The clocks go back at 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026, confirmed on gov.uk — and with it, Derby goes from light evenings to darkness by teatime almost overnight. It's the single biggest annual shift in how secure a home actually feels, and it's worth using the run-up to it for a proper walk-round check rather than waiting until the first dark evening makes the gaps obvious.
What a security check-up actually means for a handyman visit
This isn't about installing an alarm system or wiring in new security cameras — that's specialist electrical work, and not something we do. What it is about is the physical condition of the things that already keep a house secure: locks that stick or don't fully engage, gates and fences with gaps that have opened up over summer, window catches that have never quite closed properly, and the existing outdoor lighting that's been ignored since it got dark late enough not to matter.
What we check on a pre-winter security visit
- Door and window locks — do they engage fully, or has a frame warped slightly over summer so the lock only half-catches?
- Existing sensor and porch lights — working bulbs, clean sensors, refitted where a fixture has come loose (no new wiring)
- Fence panels and gates — gaps, loose panels, or gates that don't latch properly, particularly side and rear access points
- Shed and outbuilding doors — padlocks and hasps that have rusted or loosened, a common weak point that's easy to overlook
- Battery-powered or solar security lights as an add-on where there's no existing fixture to work with — no mains wiring required
"Most of what actually keeps a house secure isn't glamorous — it's a gate that latches properly and a lock that fully engages. Those are the things that quietly fail over a summer of doors being propped open, and nobody notices until the nights draw in."
Where this stops being a handyman job
If what you actually need is a wired alarm system, mains-powered security lighting, or a smart camera setup that needs new electrical circuits, that's outside what we do — it needs a qualified electrician, which is exactly what Cor provides across Derby and Derbyshire. We'd rather tell you that upfront than take on work that isn't ours to do safely. What we're good for is everything physical: the locks, the fences, the gates, the existing fixtures — the unglamorous groundwork that a proper security setup depends on anyway.
Booking before the dark evenings arrive
A pre-winter security check-up is a genuinely quick visit — most of what needs doing is adjustment and minor repair rather than replacement. Booking it in September or early October, before the clocks change, means any parts that do need ordering (a replacement lock barrel, a new hasp) arrive before the nights are properly dark, rather than during the two or three weeks households typically wait before getting round to it.
Get your home security-checked before the dark evenings
Kirk Group Handyman runs a full physical security check across Derby and Derbyshire — locks, gates, fences and existing lighting fixtures.
Published by Kirk Group Editorial
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