I am getting a new bike shed next week. It’s made of 3/4″ thick wood, measures 6’*5’*6′ W,D,H and I want to turn it into something that will keep my bikes safe. It is in an enclosed back garden.

Looking for advice on the base, ground anchors, locks etc.

Cheers,
G.

this is probably more expense than you want but if I go back to storing my bikes in a shed I’ll be putting one of these inside it;

http://www.idhdirect.co.uk/mesh-cages.html

serious concreted in ground anchor, serious motorcycle type chain locks – 16 mm links at least.

+1 to TJ’s comment, couple of threads on the subject here

an alternative option

http://www.torc-anchors.com/shed-shackle.php

Lots of other good stuff on there as well.

HTH

Zulu have sent you an email about shed security

Having had scrotes use 42″ Irwin Record bolt croppers to cut my Pragmasis 11mm chain (no reflection on their chain, I bought two 13mm as replacements) I would avoid ground anchors, personally.

The technique I’ve seen (on YouTube etc) is to get a low section of chain in the cutters jaws, place one handle on the floor and the other in the air. Scrote jumps up and puts full bodyweight through arm in the air. Unless the chain / anchor is completely inaccessible then this is a risk.

Alternatively, if you hang them up and put the chain high, e.g. off the roof or trusses it means the only leverage they can get with cutters is above their heads, pushing hands together i.e. much less. Therefore, chain is harder to cut.

Then again, battery operated grinders are pretty easy to get hold of nowadays ……

OTher’s opinions may vary and your circumstances may / may not allow some of the suggested.

Personally as well I find long lengths and heavier duty chains a right PITA. To me the 13mm is about bearable. Pay lots for the padlock too (typical weak link) such as Squire Shielded at c.£50 each.

I got my garage wired to the house alarm in the end and dusk til dawn lighting (waste of juice!). I think you can get little DIY alarms that can be fitted in sheds.

Given I’ve been burgled twice (once garage and once house) whilst actually in bed then, whilst many ignore alarms, I’d rather have one so it wakes me up.

Something to bear in mind when planning security is that a thief won’t give a shit what they break or damage in the process of nicking something (IMO). It’s a different mindset to you an dme who usually think about how to do something and how easy it’ll be to repair afterwards.

Burglars are scum.

I put a shed up at mine last summer. I installed one of THESE in the base. I used 3x2ft slabs then replaced one of the slabs with a 2x2ft and a 1x2x2ft hole full of concrete, granite stones and the ground anchor. I built the anchor up a inch or so above the level of the slabs so it would sit flush with the base of the shed and cut a hole in the shed base for it to come through.

I made the mistake of not letting the concrete set fully before building the rest of the shed around it and kicked the anchor while putting up one of the walls, all this meant was it was able to rotate a little in position but it would not come out of the ground. I back filled the top of it with cement and it is now totally solid.

My plan is to get a Pragmasis or Almax chain to lock the bikes with for total security.

Other things i did was replace one of the screws on each side of the hinge of the door for a button head bolt so the hinges can’t simply be undone and the door opened from the other side.

My shed has 2 small windows, 1/2ft high by 2ft wide which I have made opaque by securing an old shower curtain over them, can’t be seen through but still lets some light in.

Have you ever watched “Miami Vice”? Use it for inspiration.

I’d personally chat to the insurance company and ask them for their requirements. I once had a concrete shed with security doors etc. Thieves cut a hole in the wall with some power saw, took my bike, left undisturbed. No neighbours heard anything. I left the area very soon afterwards.

Cheeky Monkey – Member

Personally as well I find long lengths and heavier duty chains a right PITA. To me the 13mm is about bearable. Pay lots for the padlock too (typical weak link) such as Squire Shielded at c.£50 each.

the reason for using 16mm+ chains is that they cannot be bolt cropped – too big for the jaws /too strong / leverage angles all wrong

i used some old u-bar locks buried in the concrete as a cheaper and still effective alternative to ground anchors.

Whatever you do, if they want them enough, they’ll just come tooled up and take them. They don’t mind sawing frames in half if they can sell the rest on.

So all you’re doing in making it a bit harder. The last word can only be insurance. There is no such thing as ‘total’ security.

the reason for using 16mm+ chains is that they cannot be bolt cropped – too big for the jaws /too strong / leverage angles all wrong

I don’t recall exactly and can’t access the stuff from work but I think there were some pretty thick chains cropped in some of the videos I saw. Personally, I think “cannot” is too definitive and absolute, “less likely” maybe but not impossible.

Convenience and ease come into it. Security that is a major PITA to use on a frequent basis is less likely to be used. If that means using a slightly lighter chain then better it’s on than a heavy one that isn’t used. Admittedly this means accepting a lower level of protection but there are always trade offs. In the instances where it’s the less dedicated / determined scrote then the lesser chain maybe enough to make the difference.

As others have said, if they want them they’ll have them, usually. Slow them down, give them less time, cover and peace in which to get past chains, locks etc and (sadly) make yours look harder work to steal than the next blokes will all help reduce the likelihood they’ll get nicked. I hope.

I looked into insurance, over and above the level of cover from my household policy, and decided that the additional spend it would result in was better used on physical security than continued premiums for however many years. A personal thing but worth considering carefully.

If relying (in part or whole) on insurance make sure you understand the policy and comply with it. I got the nod from the assessor that I might need to consider whether I had sufficient value contents (i.e. if it was £40k on the existing policy maybe it ought to be higher). If you’re under insured i.e. the insurer thinks you should have had £50k’s worth of cover (IIRC) your payout is reduced by the same percentage as you are considered to be under insured. Ouch!

And finally, watch out for limitations on the total value of contents that are insured for theft from outrbuildings in your policy. On mine (which I am embarassed to say I’d missed) it was £3k. Given there was at least £6.5k of bikes nicked (probably closer to £8k+ on a new-for-old basis) I didn’t get 50% of the value of mine back.

Generally, I’m very happy to see that Ken Clark is going to let me stab the barstewards 😉

Project – thanks for that. Some valuable advice in there.

Having also been done over to the tune of many, many £k’s after much research I went with Pragmasis 19mm chain and custom squire padlock with their ground anchor. My previous ‘very secure ‘ motorcycle locks were eaten by 42in bolt crops.

As has been mentioned even a 19mm can be beaten with a grinder but it will take 15 to 20mins. And if they want to cut your bike up well, that’s it really isn’t it, insurance.

I also use a noisy stainless xena motorcycle alarm padlock on the outside of the garage (wooden)
This is mated to an Abus Max security hasp designed for storage containers, maleable yet strong etc.
I also obtained a Yale remote alarm, which covers both the house and the garage and is driven from a PIR

The downside of all this is it’s probably £600 for the chain/padlock/anchor/alrm padlock/hasp/external alarm

I was also going to fit alarm mines, (look them up, they will startle thieves and wake you up) as a low cost security measure but I thought I might set them off too often!!

Spare cash?

A lot of you are gonna laugh at this: I have a baby monitor in my shed (on top of a cheap contact alarm) and the receiver in my bedroom so I can hear the scrotes if they try anything. I can hear the odd squirrel but the noise of a little scamper versus someone breaking into a shed and an alarm going off is quite different. Make sure you get a good monitor with a noisegate so it only monitors over a certain sound threshold.
Cue the “What baby monitor for…” thread 😀

I think the easiest way is to make sure the shed and door itself is secure, so there is less chance of anyone getting in in the first place.

We had our shed made without a window and a very heavy duty door with those bolts on the hinges they can’t easily remove. Door has 5 lever security lock on it and only opens into the garden (enclosed with a fence and gate with 3 lever security lock).

I think that should do the trick, most bikes are inside, but a few have made their way into the house as the shed is now full. Will order a similar extra shed (smaller) from the same company soon.

I know we should really also lock them to concrete/have guard dogs etc etc, but all bikes are also fully insured. It’s hard enough getting the bike that’s at the back of the shed out as it is!

Simone

FOr my shed I put in extra long screws that screwed into 2×4 behind each joint. and corner. I then rounded the heads of each screw with a drill.
I repeated the same process for any other area that has screws in it.
The door has 2×4 all across the back where any screws go in.
Inside the door I have a vertical and lower bolt.
Vertical bolt goes up into a piece of 2×4 bolted into the frame with long screws and is locked.
large Floor bolt goes through the floor into the concrete slabs.
Difficult to open second door now to get bikes out.

I lifted one of the concrete slabs and bolted an expensive U lock through it after drilling holes for my ground anchor. It comes up through the floor and into the shed.

Bikes are secured with two chains. joined by circular ‘uncroppable’ reenforced locks. chain loops up to the top of the hut where again another bit of 2×4 has been bolted in place with a metal hoop secured there as well

Outer lock is another circular anti-crop lock reenforced.

The security was put in place by a mate who in the past has possibly entered a few sheds without permission.

Urm – can i have my bike back 😉

Lots of nice stuffs is present on this post.
this is probably more expense than you want but if I go back to storing my bikes in a shed I’ll be putting one of these inside it.
by Loft conversion