Tripod member mlinderman asks:
I want to install an air conditioner but I live in a garden apartment (ground floor). I'm afraid someone will just kick in the AC, crawl through the window, and take stuff (our place has already been broken into once — they broke down a door). Is there any way I can install an AC without risking a break-in?

Handy Girl Bernadette suggests:
The problem with theft prevention is all it really does is keep an honest man honest. Somebody willing to break down a door has decided they want in and they're going to find a way in, somehow. To make a break-in difficult, you can buy an air-conditioning cage which encases the unit. You install the cage first and simply slide the unit in from the inside. If you're averse to living in a cage, there are a couple of other ways to block the window rather effectively. When you install the unit it is screwed it into the sill. Now put some hefty screws above the window sash and into the jamb. Also, cut a block of wood that will fit over the top of the window and screw it into the jamb, preventing further opening. None of these solutions is pretty but you won't really care because you'll be sitting cool and comfy in your little garden apartment.

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