How to Secure Your Garden Shed

My name is Peter Ward, and Burglar Free Zone has invited me to write about garden shed security.

Before I continue, take a look at this entertaining video. Home security expert, Michael Fraser, takes a look at the vulnerability of someone’s garden shed. It’s a bit extreme, but it’s done like this to emphasise the weaknesses that a lot of sheds have. See if you can identify with anything.

 

 

Poor garden shed security is something that concerns a lot of people, especially dads. The shed is often home to big expensive equipment like power tools, gardening machines and bicycles to name a few items. Sometimes a burglar breaks into a shed just to get hold of some tools to help them break into the main building. This could include hammers, ladders and spades etc.^[1]

Some sheds serve as storerooms for miscellaneous items that are too big to keep in the main house. Like most people, I learned how to secure my garden shed properly only after it was broken in to. Better late than never, as they say. Even so, I could have done a finer job of securing it and saved myself all the headaches and hassles that come with a burglary.

There are a number of things to look out for when checking your shed for security. The five most important areas to look over include the following:

1. The roof (many burglars break into sheds from a weak roof)
2. Doors (overall condition)
3. Screws and hinges
4. Padlocks
5. Windows (material, visibility)

In my case, the thieves just jemmied the door open, and I doubt it even took five seconds to crack. In my ignorance, I thought the big heavy padlock would deter a burglar thinking about breaking in. Looking back now, I might as well have given them the key, that’s how lax my shed security was back then. I lost quite a bit of gear too, which is why I went out shopping for garden shed security alarms the morning after the burglary. Once bitten, twice shy as the saying goes.

Peace of Mind

To get real peace of mind you need to be able to sleep knowing that you’ve done everything you can to secure your garden shed. Shed break-ins are usually the crimes of opportunistic burglars more so than an organized theft. It costs a little bit to secure you hut properly but it’s just a one off cost. And anyways, the cost is relative to the valuables inside. I lost around $3,500 worth of equipment, most of which I couldn’t claim on my insurance, but that’s another story.

Today my shed is super-secure. It has decent locks, lighting, an alarm, and is wired up to a monitoring system. How about your shed?

Resources

1. https://www.westmercia.police.uk/article/13059/Shed-security-crime-prevention-advice