Renovating is an advantageous time to upgrade the safety features of your living space to help prevent break-ins, home invasions, serious injuries and, in some cases, death.
Stan Bardal, president of Secure All Inc., has cutting-edge materials that will secure your house, condo or cottage against intruders and much more.
One product is a high-grade, stainless steel screen that cannot be "breached with a hatchet," said Bardal.
He said in 2012 there were more than 3,000 break-ins in Winnipeg, as well as 2,700 home invasions in Canada in which more than one-third of the victims were seriously injured or killed.
Front and back doorways and garages are the main areas targeted by crooks and home invaders, he said.
"Aside from its ability to thwart would-be criminals, this 3/16-inch mesh blocks about 60 per cent of the sun's harmful UV rays and reduces cooling costs," he said, adding the ultra-tough screen prevents falls from windows, a danger to which kids are especially susceptible.
According to U.S. statistics, more than 5,000 children are treated in hospital emergency departments across the country each year, and 64 per cent of these accidents are falls from first-floor windows about six to eight feet above the ground.
Bardal said the tragic death of Eric Clapton's son, Conor, could have been prevented if the opening created by a floor-to-ceiling window removed to ventilate the apartment had been fitted with a steel safety screen.
On a soon-to-be-launched website, Bardal will promote a safety-awareness program called Kid's Don't Fly that recommends windows be opened no further than four inches to prevent children from falling out of them.
"Regular fly-screen isn't strong enough to stop a youngster from tumbling through it," said Bardal.
He hopes to educate parents and first responders to the danger of open windows fitted only with light-weight screen.
He also recommended that home, apartment and condo owners renovate to include security screen on gazebos, sun porches and balconies, which are easy entrance points for thieves.
In case of fire, all casement screens have a built-in interior escape handle that can be triggered by a child, said Bardal.
Another use for his product is to create a safe garage by outfitting it with a screen door that can be closed in warm seasons to allow ventilation and provide a "man cave" for a DIYer. The screen runs on a separate track, has its own safety-locked door and is virtually impregnable.
"The longer it takes intruders to break into a dwelling the more likely they are to move on," he said.
The steel mesh is fine enough to keep out mosquitoes, flies and other insects and strong enough to act as a bear deterrent, which is especially good news for cottage owners.
"Sliding patio doors fitted with 3/16-inch steel screen are much more likely to prevent critters of all kinds from entering a rural retreat than ordinary fibreglass or light metal screens," he said.
Bardal is currently in the process of building trailers that will be equipped with all the materials necessary to allow an installer to custom build doors, windows and other safety screen products on site.
Soon to be added to his product line is Hammer Glass, an unbreakable material that is stronger than the bullet-proof glass used to protect VIPs in limousines.
"Hammer Glass will deflect a bullet fired from a high-power rifle without shattering, as well as withstand the weight of a 500-pound weight dropped from a height of eight feet without breaking," said Bardal, the exclusive Canadian distributor of the Swedish made product.
The glass was developed by Swedish researchers in the 1990s in response to an insurance company's need to reduce glass breakage claims.
Bardal said uses for the durable glass include private residences, commercial buildings such as schools, and homes for special needs people.
Franchisees will be trained at a facility in Winnipeg, where they will be taught the correct procedures for installing both glass and safety screen.
Bardal said he expects doors, windows and other products fitted with Hammer Glass to be available by spring.
For more information, visit www.secureall.ca or call 204-669-9805.
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