Can anyone give me advise on Window Grills - we will soon be taking possession of our new apartment in Benaulim and though our complex has security we have been advised to put grills on the windows and french doors.
I am looking for an experienced grill fitter in south goa - preferably one who can provide decent design options - so we can make our place look more aesthetic than the 'prison look' that i have seen in defacto grill designs there.
if anyone has had this done recently i would also be interested to know how much i should expect to spend on approx 7 grills averaging 5ft x 7 ft each (this is just a ball park) - thanks

This is not the "defacto" answer you are looking for, but most "Goan Grill Makers" quote by square foot, according to your design, so if you can come up with some sort of prison bars that you find aesthetically pleasing (not taking the p*ss, they are essential with a capital "F", try looking at Moorish lattice patterns, thats what I did when I was daft enough to think I could live there) and draw them on to a piece of paper. Get lots of estimates locally where you can "sit" on them till they get it right. The estimates will vary wildly, the quality will not!
Good luck and Happy Christmas
J5

Hi J5 - will look up designs and take copies to show them what i'm looking for - and yes i can imagine one would have to be there to make sure they get it right. i will get several estimates as suggested - thanks and wishing you and yours a Happy Christmas and New Years too .

oktata, please dont just take copies, present these people with a very simple line drawing, to your specification. Its the only way to get wht you want, as well as a fair quote on price. Too many FN's think the grills are a minor point, forgetting that they are what you look at, in every room, all the time! If they are wrong.........................

I dont want to unnerve you, but these grills can be removed simply with a car jack. Its happened quite often here. Its been found that a good house alarm is generally a good additional deterrent

If you put a white cement seal around the whole grill frame and over the rivets, it makes removal much more difficult. Make sure as well that the rivets are at least 2 inches long and three quarter inch wide - this is the bit that goes into the wall so the longer the rivet the more force is required to remove.

Dread - keep 'em out !
x

Those same car jacks are also used to pry the bars of your window grill apart, creating enough space for one of the low lifes to slither through. Try a big dog; works for me.

In India you can have window grills made up in intricate designs, so instead of having bars, have a design made that has horizontal and vertical bars on it, or go for a pattern of diamond shapes. That will make it more difficult for anyone to car jack a hole big enough to get through. I have grills which are an attractive design and even if you used a car jack, any hole made would not be big enough even for a child to climb through.
Oktata, Im in the North but please feel free to come for a visit and see for yourself. I have certainly not seen any reports of things like car jacks or professional tools being used for burglaries - most seem opportunist in the points of entry.
Wouldn't recommend a dog in Goa - too much risk of rabies !

Dread - If they're gonna steal it make 'em work for it!!
x

Hi Okata,

If you click on the link you can see the type our builder installed for us......
I don't know how burglar proof these grills really are though....i guess if someone really wants to get in they can.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/remysh...32852168385522

Regards,
Remy

People have tried everything here in Spain. Bottom line is, they are a slight deterrent. But, they will not stop people getting into your house if they are determined. It would need to be designed so there is no way a jack can be placed between the wall and grill.

An alarm has been proved to be much more of a deterrent here, because of course it attracts attention. The alarm box needs to be at a height out of reach otherwise expanding foam can silence it

Plus with Grills .... do you have a strategy for getting out of the house should a fire start by the doors?

I agree with you Mitzyboy however,

Grills are only a deterrent and definitely not full proof but their not meant to be (in Goa anyway) they need to be monkey proof.
The problem with alarms in Goa is that the electric is sometimes more off than on........actually i don't recall ever seeing or hearing an alarm in Goa.

I think though grills like a door lock are only to stop the opportunist thief (which has already been rightly pointed out) and if someone wants to get in that bad then they probably could, especially as a lot of properties remain
vacant for months at a time.

We are fortunate to have a couple of Indian families that live in our small apartment block full time and they monitor entry and exit to the building which is probably better than any alarm. I really wouldn't want to stay in Goa if i had to fortify my apartment to the extreme!

Regards,
Remy

Cant even keep the FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF mossies out, with mossie screens and draft excluders - I seek them here, I seek them there, the
***************** mossies are every where
Merry Christmas all.

Thank you everyone for sharing your ideas. if and when i find a reliable grill guy in south goa who offers nice design options, i will share the information here for the benefit of others. we will be there in a month and hope to have as much work done as we possibly can during the 2 weeks we are there.
wishing everyone here the very best for Christmas and the holidays. I hope the new year brings positive news for the folks who are affected by property and visa problems

I agree with all the above posts, grills or burglar bars as we call them of any design will be a useful deterrent to the opportunist who is only looking to carry off what he can carry with two hands (money,jewelery etc).Here in Barbados alarms seem to elicit little or no response particularly from police who never turn up on time and rarely turn up at all. As there is no rabies evident in Barbados,dogs are still the best early warning system we have,although on rare occasions people have had their dog poisoned. The only persistent intruders which will find that gap smaller than a pin head and enter are the FFFFFFFFFF mozzies!
I agree with Remy,I would hate to sacrifice the aesthetic value of my house by turning it into a fortress.
Echoing oktata's sentiments,all the best to one and all for Christmas and the New Year. We are coming to Goa sometime in the new year,hoping to rent an apartment (with grills) long term,and of course meet friendly expats.

it´s doesn´t matter what you protect your property with, it´s not going to stop the goan goverment getting in.