Safety and security standards to consider when designing a home

A well planned and designed house can assist to achieve a secure and safe living environment. These safety and security features can be incorporated during the design and construction phase or even during maintenance and modification.

Safety

Many accidents happen in the house. The house design, materials, construction methods, appliances, and maintenance are all factors that can influence home safety. It is important to observe safety standards throughout the house, but some rooms are prone to accidents than others. Safety issues may relate to:

• kitchens

• bathrooms

• fittings

• Fire risk prevention

Kitchen safety

Most home accidents occur in the bathroom and kitchen. Applying the below design tips can reduce the likelihood of kitchen accidents.

– Have a design with unobstructed access to the cooking area, refrigerator and sink.

– Reduce or eliminate traffic around the work triangle.

– Use guardrail to protect hotplates and make use of fire resistant finishes above and adjacent to the cooktop.

– Round-off sharp bench corners and edges

– Have heatproof counter tops on the side of the grill or oven for quick hot dishes set down.

Bathroom safety

– Make use of slip-resistant flooring and try to avoid steps.

– Design bars and handles in showers, near baths and near the toilet for disabled and elderly users.

– Design child resistant cabinets for hazardous substances and medicines.

– Make sure that bathroom lock can easily be opened from outside in case there is an emergency.

– Have a night light or motion sensitive light in the passage to the toilet for safe access at night.

Doors

– Have self-closing but not self-locking screen doors installed at external entrances.

– Make sure that the inside door handles are at least 1m from the floor to avoid young children from opening them.

– Consider using latch rather than using knob type to enable easy use by disabled or weak people.

Security

It is no longer true that security and crime prevention is a matter for the police and other law enforcement agencies. Local authorities, neighborhoods, planners and even homeowners can play a significant role in reducing the fear of crime and incidences.

Appropriate home design can play a major role in crime prevention. Most of the burglaries are known to be opportunist crimes. In most cases, burglars only make their move after spotting an unlocked gate or open window. Some of the crime prevention principles through design include:

– Natural surveillance — you should make surveillance a regular part and routine of everyone in your home. This is achieved by positioning strategically for clear sightlines so that play areas, streets, and footpaths can be watched.

– Target hardening — improve your home security standards by securing windows and doors. Installing high-quality locks, door frames, hinges and exterior doors will go a long way to ensuring improved security. Outside lighting and alarm systems are also ways of having added security in the home.

– Access control — Make use of perceived or real barriers to deter intruders. Perceived barriers include flower gardens or a level change between the public space and your front yard. Real barriers can be a picket fence, hedge or brick wall.

—

DISCLAIMER: This article expresses my own ideas and opinions. Any information I have shared are from sources that I believe to be reliable and accurate. I did not receive any financial compensation in writing this post, nor do I own any shares in any company I’ve mentioned. I encourage any reader to do their own diligent research first before making any investment decisions.