Unit security

[andyxxxx]

Just wondering if I can pick your brains.

I have a small industrial unit for my odd jobs and it has quite a lot of expensive gear in it, and some surrounding units have been broken into recently so I'm starting to get a bit worried.

The front door is a wide shutter door and seems to be secure enough, both of the recent break ins have used the rear door, which consists of a metal shutter with the usual locking pins and then a normal wooden door with lever lock, how can I improve this security.

I'd like something inside the door to prevent it opening inwards, but then how do I do this when the door is closed?

Should also mention that the only way in to the unit when locked is via the rear door, the front door can be opened from the inside only.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

[jungle]

hangers inside the door with some 50x50 box section top and bottom should do it

 

[andyxxxx]

hangers inside the door with some 50x50 box section top and bottom should do it

If you mean what I think you mean, how do I put the box section on from outside the door?

 

[Engineer]

Another door frame inside, with a door made of steel bars which can be secured before closing the outer doors. If they want to get in though, a roller shutter can be opened pretty easily, and its going to be very difficult/impossible to stop a determined thief with a disc cutter.

 

[cumbriasteve]

I think I would be making another 'prison bar' type door on the inside, real heavy stuff, loads of heavy hinges on one side and a monster padlock with a shroud over it to prevent direct attack.

Ideally an interior PIR light aimed at the door or even better a light and internal sound bomb linked to the first door, the noise is deafening and no toerag likes sound and lights going off.

As Engineer states, the real determined pro's will take some stopping but the chancer's should give in.

 

[jungle]

two fixing points at each side of the door

 

[philsmin]

i'd fit an external steel door with the hinges welded on, fit a couple of locks to the door then maybe a 4" box bar across the door to, as engineer says you won't stop someone with a disk cutter but if you're not easy pickings chances are you'll get left alone

 

[cumbriasteve]

i'd fit an external steel door with the hinges welded on, fit a couple of locks to the door then maybe a 4" box bar across the door to, as engineer says you won't stop someone with a disk cutter but if you're not easy pickings chances are you'll get left alone

I can see the point of this but I sometimes think making a building look like it has been strengthened makes them think it has high value inside and all the more tempting

I think it better if the building looks no different from it's neighbours, then if they spend time breaking down the first barrier, to suddenly be faced with something a lot more difficult can be disheartening, especially if 500 watts is melting their eyballs and their ear drums are bursting from the siren.

I would also have a 1 ton block swing down with sharpened bamboo points, a pit with 2 hungry staffies, a 20,000 degrees lazer pointing from the other building and a spinning device covered with razor blades approx 30" from the ground (think about it)...I am fairly sure all these devices are legal and acceptable

 

[philsmin]

I know a guy who once wired an electric detonator to the boot of his car as it had been broken in to a few times, lets just say it was very effective

I know what you mean about making it look like there might be something worth stealing, just don't paint the door so it goes rusty

I built an internal gate years ago for a local scout hut, it had been broken in to 3 times and each time they nicked the copper boiler and all the piping. The gate was very effective built from 3mm x 1" box in a brickwork style pattern (so you couldn't jack it apart) weighed an absolute ton.

They did break in again though, this time they smashed a massive hole in the wall and burnt it down.....

 

[andyxxxx]

Another door on the inside does sound great, however the door opens inwards so this may be a problem.

External gate would, as suggested, suggest high value contents, but may be a deterrent.

I think a deadbolt in each corner of the existing door would be a start I feel but i'd happily spend a few £ and donate a few hours to make it even better.

We also had the pit full of hungry dogs inside the door idea, but I'd rather stay on the correct side of the law.

 

[Engineer]

If your door opens inward its going to be difficult to do anything effective, and as Steve said earlier anything heavy duty and visible from outside, will mean a break in is more and not less likely.

However if you have an external shutter of some sort covering the wooden door, why not simply remove the wood door and frame, and replace with a heavily barred steel door, fixed to a substantial steel frame properly secured to the wall?

And make sure the bottom of the main roller shutter is secured by padlocks both sides, as its surprising easy to open a roller shutter which has not been properly secured, by simply levering it up under the bottom edge.

 

[bloke]

security

A nice alarm set up called 'Viper' it has sensors placed at various locations on the wall inside the building, anyone tries to break in or smash the wall etc, sensors detect the vibration and trigger the alarm. And no I don't work for them.

 

[pedrobedro]

A friend of mine had a unit with a wooden rear door so we put a flush fitted steel chequer plate door inside with a 75x5mm angle iron frame. The outside door was demolished a few times but they never got through the inner one.

 

[ford34/2]

security

Depends how wood worky you are, I would try and consider reversing the door and frame and make it open outwards, cover the outer skin in a sheet of steel bolted through and overlapped to cover the frame as well, make sure you install hinge pins on the hinged side to help stop the cutting of the knuckle on the hinge and lifting the door out, just gotta be carefull how much steel you overlap on the hinge side otherwise it will bind, also opens up the possibility of an extra maybe grill type inner door.
otherwise re-enforce the inside of the door frame with steel to strengthen the lock keep area and the hinge area. Maybe 2" X 1/4", or better on the lock side would be angle if there is a big enough gap to fit it in and remake the keep for the lock bolt

Stan

 

[the snooper]

when i was last broken into they just wrecked the door frame so the best thing you can do is make an all steel door frame which i did and an all steel door i should have but i just beefed up the wooden door make it open outwards and as said above use hinge pins i also have as mentioned above a grill type inner gate with 2 padlocks on it

never put a gate on the outside as the thief can take as long as he wants to open it as it wont be alarmed where as if he gets through the door the alarm will sound and he will then face a gate and run

 

[gordon stephenson]

Second vote for an alarm with vibration sensors. My garage has steel mesh inside the windows with vibration sensors on the window frame, as soon as they feel a thump off they go.These sensors have only ever gone off twice in a lot of years,no damage to the frames so just imagined it might have been bird strikes that triggered them.With the magnetic contact sensors on doors they will only activate once circuit is broken I.e the door is open, with vibration sensors they trigger as soon as somebody attacks the door.

 

[the snooper]

there are a lot of electrical rewind specialists using vibration sensors on their walls now as the scumbgs started to go through the unalarmed walls right where the copper was stored

 

[Metal Fusion]

Where do you lot work? Beruit?!

Not tried substantial gates and fencing? Light it all up, steel your door and electrify it on a transformer and put some signs up, that should keep the thieving ******** out.

Also you could make some tyre shredders, come on this is a welding forum, you can make anything out of metal.

Giving away my ideas will make me a poor man one day...

 

[Shox Dr]

Second vote for an alarm with vibration sensors. With the magnetic contact sensors on doors they will only activate once circuit is broken I.e the door is open, with vibration sensors they trigger as soon as somebody attacks the door.

This is a very important point few people understand; Any system that relies on the intruder to set it off by been inside is worthless. When they are in, it's too ****ing late

 

[Engineer]

Thats quite right Shox...............seems astonishing that people spend lots of money on alarms, when they could have spent less on increased security and kept thieves out in the first place! Guess fitting an alarm is a lot easier though, and lots believe the BS put out by those selling alarms!