Rehabbing a house with window units

[Hugh Ayles]

A few weeks ago we got robbed.  They pushed in a window unit and got away with about $1,000 of tools.

I had never lived in or owned a house with window units.  We are adding central air so the window units are being replaced.

I put wood framing above and inside the window unit so it could not push it in again.

I checked the other window units and they were too high off the ground to get pushed in so I did not take extra precautions.

Flash forward a couple of weeks and the HVAC company set a condensing unit near a window which had a window unit.  The thieves were back and used the condensing unit to reach the window unit and come inside.  The A/C is not hooked up yet or the window units would be gone.

They were nice enough to slice open the screen on a window we had just installed.  Makes for easier access.

This occurred Saturday night.

Last night we left from 7 PM to 9 PM to get dinner.  Upon returning we saw that our new friends had been back as we saw cinder blocks stacked under a window.

All AC units had been secured with boards across the fronts and they were thwarted.

After the first break in, I saw there was a temporary security system (Simplisafe) but I figured the cop was right and we would not be hit again.  Wrong.  The system costs less than the chop saw that got stolen. 

Lessons learned:

If you have window units, secure all of them right away.  

Also, get a security system.  The equipment is a one time purchase, is wireless, and supposedly easy to move. 

I don't know yet if the system will work, but I hope it will.  I hate thieves.