Back yard

[Wulfshead]

One of those metal gates is a good idea but suggests there may be something worth nicking inside.
As an ex-builder I know people don't see detail but only blocks of colour their brains tell them that 'should' be where it is and all fitting in.
If I was in the situation I needed a reinforced metal gate I would clad the front with vertical tongue & groove strips to make it look like a basic, nothing to hide inside, wooden gate.

Wulfshead

[MrJere]

If I was in the situation I needed a reinforced metal gate I would clad the front with vertical tongue & groove strips to make it look like a basic, nothing to hide inside, wooden gate.

That's a truly excellent idea, combines the security of a metal frame with the disguise of being a wooden gate. This also falls into the same category as brambles/thorn bushes being regular things to see in a garden.

You have to remember that the first stage to any real burglary/break in is casing the place first. Massive fences and signs where your neighbors have none while potentially work as deterrents to some, will also work in intruders favor by indicating that you've got something that you really value.

[unsure]

given the height of the wall . you should be ok with steel brackets and a few lenth`s of barbed wire .

Although there is no minimum legal height stipulated for the use of barbed or razor wire, you are advised to remove any wire below a height of 2.4m, from ground level, or move to a minimum height of 2.4m.

[hobo]

Thanks all. Inspiring stuff!

At the front I think I'm going for this PIR outdoor wall light http://www.amazon.co.uk/Massive-BOSTON- ... ht+-+Black

In the back yard, the door leading into the lane is in the corner and I don't think it would be brace-able. Maybe a heavier door with bolts on the hinge side (I can't remember what they are called) might be the thing.

My OH didn't like the idea of an inner metal grille, nor the idea of spikes. The idea of a trellis of brambles/hawthorn went down well though!

I forgot to say that bulkhead lights are placed at intervals around the yard. I'm thinking these could be replaced by pir bulkhead lights....

[featherstick]

Can you passively block off the lane further along?

We had a similar arrangement where I used to live. A neighbour's back garden got done - lost a load of kit - by thieves who accessed it via the lane. I gave him a good cutting from a rampant and savage blackberrry on the allotment, which he planted in the lane. Two years later it was practically impassable. Could you do similar? Then it doesn't even look like active "something to protect" measures.

[Scablifter]

1) Put a huge dog bowl in a visible spot by the back door.
2) Buy a few pairs of size 14 wellies and/or workboots and put them by the back door and front door. This gives the impression that someone is in, and they are too big to mess with.
3) You can buy a police high viz vest from ebay, hang it on your washing line.

Most burglars are inherently cowardly, and will always go for the easiest option. let their own imagination do the hard work for you. Psychological warfare is a powerful weapon.

Scablifter

[Yorkshire Andy]

Those lights will cost a fair bit to run Hobo...

seen these?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Led-Floodligh ... 35bf5a3b96


(have several off them had a couple of 30w units die but they sent me bits to repair them free of charge so cant complain ((bad batch of LED arrays the replacements have lasted a year so far....)))



based on wattage 10w is roughly 100w halogen.. i went warm white as its close to a normal light bulb as its not harsh cool white think blue white light on garage forecourt....



I have this exact PIR in black

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Outdoor-200de ... 4624b4d8d8.

they come with a length of flex so i jointed in these then run the wires to the pir

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4x-Weatherpro ... 3cd06f8694




so i can put the PIR somewhere else so its not easy to locate and point at the sky so it no longer works ((common ploy by scrotes)) stand under halogen security light and use a broom or clothes prop to point it at the sky and come back in 10 mins time



been on our workshop now with a 60 w led load about 4 years... 1x50w and 1x10w

and by the house about 3 years.... 2x 30w



To be fair a decent wooden gate will probably be as strong as a metal gate and less likely to be pinched for scrap value

[Yorkshire Andy]

oh and can you get the neighbours to report any anti social behaviour for a few months then ask the council nicely

http://www.york.gov.uk/info/200258/alle ... ley_gating

[hobo]

Andy,

It takes an energy saving bulb, won't look out of place (other houses on the street have similar) and, other than me rolling in from a gig and my nemesis, the local ginger moggie, I don't expect it to be going off

I have one of the ones you suggest at the back of the house - and don't have a clothes prop!

Good idea about the gating ploy!

[Yorkshire Andy]

Make sure it will take a energy saving bulb (led) My sisters new house had a pir porch light but due to some electrical gremlins it was fitted with aa electronic switching unit... which didnt like the led bulb i put in then refused to work with a normal bulb after... .... so i ripped the guts out and made it a bog standard on off with a switch light


make sure its a mechanical (relay) switched unit rather than this silly new fangled electronic bs design



we have gone from burning 1600w (3x500w and 1x100) of power to light the back garden / workshop down to 120w (2x30w 1x50w 1x10w) and the spread of light imo is far better with less harsh light





Someone tried to break into the police officers house next door...... the officer came round asking us to look on our CCTV at X time to see if we caught anything ........ (we didnt) They were saying that we were the most uninviting house on the street to target ...

to Quantify what she was saying without droning on.......

we have an alarm.... not a branded contract system but a modern bell box which has the status LEDS flashing brightly

( in PC's words maintained systems generally say we have something worth nicking and no alarm easy pickings) ((Their maintained branded screen printed bell box is not easy to see due to its location on the side of the house and a bit of a old bell box ((dim status LED)) )



Our front garden is tidy (no where to hide unlike their jungle)



we have working security lighting (they dont)


then the coup de grace we have our CCTV system as do many people on the street But i added some cheap IR iluminators which glow a erry red at night to further add to the deterrent effect and i can see outside in the pitch black via the tv ....

we havent gone OTT forte knox style but just got a little better than the houses near us to make us look like we are not worth the hassle ..


(that said we dont have a massive TV or swanky car or other must have item ((not on display as we dont possess them))