Garage security - comments please.

[theduisbergkid]

I've got a garage at home and up the other end of the village I rent a lock-up, I've never had any problems and it's considered a fairly safe place, but I ought to stick a decent lock on it.

A was thinking a steel bar that I could padlock one end, something inthis style. Instead of bolting it to the wooden doorframe, I was thinking of bolting it through to a steel backing plate on the inside of the wooden frame, maybe L-shaped so I can bolt it to the floor inside too. I'll might get this made from scratch as I'm picky and don't want some bendy 2mm steel the Gyppos could pull off with a crowbar.

Anyone got any suggestions of what and where to buy ?

[Andy_Bangle]

What type of door is it, a standard UK up-'n'-over or? The up and overs are pointless as you can just peel a corner back unless you secure the corners and add a steel backing. The door frame is another weak point on them.

[theduisbergkid]

Yes, up and over, they could 'peel' a top corner open but wouldn't be able to easily open the door or drive the car out with the bar bolted in place. I was thinking of bolting through the wooden frame and into an L-bracket inside the garage that it bolts to the floor. I don't mind them getting in, I just don't want them getting the car out, it's in a spot overlooked by housing anyway.

[Andy_Bangle]

Sounds okay, and that bar is a good price. If you have power to the garage/s then you could always add an alarm. I have PIR Security Light installed inside my garage so if anyone does get in at night the place is illuminated.

[theduisbergkid]

No power there, sadly, but it's quiet area and the cars I leave in there are generally alarmed anyway.

Thanks for the advice

[Milo]

If it's just to stop someone pinching the car, get a post fitted. My brother got one done by a local company - steel post concreted into the ground leaving a 6" upstand (about 4" diameter). Another post fits over it, a pin slides through which is secured by a good quality padlock. I think the post + fitting was something like £60 and the lock another £60.

If some wants to be be in and pinch whatever is in there, they will. It's just a case of how much noise they'll make and how long it'll take.

[Andy_Bangle]

I installed a post on one my garages, however when you compare the price of the post Vs TDK's ebay find it's no competition.

[Milo]

I installed a post on one my garages, however when you compare the price of the post Vs TDK's ebay find it's no competition.

£30 and fit it yourself vs £60 fully fitted and concreted in?

I think I would prefer a post, personally. The one my brother got must weigh about 10-15 kg I reckon (100mm tube with 8mm wall thickness). It's a hefty bit of kit that's not going anywhere in a hurry. Nothing's perfect though.

I would guesstimate that 40mm box section has got a wall thickness of 2mm or 2.5mm.

[Tipex]

The problem with the post option is the garages owner may not be happy about having the floor dug up, as it's rented, although I don't know if TDK is bothered about upsetting him?

Personally, I'd get an ED209.

[shao_khan]

You need to be careful about how its designed. in most wooden frame if you want it out, use a reciprocating saw, run it down the gap between garage and frame and it will cut all the fixings with fair degree of ease. Frame in most cases will then pull out with door intact, put to one side and drive away item in question. If you design your metal bar wrong then it'll just suffer the same fate and will come away with eh frame or with little resistance when the rest of the frame is hanging as an 'l' plate bolted to the floor will bend away quite easily with that amount of leverage.

The bar Idea is good, I think it would be better if there were a way to fix it securely independent of the frame?

[theduisbergkid]

Thanks chaps. The bar beats the post, the post would have to be inside the garage, taking up floor space. Plus there's no visual deterrent from outside then.

The bar will have two L-shaped brackets (with a triangulating plate for strength) fitted inside the garage, bolted to the floor and out through the wooden frame to the bar retainer outside the door. The wooden doorframe isn't part of the security structure, even if they cut the doorframe out somehow the structure would still be in place. Even with the door and all walls removed, the car is going nowhere with the bar in place, make sense ?

I'll stick some pics up when I get it made.

[Luke]

Put a sticker on the door saying 'Deaf Rottweilers live in here'

[Calm Chris]

Late to this post. What is the garage structure?

If it has brick pillars either side of the wood door frame would it not be easier to get two brackets that look like [ made up that have coach bolts fixed through the brick and backed with strengthening plates on the inside.

Then you source a nice lump of flat bar with a hole in at either end. The bar slides through the [ ] surface brackets in the brick and then you simply use a couple of decent round high security padlocks that go through the holes in the bar.

[theduisbergkid]

Thanks Chri5, that would be ideal, but it's a concrete sectional garage so no nice brickwork to bolt to.

[Tipex]

Whilst you want it to look secure, you don't want to attract attention to it either by making it look too secure!