Top Security Tips for Autumn

With the balmy days of summer slipping behind us and autumn rapidly sneaking up, it’s time to think about locking away the mowers, garden furniture, sports boats and all the other expensive summer paraphernalia ...here are some tips to help you Sheds, outhouses and even the family garage are typical storage places, but all are favourite targets for thieves who know they will find rich pickings inside. There are however several simple ways to beef up your security and protect your belongings. The simplest form of protection is to prevent potential thieves from seeing what there is inside to steal! This is easily achieved by putting up curtains at the windows or otherwise obscuring the view of what’s inside by applying window film directly to the inner surface of the window glass, tacking opaque polythene (such as a dustsheet offcut) over the internal window frame, etc. For more robust protection however, here are some other ideas to consider; Lock them out - Lock them up - Lock them down Locking Thieves Out; burglar breaking into a shed Protecting your windows; Vulnerable windows are easily protected against unauthorised physical entry by installing window security bars or grilles. External bars, custom made grilles or steel mesh could be considered, but these tend to collect unsightly wind borne debris such as leaves, polybags, etc. and being exposed to the weather, they will need regular cleaning, maintenance and painting. Alternatively bars fitted over the inside of your windows are just as effective, will retain their good looks for longer and are maintenance free apart from the odd wipe down with a duster. The Adaptabar range of telescopic internal window bars from Insight Security, are quick and easy to fit and unlike custom made grilles, you’re guaranteed they’ll fit first time every time. Manufactured from steel, Adaptabar Window Security Bars are finished in a durable and attractive baked on white paint, so they will look good for years and not only are they a great visual deterrent, but they are also a very practical physical deterrent that will stop anyone from climbing through your windows. Your Door Locks; The lock on the door is another area to consider. A good quality mortice lock would be the ideal lock for use on a robust outhouse door or good quality pedestrian door into your garage, but this type of lock is generally not suitable for use on a standard timber shed. Thanks to their relatively lightweight construction, shed doors are not usually ultra-secure, but fitting a high quality hasp and padlock set will certainly help. When fitting a hasp onto a shed however, it’s a good idea to use bracing plates on the inside of the door and door frame to strengthen the structure of the shed where the hasp and its staple are fitted. When choosing your hasp, remember quality is important. A quality hasp will feature concealed fixings, which means that when the hasp is locked with a padlock, the fixing screws or bolts will not be accessible. It should also feature an enclosed hinge pin to prevent the pin being easily knocked out and the hasp therefore compromised. A hasp that is fixed in position with screw fixings only (even concealed ones), could be levered off with a pry bar which could simply rip the screws out of the door. A better choice would be one that is supplied with through-bolts as well, where the bolts pass right through the hasp, shed door (and bracing plate) and are secured on the inside of the door with a nut and washer. High Security Hasps are generally supplied with all bolt fixings or a mixture of through bolts and screws. If buying a hasp and a padlock separately rather than as a set, choose a padlock and a hasp that offer a similar level of security. Using a cheap brass padlock for instance with a heavy duty hasp, would not only look silly, but would also compromise security - remember the old adage is very true; security is only as good as the weakest link in the chain! As an alternative to the conventional Hasp & Padlock, a Shed Bar may be just the answer for you. Typically this consists of a swing bar mounted to and bolted through the central internal cross beam on the inside of the shed door. When unlocked and in the open position, the bar simply hangs vertically on the door. When you leave your shed, the bar is raised to the horizontal position with each end locating into secure U shaped bracket and being locked in position at one end (or each end) with a padlock(s). When in the locked position, the bar prevents the shed door(s) being opened outwards, which makes this a practical option for use on sheds with single or double doors. Also check that the door hinges are robust and attached to the door and door frame with through bolts rather than screws. Ideally they should have concealed hinge pins to prevent them being knocked out, which would compromise the hinge itself. Garage doors come in several different types from the roller shutter or up and over types to the double door swing open style, each requiring a different sort of locking mechanism for maximum security. Roller shutter doors are typically electronically controlled via a remote control fob, but for added security they can also be physically secured with a special ground bolt. When a physical lock is installed on a Roller Shutter type door however, this would need to be unlocked before operating the electronic mechanism. It is likely therefore that in practice, the physical lock may end up only being used as extra security while you are away on holiday or at other times when the garage door is not in frequent use – which would still make it a good investment. Up & Over type doors swing up and outward from the bottom of the door and can be fitted with motorised opening and closing as an option. Security on this type of door is typically provided by dual lateral shoot bolts which are normally fitted as standard by the door manufacturer. For additional security additional side bolts can be fitted internally to each side and toward the bottom of the door, or you could install one of the brilliant Garage Defender Locks which acts as an external blocker to prevent the door swinging open at the bottom. Double Swing Open doors are typically secured with one door being fitted with top and bottom bolts which bolt into the door lintel and ground respectively, with the other door featuring a conventional nightlatch or mortice lock which locks to the bolted door. For additional security, consider adding a Padlock and Hasp set or Shed Bar, to secure the two doors together, or possibly even install a Garage Defender. Also check that the hinges are not a weak point. Ideally hinges will be robust, concealed, and attached to the door with through bolts rather than screws. They should also have concealed hinge pins to prevent the hinges being compromised by knocking the hinge pins out. Locking things up; Lock Them Up Inside of your storage room, the more valuable items can be locked up to prevent their removal even if someone manages to break in. A padlock and chain, or padlock and security cable, can be used to lock items together to form an immovable critical mass, or to secure items to a suitable anchor point. Wall Anchors, Shed Anchors and Ground Anchors are all readily available off the shelf and are easily installed to form a secure anchor point. Naturally, the higher the value of the item to be protected the greater the level of security required, so when choosing your security products such as padlocks, chains, etc. make sure that they will deliver the appropriate level of security for your needs. Locking things down; motorcycle locked to ground anchor Generally this means securing items to a robust anchor point to prevent unauthorised removal. Motorcycles and Quadbikes, Trailers, Boats, Ride on Mowers and many other items are among favourite targets for thieves, partly because of their high value and also because they are easily resold. Such items should be security marked with a suitable product such as Datatag, as a first level of theft deterrent, but should also be physically secured. Typically physical security for such items will involve locking them down to a secure Ground Anchor, with a high security padlock and chain, but it is important to use security products which deliver the appropriate level of security for the item protected. If locking down a Harley Davidson Motorcycle for instance you would not want to use a cheap padlock and chain from a DIY store, which may of course be perfectly adequate for securing a childs cycle. …other security measures that you may also want to consider include use of shed alarms and security lighting which we have covered previously.

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