Garden building security tips

TEN TOP TIPS FOR SHED AND GARAGE SECURITY

This is NOT good shed security, but fairly typical of the importance most people give it!

Sheds and garages have always been easy-pickings for thieves. So with the Summer season fast approaching this is a timely reminder to all home owners to secure your property.

Whilst the police are doing everything they can to prevent, deter and detect these offences, home-owners also have a clear part to play if we are to reduce these thefts and keep your possessions where they should be - in your shed or garage, not in the thief's.

Please take a moment to read through these ten top tips and implement as many of the suggestions as you can...

1. Site the shed as close to your house as possible - This will make it harder for the thief to break-in without being noticed.

2. Add a perimeter of crunchy gravel around the shed or garage, and plant some nice thorny plants under the windows. Pyracantha, Berberis and Common Hawthorn are popular and effective.

3. Obscure shed and garage windows with net curtains or whitewash - A burglar seldom steals what he can't see.

4. If your garage has a rear door, fit it with a 5-lever mortice lock certified to BS 3621. Try to do the same for your shed, but if the door is not suitable, fit a "close-shackled" padlock instead and ensure that the fittings are made of hardened steel and bolted into the shed, not just screwed.

Examples of "Close-Shackled" padlocks. They offer little scope for the use of bolt-croppers.	Ensure that the hasp and staple are bolted in place

5. Install dusk till dawn lighting on or near to the shed and garage as offenders do not like to be in well lit areas as it increases their chances of being seen and caught.

6.For sheds, if the door isn't suitable for hinge bolts, make the hinges harder to remove by bolting them to the door or by drilling out the screw heads.

7. If your garage has an up-and-over door, you can secure it from the inside by drilling a hole in each runner, just above the wheel, (with the door is in the closed position). Snap a padlock through each hole and you now have a simple device to block the wheel's movement and stop the door opening.

8. Secure cycles, mowers, strimmers, hedge-trimmers etc., with a lockable steel cable and ground anchor. - Thieves like to work fast, so slow them down!

9. Visibly mark removable items. Thieves seldom steal property that can be traced back to its owner. Visible marking makes it obvious to a thief that the item is traceable. This can be done by simply using a UV and / or permanent marker pen or with a property marking solution like Smartwater and SelectaDNA.

Visible marking is an excellent deterrent

10. Fit an alarm. If you have a house alarm, you should extend it to cover your garage. Otherwise, you can always invest in a simple battery-operated alarm to protect your shed, garage, caravan or boat.

Most have a volume of around 130db and few burglars will be able to stay in the protected area for more than a few seconds. - Uttlesford Neighbourhood Watch has a range of home security products available through their website, including an excellent shed/garage alarm.