MargieKay wrote:

I need to install a window air conditioner in a ground-level (actually
basement) window in a funky neighborhood. It's an old, beat, building so I
don't need anything fancy or expensive. Cheap, functional, and something I
could do or easily get someone to do would be great.

My question is: Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions about what might
work for this and be relatively easy to do?

I know that anything I do can be defeated, but I'm looking for something
that might just make it not worth the effort for someone to try to steal the
air conditioner, or break into the building by taking out the a/c. We do
have an alarm system, so the break-in part is not that big of a deal. But,
I'd like to make it more difficult for anyone to rip off the air
conditioner. I've thought about some kind of chain link fence cage around
the a/c but that seems like it wouldn't be that easy to do. I've seen
wrought iron bars around a/c units in some places, but I have no idea who I
would ask to fashion something like that, or what it would cost. I'm
guessing that a welder would want a lot of money to custom-weld something.
I know there are places that do sheet metal fabricating, but sheet metal
isn't what I need. Is there a profession such as metal fabricators that
does work like this? I've also wandered around Home Depot and Lowes looking
for some kind of strong security-type wire mesh I could use, but haven't
seen anything yet.

I know, I'm beginning to ramble.... Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
iron door frabicators will make this:: local welding shop in your area..
they make a box out of metal bars spaced apart like burglar bars and you
put this around the window on the outside and bolt it to/through the
wall of the building... that way no matter what kind of a/c unit you
have it cannot be touched via the outside....other than someone touching
it via putting their hand on it through the 4 to 6 inch opening in the
burglar bars..... dont know what they cost, but bet you can call around
via the yellow pages....