Sunday night we woke up to find someone had tried to prise the garage door from the side. Splintered the wooden frame and bent the door but they couldn’t get in due to interior wall blocking garage door.

Dog didn’t bark, so she’s sacked and were pretty secure here. I’ve added an Arlo camera system and we already have a good alarm fitted to the garage. Garage is very secure but this hasn’t put these bozos off …

My question is can you get a chunk of metal to fit down the side of the garage door to stop them prising it? To block the gap.

Just for the record we are gated, fenced, alarmed , 4 sets of security lights (one on dusk till dawn ). The garage is brick with full boarding out and insulation so it’s a tough target.

Anything extra you can add?

Dunno whether we were targeted or random.

In the past I have taken a strip of metal plate and screwed it down to the wooden door frame so it overlaps both the door and brick wall (door opens inwards). Depending on how your door opens this will work the best. This provides no access to either side of the wooden frame to jimmy anything open.

Have you thought about electrifying the door handle?? 😉

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p50096?table=no

use this stuff to reinforce door also hinge bolts on doors

I’ve used two, three… four big eyelet screws into the wooden frame and put a hole through the side of the garage door. Big padlock through both.

Just stops them folding part of the door back (if you do it in the corners). That said, it’s never been tested in anger!

Nothing to add, but glad to hear the attempt failed. Might be worth moving the bikes elsewhere for a week or two.

Dunno whether we were targeted or random.

Me neither, but if I had to speculate, this

we are gated, fenced, alarmed , 4 sets of security lights (one on dusk till dawn ). The garage is brick with full boarding out and insulation so it’s a tough target.

suggests it’s less likely to be random opportunists?

It sounds as if you need a lodger. This chap in fact.

Thanks for tips.

I’m conscious of being over secured but it’s likely that I/we were spotted riding from house. I’ve removed car roof rack too.

Our garage was done and I’m going to fit a sectional garage door, hopefully on the insurance as the old up and over was prized up.

You were very likely targeted.
My friend had his very secure (the police said he couldn’t have done anything more to secure it, within reason) garage broken into last year.
They kicked and prised his garage door open, while they were in bed sleeping!
Cut off ALL the locks and chains, and stole all the bikes, which included his new top of the range £7000 Colnago he only got that year!
His garage just looked like all the other garages in the street, so it wasn’t random.

They will very likely be back, so keep any expensive bikes in the house for a while.
Secure it the best you can, but generally, if they want to break in, they will, all you can do is slow them down.

Buy a Land Shark aka a German Shepherd, give it a chainmail suit and park it in your garage. Let the bloody hilarity ensue.

Alternatively, an Irish Wolfhound in this – for the lolz. It probably wont attack them – but they will probably shit bricks when they come face to face with an armored beast that resembles a hellhound. 😀 🙂

I’ve removed car roof rack too.

And there’s your answer, bit late now tho cos the local scum have already seen your large advert.

Interesting stuff.

One question how the hell do you sleep knowing someone may be back! I’m certainly struggling.

This whole thing has got me anxious that no one knows the contents of my garage – the value of the bikes etc, so what makes it worth targeting? And why come back to a garage you couldn’t get in the first time.

Surely there are easier targets than mine.

Oh and to top it off as well as access to the front garage door being impossible (not that they know that but I suppose after sticking a bar in now they might) my bloody car is blocking the door.

Shot gun blank traps on the door frames one hell of a bang and what ever you do don’t forget they are there as your ears will ring for a week I KNOW THIS FROM FORGETTING LIKE A TIT!!!!! It was so bad and disorienting that I know any scum would probably poop them selfs after running round like a headless chicken and hitting into the wall!

I know what you mean about not sleeping, when our shed was broken into I was on edge for about a month after. Luckily, they didn’t get anything out of ours either (bikes were bolted down with 3+ motorbike locks and a home made ground anchor resembling a cruise liner mooring point) but it still made me anxious.

Just do the best you can to keep them safe. I looked into all kinds of outlandish measures after we were done over, but ultimately decided that if they really want the bikes, no amount of land mines or punji steak pits will stop them, in which case the insurance company will pick up the bill.

Sobering stuff

Just built my bike bunker in new house. Breeze block, window smaller than a person and barred, high security steel door and weld mesh under roof plus alarm.

Makes me think I’m under protected

Ultimately if they really want it they’ll get it. Most of my bikes are fairly middle range and old so I don’t worry too much that they’d be targetted, however I would still be gutted if they all got taken – luckily the area seems fairly low crime and people generally look out for each other.

I did however manage to lock my keys (inc. house keys) in the garage a while back whilst my wife was away, it was scary how easy it was to break in when I thought about it – my only difficulty was causing minimum damage.

Shot gun blank traps alarm mines

was my first thought too.

So far these security cameras are hitting the spot.

http://www.arlo.com/uk/

Wireless, stored to cloud for free, night vision, decent quality, weather proof, App control with notifications.

Downsides: Battery, doesn’t record 24/7.

How far away is the garage?
I have a detached garage and I can’t see it from my bedroom window, I have a baby alarm on at night next to my bed, and this works great.
I can’t see how they could get around that, before I am awake and releasing the dog?
They would have to make some noise?

My garage is a few feet from the house. Can see it from some windows.

Baby alarm is a cheap solution perhaps, I have it plugged into the mains in a corner and is not visible on entry.
These things are so sensitive they pick up passing traffic and I can hear the birds nesting in the garage roof space moving about.
As previously said, if they want it they will have it, our job is to make it as difficult as possible and make them work for it.
As I say they would have to make some noise, even breathing and these alarms can even pick that up.

Our garage has an integral door from the house. When we were broken into this made quite a difference legally. If the garage is not adjoining the crime is theft. In our case the crime is BURGLARY (and much more serious) because the garage is deemed to be an integral room of the house. That made a difference to the limits on our contents insurance. Check yours. If you have a garage that is adjoining, I’d add a door for this reason alone.

Our garage door has external deadbolt locks as a visible deterrent but also I manually block the hinges from the inside with timber. It’s not possible to open the door! We also have a house alarm that is so loud that it is not possible to stay in the garage when it sounds. Parking the car in the way is a final deterrent, but is a pain when I want to take the trike out (doesn’t come through the house!).

If you have another door into the garage like me I found a cheap way to beef up security is to drill through the side up and over door runners towards the bottom of the runners and put a padlock through each side. This means they can’t open the door more than a few inches. I know, as I locked myself out once and couldn’t get in.

http://www.paintballsentry.com/

http://projectsentrygun.rudolphlabs.com/

Try storing your bikes in an Asgard inside the garage so if they do break in, there is more for them to do.

As many have said, there is only so much you can do. Make sure you are well insured.

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