Garage security ideas

[jay clock]

I live in a "good" area but woke up in 2009 to find my garage door wrecked and all my bikes gone, despite door thru frame bolts, chemical anchor bolts securing in the ground anchors and them all being chained together, plus, with assorted motorcycle U locks. Tbh I don't know what else I could have (realistically) done, they must have made right racket and spent a lot of time in there.................

Since then I've not bothered using any security apart from the below cheap battery operated LED lights. I have 2 drilled into the front door and 2 at the back window, total cost was sub £10 and I use rechargeable batteries. I've not had a problem since, but my neighbours have, I do believe the buggers assume a whizz bang security system is fitted and just move on to another shed/garage. It was right palaver getting bikes out for ride before too, unchaining and unlocking stuff..............

my garage is for storing bikes I use rarely (e.g. summer bike over the winter, touring bike). I will keep fingers crossed!

 

[Soltydog]

Again making it difficult......

If you are not allowed to fit a ground anchor then a large paving slab or one of those ubiquitous bucket shaped lumps of concrete you see lying around will take the anchor and prevent the bike(s) being carried away easily

I have my bikes in the garage with ground anchors mounted on the wall, apart from the tandem, which wasn't expensive. That is secured by a " ubiquitous bucket shaped lumps of concrete", well it's actually a bucket of concrete with a cheap D lock set in it. Used it in a van to secure bikes on a C2C & now used in the garage. Fingers crossed it won't be tested, but it's a cheap option to help

 

[fossyant]

Mine is like @MarkF 's garage originally. The side door and window is barred, and the front up and over had a fair amount of locks on. We've had two attempts, but they didn't get in... but... who knows....

 

[MarkF]

my garage is for storing bikes I use rarely (e.g. summer bike over the winter, touring bike). I will keep fingers crossed!

I now take the view that if they are determined to enter, then they will, regardless of noise or damage. The LED's are highly visible and must give them doubt, I'll get around to using a solar panel to charge the batteries continuously rather than me rotating them.

BTW after the break in I joined an online neighborhood watch thingie (OWL or summat), it was scary, it kept me up to date with every break in locally and perceived attempt, it made a normal suburban area appear like south central LA! I stopped using that too and don't worry about things anymore.

 

[GGJ]

If they want in they'll get in...

 

[Globalti]

I read the OP with astonishment that anybody would even consider leaving a £2600 and a £2000 bike in a flimsy garage a mile from home. Cheapo mountain bikes, by all means but not anything good because they WILL be stolen and the worst of it is that the garages being remote, the thieves will have plenty of privacy to overcome your security.

Our household insurance covers our bikes but not if they are left unattended outside the house.

 

[Bollo]

If I had more room in my garage Jay I would have been happy to store yours but it's a little *ahem* congested at the moment.

One tip I learned when many years ago I rented a flat next to a rough estate with a garage in a block. If you're worried about the hasp being levered, reinforce the area where the hasp is bolted to the door with metal plates behind the door skin. Putting the plates behind the door keeps think discrete.

 

[jay clock]

OK, job done. I borrowed a friend's professional cordless hammer drill to try and dig a hole into which I could bury a D lock as an anchor point, and got one 10mm hole about 5cm deep in 10 mins. I gave up and sussed that the brick side pillar allowed me to mount a colossal D lock (Abus Granit from when I had a motorbike) by drilling a hole through the brick

 

[jay clock]

now chained the main bike to that lock (tight against wall) and locked two other hybrids with 4 D locks and loop cables to it.

Fingers crossed!

 

[Flying Dodo]

Wouldn't a few minutes with a hammer and chisel enable someone to dig out the mortar and just remove the bricks?

 

[si_c]

Wouldn't a few minutes with a hammer and chisel enable someone to dig out the mortar and just remove the bricks?

30 seconds with a cordless angle grinder.

 

[raleighnut]

30 seconds with a cordless angle grinder.

Mind you a ground anchor would be cut just as fast.

 

[numbnuts]

You can't stop them, but you can only slow them down.
A garage opposite mine was broken into the other night, high end tools taken and a stack of fishing gear around £4000 worth very worrying, I'm now thinking of security steel gates in front of the up and over door, but there again it is only good as the pad locks and if they have the time and a cordless grinder …...........

 

[bigjim]

If it is only a mile away. Is it not possible [assuming you have one] worth parking your car up against the garage door when not in use? It is a good deterent and hides the extra door security. Plus you get even fitter fetching the car. I've a suspicion you will be spending a good deal of time worrying about your bikes and expecting the worse each time you set out to check the garage.
It is a sad reflection on modern life I know, but I sometimes think it's not worth having anything worth nicking. I'm not skint by any means, but anybody breaking in to my house would probably just turn round and go back out empty handed. My old car in the driveway would put them off the scent as well. I hope.

 

[jay clock]

they would have to have physically removed the bikes from the wall. I used one of these wound tight through frame wheels and D lock
then used two extra bikes with four D locks on top. To get to the mortar and bricks they will have to cut the Oxford chain first at which point they will have no need to remove the brickwork.