Making a Sturdy Door

[TechWise]

Got a small shed with some decent tools in it that I would like to secure. Fortunately it's an old byre with two-foot thick stone walls and only one door around 1m wide and 2m high. If I can make a decent door for that it should be pretty secure overall. There's also the small matter of a skylight window which could be broken but any thief would need to scale the roof, smash the window and beat their way through the paneled ceiling before realising that the stuff inside is bigger than the window and very heavy.

I've got an 8x4 sheet of 5mm treadplate that I'm thinking would be a good starting point. It would be easier to kick or ram a door in than to pull it open so I'm thinking it should open out the way. If I let the sheet overhang the frame it should be impossible to get a pry bar around it to pull it open. In terms of locks, I was thinking an ordinary household deadlock at the top and bottom with only a small keyhole cut through the plate. Problem with the door opening out the way is that the hinges are then on the outside. Is it worth putting pins on the end of the door that slot into holes when closed so that cutting the hinges achieves nothing?

Suggestions and pictures of similar setups would be most welcome.

 

[Sharpy]

I would slide the door on the inside, will pm you my phone number to explain a thief proof locking system.

 

[startinghandle]

I would slide the door on the inside, will pm you my phone number to explain a thief proof locking system.

I thought there is no such thing as
thief proof locking locking system

 

[Sharpy]

I thought there is no such thing as
thief proof locking locking system

Not if you put the details on the internet there isn't.

 

[Horn&corn]

I’ve never needed to yet but I thought if I had this to sort id make it open the wrong way. Basically make it look like it opens right hand but actually left hand. That way when they attack with pry bar or grinders they’ll eventually find they’re attacking the hinges.

 

[David.]

They will strip the roof sheets to get in.
You are dealing with anuses who do not give a fig how much damage they cause to get at what they want.

 

[HolzKopf]

How far away from you is it. Instead of building Fort Knox, decent locks combined with a loud siren and phone based alarm + lights might be more of a deterrent. Is it out of the way?

 

[Dry Rot]

I got riven a couple of timber stables and a tack room for the price of taking it down and removing. I was quite amused to see the strongly built 40mm thick timber door with a second, lighter one on the inside of that. The walls were 1/2 inch timber boards!

The best deterrent is the certainty of being found out, caught, and punished. I'd suggest some sort of indelible spray, except I'd be the first person caught out.

 

[clbarclay]

How much is a decent security door now? When we had a new shed a few years ago, the company building it bought in an access door as it was cheaper than they could make one for. It was multi skinned, dead locking and had fixed bolts behind the exposed hinges. It is a little ridiculous compared to the roller shutter doors next to it.

 

[David.]

How much is a decent security door now? When we had a new shed a few years ago, the company building it bought in an access door as it was cheaper than they could make one for. It was multi skinned, dead locking and had fixed bolts behind the exposed hinges. It is a little ridiculous compared to the roller shutter doors next to it.

It is ridiculous, considering that they will just drive through the roller shutter door.

 

[deleted user 837354]

They will strip the roof sheets to get in.
You are dealing with anuses who do not give a fig how much damage they cause to get at what they want.

That or take a big hammer drill to the walls. I know someone that happened to.

 

[deleted user 837354]

It is ridiculous, considering that they will just drive through the roller shutter door.

Absolutely, if they want in they will get in. Only way to stop vehicle attacks is by installing bollards but even they won't stick a telehandler or JCB going at them.

 

[stroller]

make a secure steel door with a locking mechanism, then make a false cladding in old scrap wood and put a simple gate bolt type catch on with no lock, they will see it has no lock and probably leave it alone, especially if you lean some rubbish against it.

 

[clbarclay]

It is ridiculous, considering that they will just drive through the roller shutter door.

I know, we had a good laugh about it at the time, but no point paying more for a weaker pedestrian door to match the roller shutters.

 

[Robert K]

Have a strong personnel door we have just taken out of a unit, it would bolt straight in

 

[Robert K]

Got a small shed with some decent tools in it that I would like to secure. Fortunately it's an old byre with two-foot thick stone walls and only one door around 1m wide and 2m high. If I can make a decent door for that it should be pretty secure overall. There's also the small matter of a skylight window which could be broken but any thief would need to scale the roof, smash the window and beat their way through the paneled ceiling before realising that the stuff inside is bigger than the window and very heavy.

I've got an 8x4 sheet of 5mm treadplate that I'm thinking would be a good starting point. It would be easier to kick or ram a door in than to pull it open so I'm thinking it should open out the way. If I let the sheet overhang the frame it should be impossible to get a pry bar around it to pull it open. In terms of locks, I was thinking an ordinary household deadlock at the top and bottom with only a small keyhole cut through the plate. Problem with the door opening out the way is that the hinges are then on the outside. Is it worth putting pins on the end of the door that slot into holes when closed so that cutting the hinges achieves nothing?

Suggestions and pictures of similar setups would be most welcome.

 

[TechWise]

The building is only ~30 yards from the house. With a sturdy door, I would think that any attempted access would create enough noise to alert us and/or the dogs to the break in. A couple of CCTV cameras could be hidden inside too to catch the culprits afterwords if they managed to get in while we were on holiday or something. I was thinking about one of those systems with a loud klaxon possibly combined with some strobe lights . No doubt I would be the one in prison if one of the poor thieves suffered a heart attack when it went off.

 

[tinman]

strong locking door you say...

i made this on and off over a winter a while back, reason being its an odd size doorway, i cant remember the size now but its far from standard.
2 men id hardly lift it, chubb 5 lever lock in it.

you can buy a 10 point locking door for about £300, its made of thin sheet and insulated, its a grand job for the money but only available in a couple of sizes so didnt suit this doorway.

 

[DanniAgro]

When the battery powered angle grinder went on sale, security shot out of the window. I knew the manager of a tool hire depot, and it was built like Fort Knox, but the portable angle grinder saw to it that he was broken into regularly even though he tried every thing to stop them
And as david says, if they can't get through the door, they go through the roof.
Oh, and it's amusing to think that experienced thieves are unaware of any method of securing your property anyone tries to come up with, Sharpy.

 

[Sharpy]

When the battery powered angle grinder went on sale, security shot out of the window. I knew the manager of a tool hire depot, and it was built like Fort Knox, but the portable angle grinder saw to it that he was broken into regularly even though he tried every thing to stop them
And as david says, if they can't get through the door, they go through the roof.
Oh, and it's amusing to think that experienced thieves are unaware of any method of securing your property anyone tries to come up with, Sharpy.

As I said before, there are no secrets if you put it on the internet. I was shown an ingenious securing mechanism a while ago, if techwise wants the details he can phone, message or pm me, anyone else can pm me.