Hank Dalton
For older folks who live alone, and their kids who worry about them

You don't need a fortress. You need a home too annoying to break into.

A $500 security camera records the crime. It doesn't stop it. And burglars don't pick the toughest house. They pick the easier target next door. Home Defense Secrets shows you the $10 fix for that, then every other cheap job that makes a burglar walk past your house to an easier one. Most of it takes a screwdriver and one weekend. No monthly bill. No ladder. No gun required. The best part? It all costs less than a tank of gas.

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71Pages
15Chapters
$10The first fix

"Most burglars are not after you. They are after the easy house. Your whole job is to make sure that isn't yours."

From Chapter 1
Cover of Home Defense Secrets: the no-contract plan to make burglars pick another house, by Hank Dalton
I · The problem

You lie awake listening, and the answers you've been sold cost $50 a month.

Every noise at night

A creak downstairs and you're wide awake. You check the back door twice before bed. Or it's your mother living alone two hours away, and you're the one who can't sleep.

The salesman at the door

He talks about break-ins "on your street", then leaves a contract for $50 to $80 a month, for three to five years. Cancelling can be a nightmare, and some families are still paying after a parent has passed away.

Advice that doesn't fit

"Get a dog." "Get a gun." "Put up cameras." "If they want in, they'll get in anyway." A camera records the break-in. It doesn't stop a boot. And none of that advice tells you what to do this Saturday.

Here's what most people never hear: a burglar doesn't pick the house he wants. He picks the one that looks easiest, fastest and quietest. Change those three things and he walks on by. That's the whole book.

II · What you get

The whole plan, plus the cards, lists and letters to carry it out

  • The full 71-page book as an instant PDF, plus an EPUB for phones, tablets and Kindle
  • 15 chapters in 7 parts, in plain words with big, clear type, at a 3rd-grade reading level
  • The Front Door Fix. The 20-minute, $10 job that matters more than any lock or camera
  • Every other door, the garage, sliding doors and windows, each with its cheap fix
  • How to make an empty house look lived-in, light up the yard, and make it loud with no monthly bill
  • The knock at the door, the salesman, and how to get an alarm without the contract trap
  • The 3 A.M. Plan, and a weekend plan: free habits first, then a $20 hardware run, then the big jobs
  • Every chapter tells you what it costs and how long it takes, before you start
Plus 5 free bonusesvalued at
Bonus 1 cover Bonus 2 cover Bonus 3 cover Bonus 4 cover Bonus 5 cover
  • The Weekend Fix Cards12 printable job cards: what to buy, how long it takes, every step. Hand one to whoever is helping you.
  • The 3 A.M. Plan CardsA bedside card with what to say to 911, a fridge card for your numbers, and a door card.
  • Mom's House, From Two Hours AwayFor sons and daughters: how to bring it up, a 3-hour visit plan, and simple daily check-ins.
  • The Salesman ShieldRed flags, the questions to ask, the three-day cancelling rule, and a cancellation letter you can copy.
  • Hank's Hardware ListEverything in the book by store aisle, with rough prices. Take it to the store.
Total value · one time, no subscription, yours forever
Get Home Defense Secretsthe book + 5 bonuses
III · How it works

Three rules. Every fix in the book does at least one.

Before he picks a house, a burglar asks three quick questions from the sidewalk: Is anybody home? How long will it take? How much noise will it make? The book changes every answer.

Rule 1

Slow him down

Long screws in the strike plate, a stick in the slider track, a pin in the window. Every extra minute is a minute he doesn't have.

Rule 2

Light him up

Motion lights, lamps on random timers, trimmed bushes. He needs the dark and a hiding place. Take both away.

Rule 3

Make it loud

A $3 door alarm, a door-stop alarm, the panic button on your car keys. Noise at the exact moment he wants quiet.

IV · What is inside

Seven parts, from the sidewalk to your bedside

Part 1 — How He Picks a House

The three questions every burglar asks, and a 20-minute walk-around to see your house the way he does.

Part 2 — The Doors

The most important twenty minutes in the book, then the back door, the side door, the storm door and the garage.

Part 3 — Sliding Doors and Windows

The one-dollar fix that stops a slider, and the free and cheap answers to "they'll just break a window".

Part 4 — Lived-In, Lit Up, and Loud

Make an empty house look full, take away the dark and the hiding places, and make noise with no monthly bill.

Part 5 — People at the Door

Strangers, workers, the polite man with questions, and the salesman who wants a five-year contract.

Part 6 — Inside the House

Where to keep what matters, and the plan for the night you hope never comes.

Part 7 — Your Plan

Everything in the right order: free first, then twenty dollars, then the bigger jobs. One weekend.

At the back — Sources

Where the numbers come from, including a survey of 422 convicted burglars about how they choose a house.

Show all 15 chapters, with cost and time
  1. The Easy House free · 10 min read
  2. The Sidewalk Walk-Around free · 20 min
  3. The Front Door Fix $10–25 · 20–40 min
  4. Every Other Door free–$60 · 1–2 hrs
  5. The Garage free–$25 · 30 min
  6. Sliding Doors $1–25 · 15 min
  7. Windows free–$40 · 1 hr
  8. Somebody's Home free–$20 · 30 min
  9. Light and the Yard free–$50 · a morning
  10. Make It Loud $5–40 · 30 min
  11. The Knock at the Door free · a habit
  12. Alarms Without the Trap your choice
  13. Hiding What Matters free–$100 · an afternoon
  14. The 3 A.M. Plan free–$60 · one evening
  15. Your Weekend Plan from $0 · one weekend
V · A look at the pages

Big type, simple pictures, real prices

These are real pages from the book and the bonuses. Every fix shows you why it works, what to buy, and each step in order.

The book's contents page
Contents
Chapter 3, The Front Door Fix: a drawing of short factory screws next to 3-inch screws reaching the stud
The Front Door Fix
Weekend Fix Card 1: long screws in the strike plate, with cost, time, tools and steps
A fix card
VI · What this book gets right

The honest version, before you buy

What it does well

It starts with the cheapest fix that does the most, and works outward from there. Most jobs need a screwdriver and a few dollars of hardware, and every one tells you what it costs and how long it takes. If a job is too much for your hands or your knees, the fix cards are written so you can hand them to a grandson, a neighbour or a handyman. And it shows you how to get out of a bad alarm contract, not into one.

What it does not promise

No lock, door or alarm can promise that a home will never be broken into, and this book doesn't either. It won't make your house "burglar-proof". It makes it a harder target than the houses around it, which is what most burglars avoid. It isn't legal advice, and it doesn't replace calling 911.

VII · Is it for you

Written for a specific reader

This book is for you if

  • You live alone, or someone you love does
  • You've been pitched an alarm contract and don't want a monthly bill
  • You want cheap fixes you can do yourself, or hand to a helper
  • You'd like to feel safe at home without buying a gun or a dog
  • You want one clear plan, in order, instead of a hundred videos

It is not for you if

  • You want a smart-home gadget system with apps for everything
  • You're looking for a firearms or self-defense course
  • You want a guarantee that no one can ever get in. Nobody honest can give you that
Hank Dalton in his workshop
"Most of what makes a house safer is cheap. Most of it you can do yourself, or with a grandson, in one weekend. And none of it comes with a monthly bill."
Hank Dalton · Author of Home Defense Secrets

Hank has spent about twenty years fixing doors, locks and windows, a lot of them for folks living on their own. He keeps hearing the same two things: the fear, and the salesman. His own mother lives alone a couple of towns away, and every fix in this book is one he's done on her house, or would. He wrote it the way he'd explain it to her: plain words, real prices, and the most important jobs first.

VIII · Questions

Before you ask

I'm not handy. Can I really do this?

Most of the fixes need a screwdriver and a few minutes. The book starts with the free and easy ones. For anything that needs a drill, a ladder or strong hands, the Weekend Fix Cards are written so you can give one to a grandson, a neighbour or a handyman, and they'll have everything they need.

"If they want in, they'll get in anyway." Isn't that true?

A determined professional can get into almost anything. But that's not who breaks into most homes. Most burglars pick the easiest house nearby, and in a survey of 422 convicted burglars, most said they'd move on to another house if they saw signs of an alarm or people nearby. You don't have to stop everyone. You just have to look harder than the house next door.

Won't they just break a window?

Breaking glass is loud, slow and risky, which is everything a burglar is trying to avoid. Chapter 7 covers the free and cheap answers: locking the windows people forget, window pins, and security film that holds broken glass together.

Do I need an alarm company? Should I cancel mine?

A good alarm can help, and Chapter 12 shows you how to choose one without getting locked into a long contract. It also covers alarms with no monthly fee at all. If you signed something at the door in the last few days, the Salesman Shield bonus explains the three-day cancelling rule and gives you a letter to send.

Why not just get a dog, or a gun?

A dog helps, and the book shows you how to borrow a dog's reputation without owning one. A gun is a serious, personal decision, and the book won't make it for you. What it does show you is that once the doors hold, the alarms work and there's a plan, a lot of the fear behind that question gets smaller.

I'm buying this for my mom. Will it help me?

Yes. Bonus 3, Mom's House From Two Hours Away, is written for you: how to bring it up without making her feel helpless, a 3-hour visit-day plan that covers the most important jobs, and simple ways to check in from a distance.

How much will the hardware cost?

The most important fix costs about $10. About $25 covers long screws in every door, a stick for the slider and two lamp timers, and the book's whole weekend plan comes in under $100. A lot of it is free. Hank's Hardware List gives you every item by store aisle with rough prices, so you know before you go.

Can I read it on my phone or tablet?

Yes. The book and every bonus come as a PDF and an EPUB. The PDF looks like the printed page and prints cleanly at home, which is best for the cards and lists. The EPUB is made for phones and e-readers like Kindle, Kobo and Apple Books, and the text resizes to whatever is easiest for you to read.

How is it delivered? Is there a monthly charge?

It's a one-time payment. No subscription, nothing to cancel. Your download links arrive right away on the confirmation page and in your email.

He's already looking for the easy house. Make sure it isn't yours.

The whole plan, ready to read tonight and start this weekend, starting with a $10 fix.

Get Home Defense Secretsthe book + 5 bonuses