Barnet covers a lot of ground. There are family houses with side gates, long back gardens and garages, flats above the shops on the high street, and small businesses along the main roads. That mix means one security plan rarely suits everyone. This guide explains how we would plan cameras, alarms and entry control for homes and small businesses in Barnet, and how to decide what is worth fitting. For the service overview, see our Barnet CCTV installation page.
Start with the property, not the product
Before choosing any equipment, walk the boundary and list every way in. For most Barnet houses that means the front door, the driveway or frontage, the side passage, the rear patio doors, the garage and any ground-floor windows. Intruders tend to prefer the entrance that is hidden from the street, so the side and the back deserve as much attention as the front.
A sensible order of priority is the front door and approach, then the side gate or passage, then the rear garden. For a shop, it is the customer door, the till, the stockroom and the back entrance. Once you know those points, the equipment choice becomes much simpler.
Camera layouts that suit a Barnet house
A four-camera layout covers most detached and semi-detached houses: one on the front door and approach, one on the driveway or frontage, one down the side passage and one over the rear garden. Point cameras at your own property as far as practical, and let neighbours know what you are fitting, as it avoids awkward conversations later.
Our Home Protect: £1,499 inc. VAT package is built for exactly this layout. It includes four 4K ColorVu cameras for full-colour footage 24/7, a 2TB drive with 3-4 weeks of footage, smart human and vehicle detection, instant alerts to your phone, and active deterrence with a strobe and siren.
If your needs are smaller, Home Starter: £899 inc. VAT gives you two 5MP turret cameras in grey or white, a 1TB drive with around 2 weeks of footage, live viewing from your phone and motion detection alerts, installed in a single visit. Two cameras suit a front door and a back door well, though they will not cover a long side passage as well.
Alarms: when cameras are not enough
Cameras record what happens. An alarm tries to stop it happening in the first place, and the two work best together.
For a family house, Family Home: £1,099 inc. VAT pairs an advanced hub with 4G backup, 2 door contacts and 4 motion sensors, photo-verification sensors that show the cause of an alert, an external solar siren and 2 proximity key fobs. The 4G backup matters because it keeps the system connected even if the broadband goes down.
Flats are different, particularly where drilling is not an option. Flat/Apartment: £699 inc. VAT is fully wireless, with a smart hub and keypad, 1 door contact and 2 motion sensors, plus app control and instant notifications. It is designed to be fitted with no mess and no drilling.
Shops and small offices
A shop has different risks: customer theft, till disputes, out-of-hours break-ins and staff safety. A good layout puts cameras on the door, the shop floor, the till and the rear entrance.
Retail Essential: £1,399 inc. VAT includes four 4K vandal-resistant dome cameras, a dedicated cash till monitoring view, 2TB commercial-grade storage and remote manager access from any device. For the alarm side, Small Shop: £999 inc. VAT is a Grade 2 commercial panel with high-security door contacts, individual staff user codes and a hold-up panic button.
If staff or visitors need controlled entry, Office Entry: £1,199 inc. VAT covers a video intercom with keypad, a desktop reception monitor, maglock or strike installation, and an exit button and break glass. Our Barnet access control page explains how entry systems are planned.
Why a survey comes first
Equipment lists only get you so far. The right camera positions depend on lighting, boundaries, Wi-Fi or cabling routes and where you actually want to be alerted.
For homes, Home Survey & Design is £99 inc. VAT. An engineer visits, gives you a written recommendation and fixed quote, and draws up a camera and device placement plan. The fee is credited in full against any booking of £500 or more, so it counts towards the work rather than being an extra cost. For businesses, Commercial Survey & Spec is £199 inc. VAT, with a full site walk, risk review, device schedule and written specification, credited against the installation.
You can read more about the full range on our CCTV and security services page.
A simple checklist before you ring anyone
- List every entrance and decide which are hidden from the street.
- Decide whether you want recording only, or recording plus an alarm.
- Check where the recorder can sit with power and a network connection.
- Think about who needs to see the footage and on which phones.
- Ask any installer for a written quote that names every item.
Our engineers hold NICEIC, NSI and SSAIB accreditations between them, and camera work is handled by Hikvision accredited engineers.
Ready to plan your Barnet install? Request a quote