# bars on windows



## moebaj

Just out of curiosity why do houses etc have bars on the windows?

Thanking you in anticipation

Moe


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## jojo

Rejas!! I've always assumed they are so that you can leave your windows open without fear of being broken into?? But they now seem to be almost a fashion accessory????


Jo xxx


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## Trubrit

If I wanted to spend time in a prison cell I would rob a bank


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## snikpoh

I would say that it has now become more of a cultural / style thing.

Having said that though, many insurance companies insist upon you having them.


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## 90199

To keep out the tea leafs and ganifs


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## mrypg9

Trubrit said:


> If I wanted to spend time in a prison cell I would rob a bank


That would be the case if your dwelling had very small rooms like prison cells. People in houses don't really notice them. Ours are quite attractive and useful for hanging our undies out to dry on the curly bits, I hasten to add of the rejas on windows facing the inner courtyard.


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## Lynn R

snikpoh said:


> I would say that it has now become more of a cultural / style thing.
> 
> Having said that though, many insurance companies insist upon you having them.


Yes, it is a condition of our insurance that we have rejas on all windows which are less than 3m off the ground. The ones on our upstairs windows come to less than half way up the windows, more like a balcony railing.

Ours are fairly ornate with lots of curlicues and I find them quite decorative. From inside we can only see the ones in the windows which form the top half of the front door anyway, as we have persianas between the rejas and the windowpanes on all the other windows. The biggest problem with them is that they are a pain to keep free of dust, imo.


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## Maureen47

We dont have rejas but do have metal blinds for security and also they open so can still let light in. Our insurance were happy with them. My SIL has rejas and cant say that I even notice them when in the house. We do have decorative metal gates over our normal doors and think thats a good security measure.


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## smitty5668

our place has them, can't say i've found them intrusive at all. in fact i think they're quite decorative in an odd sort of way.


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## Overandout

My flat is on the third floor (so the windows are about 9m above ground level). 

All the flats on the ground, first and second floors all have bars / grids on the windows. We didn't.

Guess who has been burgled twice!!!

Their prime use is NOT ornamental !!


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## Pesky Wesky

Checked with OH and he says our insurance doesn't stipulate anything about bars, but I think I might just check anyway...


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## thrax

All of ours are covered in hanging plants...


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## Alcalaina

Ours are very popular as perching points for young sparrows learning to fly (they nest in the electricity junction box).

Once we had this exotic visitor, which I'm told is a goldfinch cross, probably escaped from a cage.

I rarely have the downstairs windows open because we are right on the main street, but the rejas stop people nicking all the pots of herbs from on the kitchen windowsill.

I'm pretty sure we get an insurance discount. I know we get one for having a triple deadlock on the front door. Most of our neighbours don't bother with contents insurance though. Alcalá logic is that the rejas are to keep out burglars so why would you need it?


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## Jenny02

I also think they are kind of attractive, when i am lucky enough to have completed the move i really would like them on my windows, doors etc, for me it will be like: yeah! i am living in Spain:,i also am really fond of the security factor on a hot sticky night.


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## Jenny02

I could not agree more, who really needs to see your daily menu.
I am only getting used to this site so please be patient if i am not posting in the correct locations.


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## el romeral

I think much of Spain suffers from petty opportunist thieving either from houses, properties or cars. If something (not necessarily of great value) is visible and easily accesible it is at risk. When we had our house built, the option of not fitting window or door bars did not enter our heads as it "is what you do in Spain". Therefore all windows & doors on ground & first floor have them fitted.
Now, touch wood, 16 years later we have had no problems. Maybe it would have been the same outcome had we not fitted them, but I am glad that risk was not taken.
As for looks, they have never bothered me at all and they add a kind of ornate feature to the house - certainly not "prison like"
Of course, they will not stop the most determined of thieves, nothing will though. What they do is make life much more difficult for the vast majority of thieves and I do not believe they would manage to get through them without being noticed - at least when the house is occupied. Would make far too much noise, by which time the alarm button would be activated and police on their way.


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## Lolito

Am not sure they were originally intended to keep burglars out. My grandmother had them in her house for at least 60 years, and I remember always sleeping with outside doors opened in the summer, you could go out shopping all day long and keep everything opened, no burglars in that village at the time, everythings was quite different to today. However, we used them for hanging things to dry, plant pots, etc, very ornamental and useful. 

Today I think they might serve another purpose


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## Gazeebo

In our rental, all the front windows and front door have them and the old part of the villa at the back, but the new extension doesn't have any, so they are probably for visual effect rather than burglar effect.

However, I have lain in bed thinking - what if there was a fire, how would I get out through the window? Ah ha, good job the OH has bought a saw for the logs, I could saw my way out.


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## Megsmum

We were told by insurance company we had to have bars. BUT we are very remote in the Campo

I have read two reasons for Bars on windows and both go way back

1) the bars were on windows to keep young ladies inside the house and their suitors could coo through the window with no worries of you know what

2) Bars on doors and windows to keep you in and to prevent you being dragged out by Franco´s mob 

Both stories probably wildly untrue....but I prefer the romantic image rather than some bloody insurance company told me to get them


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## mrypg9

cambio said:


> We were told by insurance company we had to have bars. BUT we are very remote in the Campo
> 
> I have read two reasons for Bars on windows and both go way back
> 
> 1) the bars were on windows to keep young ladies inside the house and their suitors could coo through the window with no worries of you know what
> 
> 2) Bars on doors and windows to keep you in and to prevent you being dragged out by Franco´s mob
> 
> Both stories probably wildly untrue....but I prefer the romantic image rather than some bloody insurance company told me to get them


Both definitely untrue since

1) stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage, as the saying goes

and

2) if Franco's or any other mob wanted to get you, they would simply smash thedoor down and drag you out...or blow your house up with you in it.


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## 90199

Here on this island few windows are fitted with bars, but having said that we don't, touch wood, have many burglaries. Alarm systems on houses are unknown. Different story on the other islands though.

We have outside shutters fitted, prior to renewing the windows, we had internal shutters, and many still do.


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## Lolito

Hepa, you live practically in another planet... are there cars in your island?


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## 90199

Lolito said:


> Hepa, you live practically in another planet... are there cars in your island?



Yes, we have electricity and flush toilets also………….


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## tobyo

So glad to have searched this topic and found this thread. Where I live, bars on windows/doors mean the neighborhood is not safe and is to be avoided. I never considered the bars were for insurance purposes. and of course they deter would be thieves. Good to know about the insurance aspect. 

On with my research then. Still hoping for a move next year, God and COVID willing.......


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## tardigrade

tobyo said:


> So glad to have searched this topic and found this thread. Where I live, bars on windows/doors mean the neighborhood is not safe and is to be avoided. I never considered the bars were for insurance purposes. and of course they deter would be thieves. Good to know about the insurance aspect.
> 
> On with my research then. Still hoping for a move next year, God and COVID willing.......


Shutters also could be considered for insurance reasons.. They would serve 2 purposes, deter the thieves and block the hot sun from entering... As to the thieves, they just deter them to the doors or thru the roof - remove a few roofing tiles, squeeze thru the rafters and they are in.

In France the insurance companies require either shutters ( very thick wooden ones or in-built roll ups) or bars and I would think that that is the norm everywhere in Southern Europe.


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## tobyo

tardigrade said:


> Shutters also could be considered for insurance reasons.. They would serve 2 purposes, deter the thieves and block the hot sun from entering... As to the thieves, they just deter them to the doors or thru the roof - remove a few roofing tiles, squeeze thru the rafters and they are in.
> 
> In France the insurance companies require either shutters ( very thick wooden ones or in-built roll ups) or bars and I would think that that is the norm everywhere in Southern Europe.


They get in through the roof??? oh boy....I wonder how often that happens.

So then, how does one know which neighborhoods might be safer than others? We are looking in Malaga. Hubby especially likes east of Malaga.


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## tardigrade

tobyo said:


> They get in through the roof??? oh boy....I wonder how often that happens.
> 
> So then, how does one know which neighborhoods might be safer than others? We are looking in Malaga. Hubby especially likes east of Malaga.


This would only apply to houses as most builds have roofing tiles, the battens of wood (30x30mm) and beams spaced around 60cm apart. Easy to remove and climb thru. They also have sheet rock, plaster board (whatever you call it) on the ceilings, so again easy to break and slide thru to the floor.

Do not leave tools or ladders easily accessible.

It is also advisable to not leave your 1st or 2nd floor apartments street facing sliding door open while you sleep. They can and will climb in.
Between the numbering of "floors" here and Europe and back home I get confused as to numbers - is the first floor our 2nd floor or is zero the basement or our first floor, entry...

A good thing to install would be locks that you cannot open from the inside thru a lever or knob. Make sure a key is required to open from the outside and inside. Do not leave the keys in it nor close by but in the room you are sleeping. This is just in case someone does enter your property from a location other than the door; they then have to go out the way they came in and this could limit the amount and size of stuff they take.

Sorry, I do not know Malaga but give the Valencia region a thumbs up..


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## Alcalaina

tardigrade said:


> This would only apply to houses as most builds have roofing tiles, the battens of wood (30x30mm) and beams spaced around 60cm apart. Easy to remove and climb thru. They also have sheet rock, plaster board (whatever you call it) on the ceilings, so again easy to break and slide thru to the floor.


Very few houses in Andalucia have any wood or plasterboard in their construction. Rooves are usually flat and made of concrete.

I have known a case where robbers broke through a wall from an empty house next door though. It took a few days but they knew the occupants were away. Unfortunately (for them) the entrance door was deadlocked, so they couldn't take much as they had to leave through the hole they entered through.


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## Alcalaina

tobyo said:


> So glad to have searched this topic and found this thread. Where I live, bars on windows/doors mean the neighborhood is not safe and is to be avoided. I never considered the bars were for insurance purposes. and of course they deter would be thieves. Good to know about the insurance aspect.
> 
> On with my research then. Still hoping for a move next year, God and COVID willing.......


Great to hear you haven't given up on the move. Honestly, being burgled should not be high on your list of concerns when househunting! Deadlocked doors and bars on the windows are standard practice but more importantly, common sense and good relations with your neighbours will keep you safe.


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## tobyo

Alcalaina said:


> Great to hear you haven't given up on the move. Honestly, being burgled should not be high on your list of concerns when househunting! Deadlocked doors and bars on the windows are standard practice but more importantly, common sense and good relations with your neighbours will keep you safe.


Thanks! yea, we were supposed to be gone by now......alas, the world has changed as we both know. But because of the pandemic I was able to semi-retire as my previous employer offered me a retirement incentive and it took me all of two seconds to say "where do I sign??". I'll retire fully next April and we're planning a trip to Spain to search neighborhoods (in Malaga, with a few more days in Madrid because *I* have to go to Madrid!) and get a feel for where we might want to live.

At one point in the last year we decided to not go through the headache of applying for a visa (and bring our cat) and just stay somewhere here in the U.S. But after an extensive search in the U.S., there is nothing that compares to Spain. Of course not! We kept coming back to "we don't want to live in a cookie cutter house in suburbia America". Been there, done that and we're (_almost_) ready for an adventure and something different!

All that said, it's still awfully scary! And I know Spanish! So the reason I worry about being burgled is because we were, twice, in the same house. Since then I try to make sure the next place we live is safer.

And because of our outdoors cat, we need to find a place where 1) they accept pets and 2) he can go out and wander which would be difficult in an apartment (unless it's on the ground floor with a terrace, I guess). Good to know that deadbolts and bars on windows are standard. We're also good on the "common sense and good relations with neighbors" category. Thanks so much for this reassuring reply. I appreciate it!


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## tobyo

tardigrade said:


> This would only apply to houses as most builds have roofing tiles, the battens of wood (30x30mm) and beams spaced around 60cm apart. Easy to remove and climb thru. They also have sheet rock, plaster board (whatever you call it) on the ceilings, so again easy to break and slide thru to the floor.
> 
> Do not leave tools or ladders easily accessible.
> 
> It is also advisable to not leave your 1st or 2nd floor apartments street facing sliding door open while you sleep. They can and will climb in.
> Between the numbering of "floors" here and Europe and back home I get confused as to numbers - is the first floor our 2nd floor or is zero the basement or our first floor, entry...
> 
> A good thing to install would be locks that you cannot open from the inside thru a lever or knob. Make sure a key is required to open from the outside and inside. Do not leave the keys in it nor close by but in the room you are sleeping. This is just in case someone does enter your property from a location other than the door; they then have to go out the way they came in and this could limit the amount and size of stuff they take.
> 
> Sorry, I do not know Malaga but give the Valencia region a thumbs up..


yep, that's exactly what we did in our rental house all those years ago that was broken into. Got those deadbolts that you have to use a key and the second time, the thieves didn't get away with as much. 

In Spain floor zero is the first floor to us and the 1st floor is the 2nd floor to us. Sort of like birthdays. In Spanish we say "I'm completing year 20" so ages start at zero too. That could be one way to think about the numbering of floors in Spain. I think the basement might be minus zero? I think I saw that in a Corte Ingles?

I grew up in Los Angeles, CA where a friend's car was stolen from our driveway when I was a teenager. Might have been since then that I'm very vigilant. I never sleep with windows or doors open so, no issue in Spain! Oh, unless there's no A/C.....but hopefully we find a place with A/C.


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## tardigrade

Electricity has skyrocketed in price here over the summer so that is also something to consider - what type of A/C is installed. Ceiling fans are also great and have come down in price in the last years... Remember that there is a switch for winter and summer on them; the same goes with the mattress -- one side for winter and one side for summer.


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## Lynn R

tardigrade said:


> Electricity has skyrocketed in price here over the summer so that is also something to consider - what type of A/C is installed. Ceiling fans are also great and have come down in price in the last years... Remember that there is a switch for winter and summer on them; the same goes with the mattress -- one side for winter and one side for summer.


Actually I have been (pleasantly) surprised by the change in my electricity bills. My supplier (Naturgy) only sent me an up to date bill yesterday, which covered the months of May, June and July. The May section of the bill was charged at the old tariff, of course. I have a single rate tariff so no difference in price no matter what time of day or day of the week I use the appliances, and for June and July the unit price is now 30% higher than I was paying in May. However, because the standing charges are now a bit lower, the supplier is giving a discount of 25% on the standing charges and a 5% discount on the electricity consumption, plus the reduction in IVA to 10% from the normal 21%, my bill for those 3 months was €20 lower than the amount I paid for the same months last year. I hope the campaign to have the IVA reduction made permanent for consumers with a potencia below 6kw is successful.


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## fortrose52

Tobyo, bars on windows in Spain are nothing to do with theft. It was for keeping young maidens in. When they were out they were chaperoned. When a boyfriend (novio) was allowed to speak to them on high days and holidays, they spoke through the bars. Not kidding


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## tobyo

fortrose52 said:


> Tobyo, bars on windows in Spain are nothing to do with theft. It was for keeping young maidens in. When they were out they were chaperoned. When a boyfriend (novio) was allowed to speak to them on high days and holidays, they spoke through the bars. Not kidding


ha! actually, that sounds vaguely familiar now that I read it. interesting!!


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## trotter58

tobyo said:


> .......In Spain floor zero is the first floor to us and the 1st floor is the 2nd floor to us. Sort of like birthdays. In Spanish we say "I'm completing year 20" so ages start at zero too. That could be one way to think about the numbering of floors in Spain. I think the basement might be minus zero? I think I saw that in a Corte Ingles?..........


For us in the UK the numbering is different again. Our "ground floor" is your 1st floor in the USA and floor 0 in Spain. Our 1st floor is 2nd floor in USA and floor 1 in Spain. I suppose if you've got buildings with a split level then "ground floor" could be confusing.

BTW The basement is -1 in Spain


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## fortrose52

Bars also symbolic of the constant invasions


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## fortrose52

Agree trotter58. Then there is basement


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## Alcalaina

Bars are so you can leave the windows open at night in summer without the fear of someone climbing in. There are other, more romantic explanations but I'm not sure they apply in this day and age!


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## Mike Zwing

snikpoh said:


> I would say that it has now become more of a cultural / style thing.


This seems to be a culturally-based practice. It is common not only in Spain, but in many Hispanic countries. It is ubiquitous, for instance, in Puerto Rico.


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