Sir William
New member
If the frame/structure will stand it, add interior brick walls. NOT Z-bricks, actual bricks can often be installed inside as wall treatments and texture. You can wax them or paiint or stucco texture them. I have 8" blocks in my living room and I will be putting Coronado stone over that for the final texture. Glass block windows are good for privacy, security and insulation. I prefer old-fashioned French doors with heavy duty brass hardware and 8-way locking. Bedrooms? One on each floor and a summer bedroom in the backyard. I am looking into residential sprinklers, fire extinguishers in the wall wells and GFCIs in the breaker box for expanded fire safety. I have a 4 legged alarm. Most alarm systems are rip-offs. The use of heavy duty materials in new vinyls, fire resistent/treated woods and metal roofing/siding as well as concrete siding/trim will beef up security, reduce maintenance, be durable and give a good appearance. Be careful though, if it looks good, your taxes WILL go up. A friend does something unusual at night. He has motion detector strobe lighting. If you break the perimeter, powerful strobe lights go off. He says it is cheap to operate and he has heard curses as BGs went somewhere else. I still like floodlights.