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Security isn’t about luck—it’s about strategy. In this podcast, we break down how to protect your home, family, and business from threats most people don’t even think about. We’re not here to fuel fear—we’re here to help you prepare.
Hosted by security professionals, Michael Johnson, a retired law enforcement captain with 29 years of experience and James Kerr an expert from Boss Security Screens, this podcast delivers real, no-nonsense advice. We know what truly stops burglars—not just locks and alarms, but layered security strategies that keep your home and business safe.
What you'll learn in this podcast:
✅ Why the concept of “layered security” is the only way to protect your property.
✅ Guns for self-defense: myths, reality, and what you really need to consider.
✅ How to build a safe space for yourself and your family while minimizing risk.
✅ Real-life stories of break-ins and assaults - and why some homes remain impregnable.
📢 Subscribe now and stay one step ahead of those who rely on luck.
🛡 Ready to take home security seriously?
Visit https://bosssecurityscreens.com/free-consultation for a free consultation.
[Music] How do I, you know, protect myself, my things, my family? And I don't think that needs ever going to go away. You know, we domesticated dogs and built moes and walls and weapons, and I just don't think it's ever going to go away. So, I call this third gen. First gen are those bars. You know, you can get the iron bars, put them up, but they look like bars, right? Or you can get the rolling shutters. Uh rolling shutters I think work really well for uh commercial clients because you open up in the day, open them up, close for the night, lock them down. It's perfect. But for us, we live in our homes during the day and I only know like 2% of the world can live with the shutters all the way down all the time with no sun, no fresh air, no visibility. For the rest of us, we want the fresh air, we want the sunlight, we want to be able to see out. These things look like bug screens when they're on the home. They just look like a solar screen. They look ordinary. It looks great from the curb, but most importantly, I get all that protection without sacrificing the view or the air flow or the visibility, right? So, there are other benefits, too. It's rated hurricane category 4. It's industrial. The mesh comes from the oil industry. It's used for filtration. Uh, so you have these huge diameter pipes and they're pushing like all this oil and sledge in there and they use this to filter that out. So what you get is uh protection from the thugs, you get protection from the bugs, you get protection from uh flying debris in severe weather conditions, right? So you get the protection from the thugs, bugs, uh severe weather conditions, and it acts like a solar screen. So it will reduce uh 65% of that heat. It really is a game changer. aside from it's not going to be cheap and it's not going to be quick. And so, uh, when it comes to something custom like this down to the eighth of an inch, uh, something that performs like this, we guarantee it's going to stop and it has 16,000 installs, zero breakins. Uh, it it it it's not cheap. Um, but your wife is worth it, right? I can't always be there. We guys are a little more like bring it on. You come in my home, say hello to my little friends Smith and Whulner,
you know, and uh that's where this plays its role. So, we make them for the windows, the doors, uh the sliders, French doors. We've made catios. We can do ovals, octagons, patio enclosures. We can do any color, any shape, any size. We do a lot of homes, but we also do schools and uh commercial clients. We have an autometrist here. The latest theft trend is the the frames for the glasses. So, if you breach if you break into the autotometrist office, you grab all those and then you sell them, right? So they're constantly being van uh burglarized, right? These pharmacists. Pharmacists. Yeah, that's a given. We have gun dealers for obvious reasons. You know, they operate out of their home. There's a wide application. Everyone wants to stop the bad guy. Uh they want to stop the vandalism. My background is mechanical engineering, so it's always a sword versus shield. Sword versus shield. You know, we always have to improve on what we do. This door has uh a threepoint lock. So if when you turn this uh lock here, we get all three beaks to engage. One down here, uh one here, and one up here. Every window has egress, so it's ADA compliant. This gives you the opportunity to clean the glass. This opens all the way. You can clean the glass here. You can get out in the event of emergency. We now use these bankstyle volt uh bolts here to hold the we call this a sash locked into here. Uh this is a the ADA compliant lock. We've done something pretty creative on this sash right here. We put uh 1x1 steel tubing in there to reinforce it. It's very heavy. The whole thing is very heavy. This latest generation has these these thicker, stronger bolts. It has uh the uh stronger hinges over here. I use the hinges from the from the door to reinforce the hinges on the screen cuz this piece right here is real heavy and we don't want this piece to torque it out. So, this is reinforced hinge. I've got the 1x1 steel tubing inside here. Uh oh, and then this was really a creative thing. So, you can see how uh we attach to the house with screws um every 8 in. But check out this this cool thing we did. So, there's screws on the outside here, but we don't want anyone creeping around thinking they can unscrew them all, right? So, we don't want anyone taking that thing off. So, we put a secret layer of screws on the inside here. When these these screws go in diagonally into the uh subframe of the home and then when you lock it up, no one has access to these screws, the inside layer of screws. So there's an outside layer here and then we have secret layer of screws here. [Music]
Uh the slider um we make every panel operate so both panels move. And then the lock on this one is a four-point lock. So, one, two, three, four. So, when this locks, all four beaks engage over here. There's one other cool thing we did on this second generation uh slider is I put metal rocker wheels in there. And the metal rocker wheels give it a nice smooth glide. It's very easy to operate. The metal rocker wheels are also going to last longer than plastic ones. [Music] The wheels are on the top corners and the bottom corners. The sliders are designed uh to uh stay encased in this frame. So when we mount the slider on the outside of your home, we don't modify your slider at all. We remove the bug screen cuz you won't need that anymore. But this mounts on the outside. We screw in every 8 in. That's real important. Uh, and then these panels go inside this frame that we've mounted. And it's impossible to lift the panel out of the track. And if I make a noise like breaking the glass, the neighbors always um minimize it. They never say like, "Oh crap, you better call someone." They usually say something like, "Uh, James is being clumsy again." And they write it off, right? Unless they hear some serious noise. In most cases, the neighbors will minimize it, right? And that's where neighborhood watch really is super powerful. If you haven't met your neighbors yet, it's a good excuse to go see them. So, hey neighbor, I'm gone. If you hear anything, see something, say something. Right? Watch each other. Is very effective. Uh anyway, the slider is a common point of entry cuz it's nice and big. There's no good line of sight. I make the noise when I break it. No one really does anything. Even if the alarm's going off, they're still going in. It's 2 minutes. master bedroom pillowcase comes off. Fill it with the gun because there's always a weapon there somewhere, right? The weapon goes there, the jewelry and the prescriptions and they're out of there. Anyway, uh the slider, it's a paver or uh something like a, you know, a rake or a broom or whatever goes through the glass or some sliders just lift out of the track. If you're in a production home, the builder usually just uses production things. It's not well installed. It comes right out of the track with this there. Uh this is designed to be pry resistant and uh very very difficult to lift this. You cannot lift this out of the track because we build it to an eighth of an inch tolerance and then we adjust the tolerance uh with the rocker wheels. So once this is on there, you're snug as a bug. We have two types of testing. One is very data driven in in the lab. We're collecting data. we've got to meet certain uh performance metrics, right? The other is give me the crowbar and you can see uh the stuff that we're doing up around here. I have sheared this off, right? I have uh physically in my testing I went back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth just to test it myself, right? And this did come off, but it stayed locked. I couldn't get in. The same with the uh door. I took a hammer uh and I just like plowed through that handle until it came off. Handle came off, but the locked was still engaged. So, uh yeah, it does well. I've shot these with I've taken shotguns to them. I've shot them with shotguns. It'll stop at 12 gauge. It won't stop 38 or 45 or whatever. We did have a client uh earlier this month um cleaning a weapon in the home and it discharged. When it discharged uh it went through uh their slider. So the the round went through the glass, shattered the glass, hit the frame, and dropped to the ground. The frame did stop the 9 mm, but you know, you can't hide behind the frame. So, a lot of people uh do ask me for ballistic resistance screen. So, yeah, I I don't have a ballistic resistance screen yet. Again, it'll stop the shotgun. What I I say to all people is the good news is while someone's outside fussing around trying to get in, you finish whatever you're doing. You brushing your teeth, drinking your coffee, or whatever, cuz you have plenty of time. They're not going to get. And if they're still out there, then you go retrieve your weapon and then you can shoot out. Keep the mess outside, right? You don't want the mess inside your house. The good news is you can shoot through the mesh if you had to. I'm ready for questions. Is that aluminum? Yeah, this is aluminum. And then the mesh is stainless steel. We can go on top of Stuckco. Uh, a lot of Vegas homes have the bumpouts, the pop outs right around the window. Uh, we cannot install on top of that. uh because under that bumpout is just stuck is a styrofoam and chicken wire. So in those cases we do what's called a inset mount uh where we build the screen without the flange and it fits right inside that pocket nice and neat and then we open up the sash. You open up the screen and we go diagonally through our uh frame under the bumpout. I like that install up because it's nice and clean. Uh this one's kind of an insep mount there. It's inside that brick opening. So, we do what's called face mount, which is on the outside of the wall. And then in these cases where uh there is the pop out or bump out around it. We do that inset mount. We do whichever works best for your particular uh home. You come by and do the estimate spoken with a tal with a client. Yeah. So the process is we visit your home. Uh we uh do the walk around outside. We take some basic measurements. We make recommendations based on that. It's all free. It's all the screens sell themselves. If you say uh yes, let's do this. Uh then we schedule uh what's called a final measure. And at the final measure, we grab we get the measurements down to the eighth of an inch. And the final measure is done by our install team. What is your ordering time for for doors and sliding? Uh we're about 10 12 weeks. Uh we can do some windows a little faster. Uh we have what's called the generation the first generation window we can do faster. The second generation window is a stronger screen. It's going to take a little longer for me to make. So 10 to 12 weeks is what we quote clients. We we do everything we can to get them done faster than that. It's from the final measure. So, uh, if you were to say, James, you know, I'm interested in this. Why don't you send someone by? We'll schedule someone to come by. It'll either be Nick or Cindy. And then they spend that time with you, make those recommendations, generate a quote, and uh, then when you decide to move forward, that's when we schedule the final measure. So, it happens pretty quickly. Uh, and then we do everything we can to make them as quickly as we can. I guarantee it's worth the wait. A security screen that's going to do 110% of what it promises to do. I want us to be proud of the work that we do. I'd rather be a small company doing awesome stuff than a big one doing mediocre things, right? So, I'm not going to cut a corner. These are the things I have on my own to protect my family. That's the thing I'm going to do for you, right? It's going to be a top tier screen by a top tier crew. And and that's the thing, too. You could get um an awesome screen and then have an an install that is not a good install. So, you could have a great product and then a bad install and then you've lost the security that you thought you were going to get. So, here are the things to look for. Number one, make sure they're a licensed contractor because to become a licensed contractor, you are vetted financially and a technical expertise. It's not a business license. That's something they got to have that too, but it's a contractor's license, right? There there are several companies that do not have a contractor's license, and if things go south, you don't have any recourse. The contractor's board is not going to help you. There's no recourse. Um, number two is the mesh does matter. This mesh on the second gem we make in the United States, it cost me $12 a square foot. If I get it from overseas, it's $4 a square foot. So, it's three times more expensive. But on the second gen, you get the beautiful finish. For our industrial commercial clients, they don't care what it looks like. They'll take the Chinese mesh. They say throw it up, get it on there, and get out of here, right? But your home is your castle, and it's got to be perfect, right? So, this mesh, we use computer controlled machines. That square to the left and the right top is perfect because it's computer controlled, woven, just like a rug. The looms are the size of this room. It's woven and uh and pulled into this flat material. So, it looks great, operates great. So, uh I said number one's contractor's license. Number two is the mesh matters. The 12x 12 per square in. You've got 12 strands horizontally and 12 vertically. Is stronger than the 10x10 per square inch. It is cheaper, but I don't have it on my home. And that was the thing I was telling you. I want to sell what I have on my home, which is 12 x 12. At 2 a.m. when someone's trying to break in, you you're going to be glad you've got 75% more strength there, right? You didn't go cheap on the security thing. So, u mesh matters. Uh install matters. As I said, make sure the screws are every 8 in. Every 8 in is a secure install. Some people may try to just do the corners, cover it up, and you won't even know. You weren't even watching, right? So, you got to watch, make sure the screws are in every 8 in. So, secure install. And then you got to stand by the product. So, stand by the product. We have a 15-year part and labor warranty. And our warranty is a no worry warranty. Uh like if you have any issue, you call us, we'll take care of it, right? We're not going to quibble. There's no maintenance required. We're not going to, oh, we got you on a little maintenance clause in the bottom. There's none of that tricky stuff there. The stuff will last longer than your house, right? Longer than most most of us.
Uh, and the last is uh that no breakin guarantee. It does transfer. You sell the home, it goes with the home. And when you sell the home, uh you uh you position it as a as an upgrade. Look, I I did the kitchen. I did the bathroom. I got a pool in the back. And this place is snug as a bug. They're called security screens. Most people, they're like, "What is that?" It's the first thing out of your realtor's mouth, right? And we'll give you brochures. If you just target uh active and retired law enforcement, military, they get it, right? and they're glad to just wrap it in the mortgage. They don't have to pay to get it done. It's already done. It's in the mortgage. Cost them pennies, right? So, uh we often have clients that sell their homes and um if they just position it to law enforcement, military, they're good. Good to go. Just is that an option for people or are you doing that for commercial for first generation? Yeah, on the windows there is an option. Okay. And um many of our clients already have the first generation on their homes. So, and many times clients will do their homes in phases. Uh so, they do more vulnerable windows and doors first and then they'll continue. This uh one client, she's on her fifth order. Same home. We keep ordering window. So, she's on her fifth order. Uh, and it's a custom color, by the way. We can do any custom color. Uh, and hers is a nice uh brown. We need the ability to continue to manufacture that because it has to be same same on the homes where they already have some. What's the difference between generation one and two? Frame is the same. Uh, the mesh did change. It's you Americanmade mesh. Now, you know what's interesting about the rocker wheels on the metal wheels is the point of contact between the wheel and the track is narrowed down to a smaller surface area. And because it's a smaller surface area, there's less friction. And what that means is it's so much easier to operate.
So,
because of the metal rocker wheels, we get longer lifespan on the wheels. You have the option of keying all the swing doors the same. Okay. And any locksmith can do that. We have a locksmith who can do it. Yeah. It's not tricky at all. If I'm using my slider as my primary door. Yes. I can't really do that cuz there's no way a lot. We can put a exterior lock here upon request. It's not an additional charge by default. Uh we don't put a a cylinder here cuz most people uh don't use it as a primary, but we have the capability to put an external lock there. Just be clear when you speak with Nick or Cindy, you want a a lock there. Now, when you mentioned locks, we talked about doors like the swing door, right? Or the slider. And then you remember I talked about windows and I said there's some windows where we do what's called a inset mount or a face mount. Yeah. There are some windows that are uh a a single pane of glass. It doesn't open at all. For those windows, we put the lock a keyed lock. We can make it a fixed window. Doesn't open at all. Or because clients want to open it up and clean the glass, right? We put a lock on the outside. That lock is called a medicalico lock and it cost me about $25 each. That lock cannot be rekeyed by a locksmith, right? cuz we don't want any old locksmith coming up and and opening. So, one thing about security is is heft. That slider actually has a four-point lock high. So, when you lock it, there's a beak here that engages one down there and then two here. Everything is uh is heavy as it should be, right? We want it to be What's nice about this door is when someone does knock on the door, you can have a conversation through the mesh without risk of them getting in. I once uh had someone knock on my door. This is before I had this company. And I thought it was the neighbor and I opened it thinking it was the neighbor and he forced his way in. He had the wrong home, wrong guy. I don't know who he was. He's belligerent, angry, violent. Uh, but he had the wrong home. You know, if I had the screens, I could have opened the door. The screen was locked. There'd be no way he can get in. So whether it's Amazon, Uber, you know, whoever's at the door, some neighbor or whatever, uh, I can talk to them uh, safely and and I do get some privacy from it. So, if you could see here, you can see the gentleman on the other side. When it's bright outside, it's harder for someone to see in. Yeah. So, you get some privacy. When it's brighter outside, it's harder for them to discern, you know, who's on the inside. And that's the way we want it, right? We see so many different use cases, right? The uh one I had the other day, he said, "This guy's in Long Island. He's wealthy. He owns a new restaurant here in one of the casinos. He says, "In my Long Island home, we often have parties and people get drunk and they go through the screen." He says, "I'm tired of replacing the screen." I told him, "You're not going to have to worry about this anymore." We do have clients have uh relatives who have dementia or some other condition like a youngster who might try to get out on those. Uh we attach a pin at the top. It's a pin lock. So, that's a very easy workound. That's real easy. in the event of emergency, you you can get out cuz you know, oh, there's the pen. There are a lot of things that can be done. Um, so I was talking about a pin there, but we can also put bolts in this way. It depends on the person's needs. You know, we have a lot of flexibility. If you set up an estimate today, uh there's a $600 discount if you're ordering, I think it was five pieces or more. Again, start with the ground floor and uh start with the ones that are more vulnerable. So it' be the bedroom for example or children's bedroom. We do see front door breaches. So to get the front door done, one in three break-ins is through the front door, right? So the front door is a winner. Backs slider is a winner. Uh if you've got bedrooms on the ground floor and you like to sleep with the window open, that's a winner. Kids bedroom is a definite winner. Here's another common breach. People go to the bathroom, first floor, and they open the window to air it out. and then they leave the bathroom and they leave the window open and they forget to lock the the bathroom window, right? So, uh that's another good one to think about. You know, if you've got a bathroom on the ground floor, people using it all the time and it's big enough to crawl through there. Most most breaches aren't breaking through a lock at all. Most breaches are just people creeping around testing this window. Is it open or this door? Is it open or closed? Right? Why break in if it's already unlocked, right? And again, you know, with kids, uh, there's always someone leaving something unlocked, right? When you go on vacation, you got to make two loops around, right? Make sure, test every door, every window, make sure it's completely locked. Is there price range? Yeah, I'll give you an idea of price. I don't want to be koi about it at all. So a door like this is about 2,600 for the door, 300 for the install. This is before any discount. So we have senior discount, military discount, educator discount, first responder. So this is 2,600. These are about they start at a,000. Smaller ones are less. Bigger ones are more. Th this one's about 4,200. A French door is going to be just over four. So, are you offering any type of uh like finance same as cash for a year or something like that? Yeah, we have that's a popular one which is zero down same as cash. They the bank just wants you to pay it in 12 months. Otherwise, they're going to convert it to a healthy loan, right? And that's what they're hoping. So, it's that one's 12 months, zero down, no payments, no interest. the bank's going to put it on your house. Just pay it in 12 months. And then the the factor uh is about point um uh 014. So let's say you're financing uh $10,000 at the zero down policy or plan, it's $140 a month. If you're doing the other type of plan, which is over eight years or 10 years, so three plans, one is same as cash, 12 months, no payments, nothing. just pay them in in 12 months, right? There's no payments at all. The other two plans are for people that, you know, they're doing bigger projects like 50 grand projects, whatever. They want to finance it over 8 years or 10 years. That's going to be the 014 that I mentioned. So, 10,000. And there's no penalty for early payoff. And you don't have to show uh proof of income. And they do not collateralize it. So, they're not going to say what they're looking for is 600 and above credit score. And you don't have to be the homeowner either. So, many times parents will, you know, do it for their kids or, you know, boyfriend for the girlfriend. If you order just one window, uh he's pretty much stuck at that price and the 150 to install this one window, $150 to install the window. If you order um a couple windows in a door or whatever, then he's got more flexibility because the the size is larger. He has more flexibility in the pricing. And that's where a lot of the discounting come in that he's mentioning. 5% military, uh that's a given. Law enforcement, that's a given. Seniors given 5%, right? And then he can go beyond that. um as the order, you know, if you have more than just one window, right? Or or one door, he's got more flexibility. [Music]