garage security - any tips?

Weejie54

Thanks for your assessment, ill-informed as it is.

The information came from you. Enough said.

hopper1

Garage door locks are easily broken... Access is simple.
I drilled the side frame of my garage door, as well as the outer frame channel, then simply put a padlock through them both.
I leave the car in front of the garage door, too, so as to make life awkward for a possible thief.

Years ago, when I had an expensive motorbike, I rigged trip wire, 6" off the ground, to a firng bolt mechanism, with a blank shotgun cartridge in it :twisted:
All was well, until one morning, about 05:30, getting ready to leave for Brands Hatch, one of my mates went to get my bike out for me! :shock:
Not sure which was loudest... The cartridge going off, my mates screams, or the other 16 bikers in the drive first sh!tting theirselves, then p!ssing theirselves laughing...
I still think my mate hasn't fully recovered from that. Wish I had installed CCTV, too
Yes, I know it was illegal, but trust me, it was effective.

Ands

^^^That's brilliant!

MeddlE

Not illegal if it's not set up to cause harm.

http://www.henrykrank.com/alarm_mine.html

Wheelspinner

Weejie54 wrote:

Thanks for your assessment, ill-informed as it is.

The information came from you. Enough said.

:?

The "information" I provided was correct. The police locally confirmed that it was very likely connected to the store, as there had been three other burglaries in the area all targetting power tools, and the common element was we'd all bought stuff from one particular store. But they could not prove it, and found no fingerprint or other evidence to connect them. It cost me nearly 5 grand's worth of tools.

Somehow, you drew a conclusion about me that I am paranoid and my reaction is extreme? Hardly..

Feel free to tell all and sundry your full details when you buy stuff. Better yet, post details on the 'net for all to read, and put a sign over your garage "Get your free bikes here" for all I care.

I, for one, recommend you don't do that, as a general security tip. Just my opinion.

FWIW I don't subscribe to the idea of heavy chains and locks inside the garage. I know one bloke in my riding bunch who did just that, His garage was broken into, but his bikes were still there when he got home. The were just in about 50 bits, as the thieves had been mighty pi$$ed off their bolt cutters wouldn't crack the chain and lock, but they sure worked a treat on the spokes, carbon tubes and all the other parts. For good measure they did ahell of a lot of just plain vandalism which his insurance didn't really cover enough. Would have been a whole lot cheaper and easier if they'd just nicked the bike and he claimed a replacement.

hopper1

MeddlE wrote:

Not illegal if it's not set up to cause harm.

http://www.henrykrank.com/alarm_mine.html

Brilliant!!!... I'd lost info on my last one.
I'll be moving house as soon as I find one I want and I will be fitting my garage out with a trip wire again

Better make sure my little boy doesn't get in there, though... :shock:

Typing that story last night, I very nearly p!ssed myself again...

Weejie54

The "information" I provided was correct. The police locally confirmed that it was very likely connected to the store, as there had been three other burglaries in the area all targetting power tools, and the common element was we'd all bought stuff from one particular store. But they could not prove it, and found no fingerprint or other evidence to connect them. It cost me nearly 5 grand's worth of tools.

You've just confirmed that you are basing everything on one experience FFS.

I'm sorry, but shops aren't all run by burglars. :roll:

As pointed out before, your 'philosophy' would end the mail order trade.

Feel free to tell all and sundry your full details when you buy stuff. Better yet, post details on the 'net for all to read, and put a sign over your garage "Get your free bikes here" for all I care.

I think the point is proven.

How do you manage buying a freezer or a ton of cement?

Using your logic, nobody should register with a GP after the story of Harold Shipman came to light.

MeddlE

I've had a look and I can't find where Weejie54 has added anything to this thread. Mate, if you're looking for an argument please go down your local drinking house and start one there, this is a thread about useful security tips for your garage and shed.

chunkytfg

alfablue wrote:

a_n_t wrote:

Scrumple wrote:

Almax

or http://www.torc-anchors.com/

same difference.

I just bought the Pragmasis 13mm x 4m chain, Torc anchor and squire lock from them for £193 - hoping this will offer enough protection in the shed :? :?

The pramasis is also deemed to be a very good brand better than the rubbish in the YT vid.

The issue will be the 13mm links as opposed to getting the 16 or 19mm ones.

there is only so strong you can make a 13mm link and although it will pretty much be the strongest available at that size it isnt as strong as you could have got IYSWIM

Weejie54

I've had a look and I can't find where Weejie54 has added anything to this thread. Mate, if you're looking for an argument please go down your local drinking house and start one there, this is a thread about useful security tips for your garage and shed.

I'm not looking for an argument. Someone suggested not giving out your address when making a purchase - nay advocated not giving out your address. I pointed out the futility of such a suggestion. Perhaps the suggestion that you don't give out your address in a shop has little to do with a garage or a shed. Moreover, I don't drink, so a 'drinking house' is not really a port of call.
I rather think that the 'Tony Martin approach' is a little on the ridiculous side of 'security tips' as well. Not really useful, as you wouldn't get far in protecting your bike shed if you were in the clink - perhaps, if you were also suffering from paranoid personality disorder, you might get away with manslaughter, though.
I've as much right to post in this thread as anybody else. :roll:

Pragma

chunkytfg wrote:

alfablue wrote:

a_n_t wrote:

Scrumple wrote:

Almax

or http://www.torc-anchors.com/

same difference.

I just bought the Pragmasis 13mm x 4m chain, Torc anchor and squire lock from them for £193 - hoping this will offer enough protection in the shed :? :?

The pramasis is also deemed to be a very good brand better than the rubbish in the YT vid.

The issue will be the 13mm links as opposed to getting the 16 or 19mm ones.

there is only so strong you can make a 13mm link and although it will pretty much be the strongest available at that size it isnt as strong as you could have got IYSWIM

This is true on all counts. We know because we make the stuff However, ease of use is just as important as security, IMHO, as it's no good if you stop using it 'cos it's too heavy! We present our stuff warts 'n all because we want people to make the right choice, for them and for their situation.

The 16mm is stronger than the 13mm, for sure, but it's also about 50% heavier and quite a bit more expensive. It is made from exactly the same grade of steel and has basically identical heat treatment done by the same specialist company as we use for all our stuff, but there is more material, and particularly more cross-section in a 16mm diameter chain than in a 13mm. The cross-section is important because we have to make at least a certain thickness of case hardening on the surface of the chain to resist sawing attacks (including tungsten-carbide saws). That surface layer is very hard but it is also brittle, so no good at all if the same hardness went all the way through. The boron steel we use ("20MnB5") gives us very precise control of the depth of this case hardening and similarly very precise control of the ductility and strength of the remaining core of the material. Once you've taken off that surface thickness, you have noticeably less cross-section left in a 13mm or smaller chain and it is that more ductile core that is there to resist the hammering and bolt-cropping attacks (this is a bit of a simplification, but I hope you get the idea). It is a bit more subtle because you actually don't want the core to be fully soft, like mild steel would be, as it then doesn't have the strength to resist crushing of the case. Further, the tensile strength is affected by the hardening and a boltcropper attack is ultimately a tensile failure, so you want it to be strong whilst being hard on the surface and ductile in the core. Hence, it's not a 5-minute job and can't be done by your average back-street heat treatment company. Top quality heat treatment costs us almost as much as the raw chain itself, but it is critical and even more so with the smaller gauge chains. No surprise that we launched our bigger chains before the smaller chains - they required a more delicate balance but we're pleased with the results we've been getting for over a year, across the range. We keep monitoring the HT results with a lab test on every single batch because it is so important.

I hope that helps explain. We have a range of chains because there is a range of situations and we don't pretend that everyone should be using the 19mm chain even though it is the toughest. The 16mm is also too heavy for many situations so don't feel that the 13mm is no good; it's a compromise and if you keep using it and it doesn't result in you damaging your bike, it's a lot better than having the 16mm lying on the floor!

Cheers,

Steve.

georgee

You can buy smoke alarms for your garage as well which are motion linked, I am sure more people would pay attention to smoke than sound these days, plus the thieving pikeys can't then see anything to nick.

de_sisti

Scrumple wrote:

Almax

google them, and buy the chain, hardy ground anchor, and squire padlock combo.

and relax.

Not cheap, but money well spent.

+1. Or really +2, because I've got large one for 2 of my bikes with 3 types of locks/chains,
and another Almax for the bike that's on the wall of my (concrete) shed. This bike also has
a couple of other locks too.

An extra lock for the shed door is due.

Pragma

Scrumple wrote:

Almax

google them, and buy the chain, hardy ground anchor, and squire padlock combo.

People may dismiss this on the expectation that we are biased, but I would say be very wary about any anchor that has less than a 3-bolt fixing. The Hardie anchor has a single bolt fixing. It's a big bolt but the problem is the concrete (or especially the brickwork) is the weak point. Spreading multiple fixings over a large area is the obvious way to compensate for a poor substrate. Having at least 3 fixings means there is no easy way to lift one side to get underneath to cut the bolts etc. There are other issues but I won't add any more now as people may just think we rubbish all competing products, which is not our style.

Cheers,

Steve.