Garage Door Locks

[dombanks]

hi all

i need to secure the garage door where im keeping the westy other than the existing lock, i know i can use oneof those hasp/staple things but thats only as good as the padlock you use. is there a different way to do it. i was thinking of some sort of deadbolt thing but have got no idea.

edt: it would need to be acessed from outside as there is no other door to the garage

[Tom Frankland (T3OMF)]

Have you got another door to get out of the garage?? Like a back door

[FILFAN]

If you have a side door you could bolt it shut on the inside

[dombanks]

no just the up and over door with a normal lock thingy which operates 4 latches so when its shut it cant be pryed open a little bit at all but this is just a normal handle with a lock.

i think somethinglike this would do the trick but they only have 2 bolts holding each one onto the door

http://www.locktrader.co.uk/Asec-Garage-Door-Bolt-Pair.html

[Nick PC]

What about one of these http://www.screwfix.com/p/garage-defender/79478

[Norman Verona]

I would say that the weak point of a hasp and staple is the screws holding the H&S to the frames.

I also think that fitting huge, highly visible locking systems just advertises you have something worth nicking inside.

I would leave the standard lock as is and ensure the car cannot be started. Even a battery master switch is quite an effective anti theft deterrent. A removable steering wheel likewise (ever seen a thief with a big red key and a steering wheel?)

How about a bike cable lock through a wheel and wishbone?

The point is that 99% of car thefts which are not stolen by professionals and to order are the ones where the keys can be taken or the locks are easy to get through. Any obstacle and the scroats will move on to the next Astra or Saxo.

ed to add that the pair of locking bolts seem OK. Shouldn't be too visible, cheap and look easy to fit. It looks like a large bar would be needed to bend the up-and-over door inwards to unlock them without keys.

[housebeautician]

Norman

The defender that Nick pc has suggested really work, my roofer mate has one on his garage and has stopped a few attempts to get in.

Paint it black so its not so visable

Tony

[Terry Everall]

Agree with Norm. Also fit a battery powered alarm cos they are Bl**dy loud when they go off. Put it high up and out of sight

[Norman Verona]

Tony, you have to ask yourself would there have been an attempt at entry if there wasn't a great big theft deterrent displayed.

The only time I've had a car stolen, once towed around the corner into a field to remove the stereo and phone and the second time towed away to strip to sell the bits. It was an Escort Cossie, so highly visible "come and get me" car.

We lived in a prominent house in a village with high tourist traffic. We never locked doors until we went to bed and never had any attempt to break in. Did have a window broken once in an attempt to take car keys, the whole thing observed by a neighbour who saw their car break down and then walk over to our window. She (neighbour) thought they were looking in to see if we were up.

Actually, the milkman saw the cossie being towed away by a white Transit at 04:30 and thought it was the AA towing it away because it was broken down. When I reported it stolen in the morning the Police visited the culprit within an hour. The plates were in his dustbin. He claimed a mate had brought him the car to strip for bits and someone had removed the plates and put them in his dustbin. He got a 1 year custodial,.

[Hammy]

Depends where your garage is too . I have mine wired to the house alarm on it own zone, you could do likewise or fit some form of battery alarm ( I have CCTV in there too linked to my iPhone together with the alarm )

You could also look at the motorbike thingies that bolt to the floor and allow you to use a chain through the wheels or whatever .

Most up and over doors have the weak spot where the locking bars are - re enforce these ?

Someone I know who has classic bikes has changed the whole door for a security shutter , which looks like a garage door but much stronger.

Park your tin top in front of it

I too think a visible lock advertising the content is not the best route

[housebeautician]

Of course the best way is you can always wire up the handle to the mains and electrocute the thieving barstewards

[Blatman]

Lockable parking post inside the garage. Ground anchor under the car in conjunction with a decent lock and chain wrapped round a chassis rail (like the gearbox hoop or one of the lower rails in the engine bay).

If you position it right, you could place the parking post in the engine bay when the car is parked.

I have heard good reports about the garage defender too.

Also, if you have a T shaped handle on the outside of the garage, swap it for a round handle, the round handles are harder to use a lever on. T shaped ones lend themselves to a long piece of bar and brute force.

I am caught between advertising something worth nicking with an obvious deterrent, and keeping the b*******s out lest they get in, find they can't nick the car so end up doing something else, like nicking everything else or vandalising the car or worse. There is also the issue of thieves breaking in to the house to look for the keys. My mate has just had his new A5 stolen off his drive by thieves getting access to the house and finding the keys. They were in his Mrs' handbag in the kitchen. Looking in handbags is kind of obvious when you think about it. Probably not an issue for the Westfield keys, but not something I'd want to have happen.

[Dave the Sparky]

Many options, I think a good secure hoop on the back of the door chained to a hoop anchor inside is a good idea, set it up so you can open the standard door just enough to reach to the chain lock, awkward yes but a deterrant for sure especially if a shed alarm rigged to the door is going off as your trying to defeat the chain lock?

Inside, floor post and immobalisation.

Really its how far you want to go and whether you avertise security or stay off the radar...

If you had alternative access and power, elec door opener and hasps/alarm should suffice...

Dave

[dombanks]

thanks for the ideas, im very much up for the not advertising it thing which is why i like the idea of those things i found. im not so keepon anything going into the floor as the floor is a pile of poo and i dont think it will hold much wothout moving.

lets just say its going into a sort of lock up where i wont be near it and leave it at that. i think the chain arond the chasis is a good idea and maybe the post into the ground wouldnt be too difficult with some fence post concrete type things.

thanks

[pistonbroke]

With your expertise I thought you would have it wired to the national grid