For one reason or another, we've (meaning my WIFE) has decided we need a security system on the house. Granted, it does sit 75 yards from the road, has woods behind it, and no streetlights or flood lights on the side of the house...but we HAVE to have it <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />, even though I have two portable, point and click security systems in my nightstand, as does she. I'm not concerned about when we are at home. I'm not too concerned about when we aren't home either, as we don't travel much.

We talked with Brinks and ADT, and have decided to go with ADT, as they had much more to offer than Brinks. They seem to have some what better contingency plans for our needs, as we are in the same 'monitoring center area' as the states in hurricane alley (except Florida). Also, the ADT man brought tons of references, which we checked about 10 of, he did a more thorough assessment of the home than the Brinks gal did, and he ignored his cell when it rang, and the Brinks gal answered every call. He also explained the installation process, the guarantees, and the advantages of ADT.

The Brinks gal came in, looked around wrote stuff down, and left the rest to us. She ignored when we said we'd prefer a window open sensor over the kitchen sink instead of a glass breakage sensor, and she had the motion detector in an area that it would not have been effective in.

So, we are getting sensors on all ground level windows, and a motion detector pointing across the living room that covers all front windows and the front door, and the stairs up. A sensor on the garage door and the two doors into the garage from the kitchen and mudroom. Also, I installed some Mr. Goodbars (not the chocolatey treat) on the sliding glass doors in the kitchen.

I know some of you here are familiar with home/work systems ...does this sound like overkill, or is there such a thing as too much when it comes to securing your home?

The only thing that concerns me is the average response time for County Sheriff there is 17-22 minutes. There is a county mountie that lives down the hill. But lots can happen in 17 minutes.