Best Secret Hiding Places: Dead Space
By Robert Siciliano Nov 30 , 2011 | 9:30:00 amPosted in: Burglary & Loss Prevention Burglars know where you hide stuff. That key under the mat or in the flower pot or the jewelry in the dresser draw or the cash in the cookie jar. But there are better ways to do things. A heavy fire retardant safe bolted to the floor is best. And there are other options too.
We have dead space all over our homes. If you are handy, this dead space can become handy.
1. Walls: There is a 16 inch center to center void in most of your homes walls made up of 2x4s and sheetrock. Newer homes built in the last 30-40 years have sheetrock opposed to horse hair plaster. Sheetrock is much easier to cut out and make a faux access panel. This is a great hiding place for anything including long items like rifles and shotguns.
2. Stairs: Underneath stairs there is often a big void as big as the tread itself. This isn’t always the case so consider drilling a hole before you go ripping up a tread.
3. Staircases: Underneath many staircases is a closet of some kind meant to fill the big void the staircase creates. But there is always an additional void that gets boarded up because it’s too low to the ground to be effective space for a closet.
4. Kitchen cabinets: In many homes the tops of kitchen cabinets are exposed giving plenty of space up top to lay things flat. In other cases the tops of the cabinets meet sheetrock that meets the ceiling. This can be a big void. Cut a hole in the top of a cabinet and put stuff up there, then seal the hole with a panel. The very bottom of cabinets have a similar void.
5. Electrical outlets: Because your walls are hollow making a small hiding place out of a fake electrical outlet is easy. Hardware stores have all you need to cut a hole, put in a deep outlet box and put a non useable outlet or switch in.
Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing ADT Pulse on Fox News Live. Disclosures
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