After a break in last year security in the internal garage was stepped up a bit, but at the end of the day it’s still an up and over garage door.  My wife is keen to keep the garage door and a bit of ‘dirty’ storage at the front so I’ve proposed that we build an internal wall with a secondary (more secure) type of door.  I’ve assumed that i’ll be able to pick something up second hand, there’s normally something going on one of the local facebook groups. I’m then hoping that once that’s secure she’ll let me knock a hole in the utility room wall so I can have an internal door into my garage 😉

So far I’ve decided that I’m going to build it out of concrete blocks, tied into the existing brickwork walls with those metal wall starter things. Do I need to throw a load of rebar into the blocks both vertically and horizontally? For one I don’t want the wall falling down and for 2, it needs to be secure enough to give us all peace of mind.

You’ll need a bonded pier (double block width, alternating horizontal/vertical) every 2m or so. So depending on the width, if the door is in the middle you could have the piers either side. That will also provide more support for the door, in case anyone starts trying to knock it down…

You could also choose a denser grade of concrete block eg 15 kN rather than 7.5 kN. They weigh more and can take more abuse eg sledgehammers etc.

Have you considered a ‘cage’? I looked at getting one fitted and it wasn’t ridiculously expensive*, so you could keep valuables inside that and use the rest of the garage as intended.

*when compared to rebuilding our entire garage…

what about a cage – like an office/ station bike store. bolt it to the wall.

It’ll probably need fabbing up but engineering firms are surprisingly cheap.

I’d be wary of adding internal garage access to the house if security is a big concern. Once someone’s in the garage they can just drop the up and over door and crash about to their heart’s content getting a door open and no one will bat an eyelid.

I’d look at steel security doors and grills. Build an insulated stud plasterboard wall and just fit the steel cage inside that for security.

Makes it easier for someone to remove in future if they don’t want it any more.

This sort of thing for the barrier – you can get them with steel doors let into them. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heavy-Duty-Steel-Security-Grill-Gate-Door/263963273768

Ideally I’d like to be able to use the newly secured area as somewhere to retreat from the children while i’m wfh as well so something solid and with at least some rudimentary insulation would be nice.

Any ‘internal’ door to the house would still be an external door with the appropriate security, although aware that they’d be able to work away out of sight the alarm would be going off by that point 🙂

Do you really need to make it from block work?  If it were me I’d have made a stud wall with plasterboard on either side and insulation in it.  A thief is not going to know what it is without being inside and giving it a test.  Even if they did breaking through a decent plasterboard wall is neither a quiet nor subtle experience.  At the end of the day the door or its lock would probably be the weak point anyway, and anyone who is equipped and mental enough to smash through a stud wall is capable of getting through a door.

Thought this was going to be another Brexit thread!

To add to Poly’s idea, you can get steel security mesh that you sandwich between the plasterboard and studs to resist tool attack. We had to spec it on a job for a Home Office site due to their security requirements, so would suggest it would suit yours.
A stud wall is much easier to construct in an existing space than masonry and will also allow you to include some insulation if you are creating a man-cave. If confronted with a solid wall and a door, the thief’s always going to attack the door/lock.

To add to Poly’s idea, you can get steel security mesh that you sandwich between the plasterboard and studs to resist tool attack.

Learn something new everyday, book marked that for my next shed project…..

Came across these door jammers the other day, aimed at US classrooms for the annual disgruntled student with an AR-15 parade….

Lockdown Door Barricade Devices

That would work quite well on up and over garage doors if you have internal access to the garage.

 I’m then hoping that once that’s secure she’ll let me knock a hole in the utility room wall so I can have an internal door into my garage

Be wary about adding internal access to your garage as [AFAIA] you’ll be falling foul of building regs and may be pulled up when you sell.

It certainly used to be the case that a garage connected to the house is supposed to have a lower floor level than the house and have a fire door connecting the two.

This product and their standard details demonstrate how to meet LPS 1175 SR3 if you’re prepared to go down that route. Certainly the combination of different materials makes successful entry much more difficult.

http://www.expandedmetalcompany.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Exmesh-Securilath-Brochure-2018.pdf

I’ve used it for rooms with the requirement for attack resistance – with an appropriate door.

Have you considered a ‘cage’? I looked at getting one fitted and it wasn’t ridiculously expensive*, so you could keep valuables inside that and use the rest of the garage as intended.

We’ve got one at work for sale. Think it’s 10ftx5ft, just needs new bolts as it was bolted together and to the floor with security bolts that had to be ground off.

Make us a sensible offer.

How did they break in? I have an up and over and had locks fitted at the bottom corners (to prevent folding over and beef up security from the standard crap handle lock), I could have done locks in the top corners to but I hadn’t actually had a break in and using them would be extra faff I didn’t need (and if the worst happens I’m happy with my insurance replacing stuff, nothing sentimental/irreplaceable in there). I can’t see the point in creating an internal wall in the garage (if I’m reading you correctly).

I’ve used it for rooms with the requirement for attack resistance – with an appropriate door.

What would an ‘appropriate door’ look like?

Be wary about adding internal access to your garage as [AFAIA] you’ll be falling foul of building regs and may be pulled up when you sell.

It certainly used to be the case that a garage connected to the house is supposed to have a lower floor level than the house and have a fire door connecting the two.

From Approved Document B of Building Regs:

5.4         If a domestic garage is attached to (or forms an integral part of) a dwellinghouse, the garage should be separated from the rest of the dwellinghouse, as shown in Diagram 10.

5.5         Where a door is provided between a dwellinghouse and the garage, the floor of the garage should be laid to fall to allow fuel spills to flow away from the door to the outside. Alternatively, the door opening should be positioned at least 100mm above garage floor level.

What would an ‘appropriate door’ look like?

Its a door that meets the same LPS 1175 SR rating. Just google “LPS 1175 SR2 doors”.

But specifically? They were armoured doors, ballistic resistant, with lock and hinge protection and a bullet proof glazing panel. They cost about £4,000 each, and take about 4 months from order.

But specifically? They were armoured doors, ballistic resistant, with lock and hinge protection and a bullet proof glazing panel.

Seems overkill as that metal mesh in a stud wall wouldn’t be ballistic resistant, a 9mm round would sail right through the plaster board unless it hit the mesh, which is unlikely.