I was thinking of getting a shackless padlock for the bike shed I'm about to build, but then I saw this:
Is nothing impenetrable these days? I'm going to build the shed from OSB with shiplap over the top, screwed together with Torx fittings, with the intention that the only way in besides smashing the whole thing apart would be to defeat the lock.
So what lock should I use?
Andrew
No, nothing is 100% secure, just ask the last bank that had their vault broken into.
If the scrotes want to get in, they will, no matter *what* security you have in place. I've even seen video of an ATM being taken away by thieves using a fork lift, after ramming it with someone else's 4x4 to break the fixing down bolts.
Which is why not hav> I was thinking of getting a shackless padlock for the bike shed I'm about to build, but then I saw this:
As the only desired result of extra security is to make yours appear harder to break in to than the one next door, all you need is noticeably better security than the one next door. Even if you have the same locks and construction, an authentic looking alarm bell box or warning sign about a burglar alarm would probably do that job.
On the other hand, having obviously over the top security on a shed could indicate to potential thieves that it contains something worth stealing, so it's a balance you have to decide yourself.
It isn't so much the lock as how much access there is to it.
If you placed a foil around the lock the way that freight transit containers have them, that should make most locks secure.
But the problem with security is that it is attractive. Vandals have the heart to destroy anything just to see what is inside. How would you feel to come home to a wrecked bike shed after a spin?
My mate bought an old bike to use on his round last week and it got knicked. I suppose it was better than losing the expensive one he left at home but he never even got to use it. :)
Buy a decent lock and fit it inside the shed with an access panel just large enough to allow you to open the lock and free the door. Buy a piece of road mattress and slip it over the parked bike and rawlbolt that to the wall for extra security.
A piece of polythene over that for rain proofing and you wouldn't really need a shed, plus it looks so insecure as to be not worth vandalising. It won't look as good as a shed but it would be a lot easier to do. (Not that I think sheds look good.)
By the way you can open most padlocks by slipping a sleeve down the bar into the block. You make the sleeve out of a thin slip of metal from a can. There will be video of that online somewhere, I am sure.
You can get padlocks with built-in alarms which make a hell of a din if anyone tampers with them. That might just deter a thief if the shed is within earshot of anyone who might respond to the alarm.
Nope, the trick is to make it look like next door's shed is easier to break into than yours. Which you have to balance with not going overboard with security, because that just screams "there's something worth nicking in here".
Well I'm aiming to make it look as much like an ordinary shed as possible. So the shiplap is there, but if some scrote peels a bit off they'll find the osb underneath and hopefully feel that they've spent long enough already on my driveway and get lost.
Locally, friends have had bike stolen from sheds. They didn't break or pick the lock: they ripped the roof off and lifted them out.
Rather like the old maxim of you do not have to be able to run faster than the bear, just faster than your friend.
Finaly a use[1] for the obese ;-)
[1] other than making TV programmes about their diets, gastric band, or lipo suction.
Locks like the one in the video are easy to pick. Either make friends with your local independent genuine locksmith and get his advice or consider something like this.
Abloy 362 as used on bomb stores.
So there's a lesson, so now you know to make your roof as impenetrable as possible :) Burglars are very good at finding the weak points, and once they've found one at one house, they use the same technique on all the others. No point struggling around the streets carrying boltcutters and oxy torches to defeat expensive locks when a simple crowbar can lift a roof off in 1 second.
I remember when I was young, a bloke nearby had a 6-foot iron decorative gate blocking access from the front of the house to the back, with a dirty great Chubb padlock on it, would have taken thieves a lot of time and equipment to break. So they just lifted the other side of the gate off the hinges & left it hanging by the padlock, and pinched all his Koi fish. I think safebreakers did something similar, all the best locks, hinges and gadgets in the world on the door, so they just pulled the safe out and cut through the back instead.
No. Never has been.
It's just a question of how difficult it is to penetrate.
I've balanced this with making it a minefield of garlic, sage and cobwebs inside.
I fitted 4 of these to a wooden garage door (with a single long reach key) so the hinge side is protected
In article , snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com writes
Taking the stealth trip a bit further I would use a mid range disk lock and a mid range concealed fixing hasp on a very basic looking door. Inside that I would have a second, very beefy, outward opening door secured with a couple of BS3621 deadlocks, under thirty quid the pair from toolstation for noname ones. The benefit of mortice locks is that there is nothing visible to attack but careful strengthening is required to avoid weak spots. Hinge side will need work too.
Alarm the outer door (and the shed in general) so that you have some time to attend should it be attacked and before the inner layer is breached. SMS pager if really keen.
Lots more info to offer on specifics of the design if you're interested in that method.
Secure the bikes whilst in the shed too, aldi/lidl motorcycle chains/padlocks are cheap but effective. Mind you, I have seen well locked bikes stripped completely of expensive accessories, leaving the bare frame behind.
The OSB sheet approach sounds good, putting weldmesh under that (folded over and bolted through at corners) goes a step further, it just depends how far you want to go.
In addition, my view is that a shed with valuables is best placed out of sight, certainly don't be seen taking valuable bikes in and out. In the case of the stripped bike story above it was done by a mid teen kid living a couple of blocks away who had seen the bikes coming and going.
Good luck!
My father in law had what he called a roman lock on his shed, it was a horizontal wooden bar on the inside, he than had a stout metal wire kind of L shaped which went through a slot in the door and had to engage a hole in the bar in order to slide it back. Difficult to beat it if you had never seen it before and of course nothing was visible from the outside. Me I have 3 cheap internal alarms in my shed cost about £9 each, I go for the noise route which should scare them off.
Get a big dog with sharp teeth and a bad attitude.
Philip
Most thieves would go somewhere else if you have one of these
But nothing is going to protect against a battery powered angle grinder.
Or even a crowbar on a wooden shed.
They tend to kill people though. Make tagging and public liability insurance mandatory?
If someone wants to break in they will just kick a hole through the wall or door.
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