Home Security Hints and Tips

davet2

So I've just returned from my communal garage where some little sh1t has nabbed a neighbours bike. Given my much more expensive bikes were in plain view, the police didnt catch anyone, and my d-lock and cable aren't the greatest does anyone have any tips? I'm thinking a ground anchor, and big ol chain is he way to go?

Dave

meanredspider

Yup - ground anchor, security marking - you can even get battery-powered PIR alarms. Then securing the garage door - lots of commercial options there.

Warn your neighbour that they often come back for the insurance replacement bikes

EKE_38BPM

An uncomfortable camp bed, a flask of coffee and a shotgun.

kelsen

Shotgun
Blanks
Duct Tape
String
Poop Scoop

meanredspider

Hungry Doberman

mtb-idle

not sure how this would suit a communal garage but i fitted a set of Enfield garage door bolts to my up and over garage at home.

Much more secure than the existing mechanism which could be levered open with a screwdriver with some nice chunky bolts that slide into the door frame

Here's me showing how easy they are to fit

itboffin

Keep the best bike(s) inside in the warm the Mrs will understand

twist83

kelsen wrote:

Shotgun
Solid Slug
Duct Tape
String
Poop Scoop

I amended it for you

jeepie

I have a ground anchor concreted in.

http://www.pjbsecurity.co.uk/concave-built-in-anchor

If you have a concrete floor already and need to drill it in you could use:

http://securityforbikes.com/torc-ground-anchor.php

Then use a pragmasis 16" chain that's cannot be bolt cropped

http://securityforbikes.com/proddetail.php?prod=P16-x.x with a closed padlock

and a D lock for the wheels.

You can also fit an additional shackle if you are really paranoid:

http://securityforbikes.com/shed-shackle.php

I also have a PIR alarm that's linked up to a receiver in my house. The PIR is battery powered. The receiver is powered by a mobile phone charger from Digitech


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wireless-Weathe ... B0045U0L96

mudcow007

ive got a wooden shed...with a wooden floor so a ground anchor wouldnt work unless i cut a hole in the floor which i dont want to do

an idea i had was create like a concrete lump with a dlink inside the concrete with only a bit of "hoop" showing so i can anchor to that

wire shed up to house alarm

run an old fashioned ignition coil to the padlock on the shed would give em a bit of a fright too......

kelsen

Jeepie wrote:

I have a ground anchor concreted in.

http://www.pjbsecurity.co.uk/concave-built-in-anchor

If you have a concrete floor already and need to drill it in you could use:

http://securityforbikes.com/torc-ground-anchor.php

Then use a pragmasis 16" chain that's cannot be bolt cropped

http://securityforbikes.com/proddetail.php?prod=P16-x.x with a closed padlock

and a D lock for the wheels.

You can also fit an additional shackle if you are really paranoid:

http://securityforbikes.com/shed-shackle.php

I also have a PIR alarm that's linked up to a receiver in my house. The PIR is battery powered. The receiver is powered by a mobile phone charger from Digitech


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wireless-Weathe ... B0045U0L96

:shock: Damn! Do you live here?

rolacola

You can get a shotgun alarm mine that fires blank 12 bore cartridges. Plenty loud enough, and lots of smoke too.
Added effect can be to place the cartridge in a "smart price" pot of pepper, instant pepper bomb too.

A remote doorbell, door openiong chime works well to tell if anyone is enetering the garage/shed, while you are in.

An electric fence energizer on the door/lock. Cranked right up if youve no kids or pets.

Use good quality locks, everything locked together with good quality locks with ground anchors. Leave a cheap bike unlocked.

asprilla

I've got a Defiant Ground Anchor and an Almax 19mm immobiliser series IV chain secured with a Squire SS65CS padlock to lock the good bikes in the garage. The not so good bikes aren't chained up.

Because my garage has wooden double doors I've got a CEN6 Squire pad bar (STH1) secured with the same Squire padlock. I'm now looking for a convenient bolt solution and those Enfield bolts may do the trick.

veronese68

MTB-Idle wrote:

not sure how this would suit a communal garage but i fitted a set of Enfield garage door bolts to my up and over garage at home.

Much more secure than the existing mechanism which could be levered open with a screwdriver with some nice chunky bolts that slide into the door frame

Here's me showing how easy they are to fit

I've got a pair of those. Don't bother locking the bikes up inside the garage, if they get through the door nothing will stop them.

Initialised

mudcow007 wrote:

ive got a wooden shed...with a wooden floor so a ground anchor wouldnt work unless i cut a hole in the floor which i dont want to do

an idea i had was create like a concrete lump with a dlink inside the concrete with only a bit of "hoop" showing so i can anchor to that

wire shed up to house alarm

run an old fashioned ignition coil to the padlock on the shed would give em a bit of a fright too......

use something like a Stronghold Bar, it screws through the floor of the shed and does the same job as a ground anchor. For extra insecurity use a ground anchor to secure the bar to the floor.

Pragma

Hi,

This is Steve from Pragmasis, manufacturers of the Shed Shackle etc mentioned above.

Veronese68 wrote:

...Don't bother locking the bikes up inside the garage, if they get through the door nothing will stop them.

I'm sorry, but I think that is rubbish! We've sold similar garage door bolts to the Enfield ones and they are a useful extra deterrent but an up 'n' over door is still a very poor boundary as they are made out of such thin metal and so easy to buckle. Taking proper responsibility for your stuff and locking it up securely inside the shed/garage can provide a much more significant delay to a thief. Don't forget that any alarm is likely to only go off _after_ he's got past the door, so if it's easy pickings once he's inside, he's almost guaranteed to run off (or drive off) with something you care about.

Locking your stuff _down_ with a ground anchor (or something like our Shed Shackle if it's a wooden or metal shed) is what really spoils their day as they have to work hard to get anything and they are vulnerable all the time they are inside your building, especially if you _also_ have an alarm. We never advise relying solely on alarms - that's pretty much the mistake we made when someone tried breaking into you garage, years ago - but as an additional deterrent, they may help to encourage scrotes to leave quickly.

All of this is about matching your deterrent to the attractiveness of the property you're protecting; if you get that balance wrong and leave it too easy for someone to nick it, then yes, they are likely to. If you flip it in your favour so they may want it but it's too much like hard work or simply too risky for them, you're much more likely to keep your stuff. There are no absolutes in this game, but getting the odds in your favour means that most of the likely scrotes are likely to give up when they see it's too difficult and simply not worth it. You might get unlucky and get a visit from the 1% that is really tooled-up and desperate to get your specific bike, but deterring/defeating the 99% is worth a good try IMHO.

Helping to avoid an insurance claim also helps to keep your premiums down and helps avoid the grief and hassle of stuff being nicked. Furthermore, if a thief is successful, and as mentioned above, there is a good chance he will come back and that is when it gets really un-funny. You are then playing catch-up and he has the advantage. We get it all the time and people typically have to go up two levels in terms of security - not just to what they should have had to protect the stuff in the first place, but to another level above that, and that is invariably a lot more awkward to handle every day as well as being more expensive. Much better, in my opinion, to try to take some control before you have a problem and have some decent security that is appropriate for whatever you're trying to protect.

I hope that helps,

Steve.

meanredspider

This is what happened when my garage was broken into a few years ago




Nicked my welding set but decided to scratch EVERY panel on my Alfa Spider, slashed the hood in 3 places, cut crosses in every seat panel - £3500 of damage.

supersonic

Keep them inside - look really neat!

navt

meanredspider wrote:

This is what happened when my garage was broken into a few years ago




Nicked my welding set but decided to scratch EVERY panel on my Alfa Spider, slashed the hood in 3 places, cut crosses in every seat panel - £3500 of damage.

Jeez - did you leave her wanting for more?

meanredspider

navt wrote:

Jeez - did you leave her wanting for more?

My neighbour, who had his bike nicked from his garage the same night, said he'd wished he'd got hold of them - until he saw my car....

What possess someone to do that - apart from jealously or psychopathy - I've no idea. I drove it around for a week or so like that - people's faces were a picture and loads of people asked me what happened and were really angry about it.