Securing entry door to pole barn

[edgarrian]

Hey all,

With current events im thinking of how i could secure my entry door to my pole barn. Its your typical door that locks but i feel like i need to do something else to make it less inviting. I mean it would be easy to do just break in. I don't want to install a steel door. My thoughts are to anchor in some eye bolts and run a chain from the top left corner, to the right middle and then left lower. Use cut resistant chain and a pad lock. My door opens out. It wouldn't be the pretties thing ever but I think it would be effective.

I have a overhead door that has a locking device on it. So i won't do anything with that.

What are your thoughts? What have you done?

With Trump extending the shutdown til April 30th I think people are gonna start looking to rob. Just reading some articles about how people are facing tough time already has gotten me thinking.

Thanks

 

[aczlan]

Put a deadbolt in the door, make sure there is nothing much in sight from the windows and make sure everything has insurance. Not much else you can do.
it's a pole barn, if someone wants to get in they can remove the tin on the side in about 5 minutes with a cordless impact, or they can take a crowbar to the roll up door and be in in about the same amount of time.

Aaron Z

 

[BrokenTrack]

ACZlan kind of has it right. It is hard to strengthen something to the point of being physically impossible to enter. A better approach perhaps is to keep people out by intimidation.

My father will not even come to my house anymore. He went to grab a set of jumper cables out of my barn and forgot my dog was inside. She was sleeping, so when he opened the door, he had a 140 pound snarling Great Pyrenees staring him down.

That is a deterrent.

She has killed (2) coyote, and (2) fox, so she is pretty protective.

 

[Diggin It]

im thinking of how i could secure my entry door to my pole barn. Its your typical door that locks but i feel like i need to do something else to make it less inviting. I mean it would be easy to do just break in. I don't want to install a steel door. My thoughts are to anchor in some eye bolts and run a chain from the top left corner, to the right middle and then left lower. Use cut resistant chain and a pad lock. My door opens out.

What kind of door are we talking about ... a normal 3' walk though pass door? Or a 8' rolling/sliding barn door? What are the barn/shed walls?

As noted, locks are for the semi-honest. The dirtbags will just take the side panels off, or drive a stolen vehicle through. You won't stop those that are determined enough.

For peace of mind, remember the phrase, 'Katie, bar the door!!'

A couple of pieces of angle for brackets and a steel bar or pipe with a lock or two.

 

[Citydude]

Buy some dummy security cameras. 3 or 4 placed around in areas easy to see. Crooks hate pictures that look like their mug shots at the local law enforcement.

 

[Peter 315]

Is it just a reg door or did you order it as a exterior door with welded hinge pins so you can't just take a screwdriver and pop them out.... If you make it look like fort knok people will know stuff is in there......

 

[EddieWalker]

All locks are just a delay for those determined to get in. A buddy had a cabin that was close to Park land and trespassers where an issue. Most where just curious and thought that there was nobody around and they could get away with climbing his fence and exploring. He left the door unlocked and nothing was ever stolen, but there was always sign that people had been inside his cabin. Another friend had a Shop in what is considered the "good" area of Oakland that he had 24/7 security monitoring, deadbolts and lock bars across every door, metal across the windows. The thieves cut holes in his walls faster then the police could get there, and ran off with what they could grab. That happened so many times that he finally gave up on that building and moved to another city.

I have cameras, dogs and deadbolts. If you don't live there, buying good quality cameras are probably your best option to catch who was there. There really is no way to keep out somebody that really wants in, or has enough time to keep destroying stuff until they get in.

 

[edgarrian]

Thanks guys for the ideas. The entry door is just a normal 3ft opening cheap door. The pole barn is close to the house. Id say 25 yards away maybe less. I was looking at audible alarms last night and i may go that route. I also may put up a solar light as I do not have power to the pole barn. I understand that a pole barn is a easy target which is why I may go with the audible alert system and not do anything else to the entry. I have some worthwhile crap in there. Tiller for my tractor, bush hog, log splitter, push mower, a some other crap. I keep my tractor in my house garage.

 

[KennyG]

I don't have much to add, but do I understand that the door opens out? Is it installed backward? If it opens out, I assume the hinge pins are on the outside, so there is no way to secure it short of a locked bar since the pins can just be pulled.

 

[defranks]

Post a sign, "Protected by Smith and Wesson".

 

[Ford850]

A pole barn can be entered within 30 seconds without touching the door. A cordless drill with hex bit can zip out the screws on a steel siding panel allowing anyone easy access, AND they can do that on the most hidden side of the barn.

 

[aczlan]

Thanks guys for the ideas. The entry door is just a normal 3ft opening cheap door. The pole barn is close to the house. Id say 25 yards away maybe less. I was looking at audible alarms last night and i may go that route. I also may put up a solar light as I do not have power to the pole barn. I understand that a pole barn is a easy target which is why I may go with the audible alert system and not do anything else to the entry. I have some worthwhile crap in there. Tiller for my tractor, bush hog, log splitter, push mower, a some other crap. I keep my tractor in my house garage.

Make sure your attachments are insured and put a couple of these (or some other wireless security system with motion sensors) inside: Amazon.com: UniquExceptional MA795DC Strobe Motion Activated Alarm and Door Chime with Remote (White): Camera & Photo
Just make sure you can hear it in your house.

Aaron Z

 

[edgarrian]

Well thats true as well. Hopefully people don't get that desperate. Ill setup some more game cameras around. I have one but maybe ill get two more for the area.

A pole barn can be entered within 30 seconds without touching the door. A cordless drill with hex bit can zip out the screws on a steel siding panel allowing anyone easy access, AND they can do that on the most hidden side of the barn.

 

[mikester]

Buy some dummy security cameras. 3 or 4 placed around in areas easy to see. Crooks hate pictures that look like their mug shots at the local law enforcement.

If someone is determined to go in they will get in. Top up your insurance if you are really worried. Make sure all doors are locked and if someone forces their way in then you are covered. Cameras are a great for making you feel good about watching grainy photos of someone stealing from you and giving further proof to the insurance company that you did your due diligence to support your claim.

If you are still concerned about crime then its probably time to move.

 

[EddieWalker]

In my opinion, I think most thieves check out a place before breaking in. I've had people drive down my driveway and when I ask them what they want, they tell me that they are looking for a lost dog, or thought a friend lived there or they are just lost. The ones that are lost are usually really lost, but the others make me very suspicious. I write down their license plate number, but so far, never see them again.
Friends that have been robbed have all had people working on their land, or lawn mowers working on a neighbors land that is visible to them. I think that the lawn mowers are the scouts that are looking for places to rob, and they tell their friends where to go. The crack heads are the ones that pretend to look for a lost dog.

Being visible when the neighbors lawn is being mowed lets them know that somebody is home. If you can't do that, I'm not sure what a good solution is. Locking a gate is the only way to keep the crack heads out. And be super careful of who you hire to work on your place. Once they see what you have, they will always remember it as a place to come back to and steal from you.

With Social Distancing becoming the norm, I'm strongly thinking about updating my front gate and getting an opener. Our biggest issue is that we are lax in closing it when we are here.

 

[Eagle1]

so when he opened the door, he had a 140 pound snarling Great Pyrenees staring him down.

That is a deterrent.

I've got 4 GP/ Karakachan mixes and 1 GP/Anatolian along with a little dachshund/beagle mix. I don't lock squat, if you are willing to face the pack, I will have time to grab a weapon and some shorts. If the little one "beagles" -- holy hell is unleashed and will not stop until someone calms everyone down. We had a meth head problem once, but not since the smallest GP mix crashed through the drivers side window of the would be thief's minivan.

 

[newbury]

In my opinion, I think most thieves check out a place before breaking in. <snip>

2020 thread BUT
Yes, they probably check out the place, but (knock on wood) keeping a decent security system, and lot's of cameras may help.
I also like to go out on my porch occasionally and fire my 12 gauge.