate that the smallest cleaning brush cannot clean them well. In this case, one has to use high water pressure to get some of these patterns clean. Yet large amounts of water can affect the house paint as well as the walls,” Mukasa says.

He advises homeowners to go for simple beautiful designs that can be easily cleaned.
Daphine Nsangi, a housekeeper, says: “Although some burglar-proofs may have complicated designs and cannot be easily cleaned, regular cleaning like twice a week can eventually make the burglar-proofs clean.” “The use of a toothbrush can also help get rid of the dirt that seats in the burglar-proof joints.” She remarks.

Robert Kizito, a fabricator, says: “Complicated designs denote complicated cleaning. Elaborate burglar-proof designs do look good when they are still new, however, because of their composition, getting them clean is not as easy and after a while they will look old because of inadequate cleaning.

Kizito says fabricators have factors they consider when coming up with burglar-proof designs such as the strength of the metal to be used, latest trends and the cleaning factor. However, he adds that it is entirely up to the client to choose a pattern that is good, durable and can easily be cleaned.

Kizito advises homeowners to consult experts on burglar-proof designs that can accommodate all the necessary factors prior going to the market.
Burglar-proofs that are not attached to the windows or doors are easy to clean compared to those that are attached the windows or doors Judith remarks.

Additional reporting by Judith Wekikye

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