someone kicked a hole in the masonite siding on the back of my garage, crawled through, and let themselves out the side door with power tools, lawn mower, weedeater and chain saw.
does anyone know of a source for diy alarm parts,(noise makers and flashing lights) or have any low tech solutions to scare burglars off (no dogs, thanks) i’m in a pretty dense residential area, so i think physical deterents and light and noise should be sufficient.
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Replies
Sorry to hear that.
X10 offers a lot of options, including using the elec lines to notify you in your house. I use one of their transmitters here, through the elec line, to a receiver in the house 800' away. It's also hooked to my driveway sensor. Good hardware.
All this happened after I had two attempts on consecutive nights on my shop. My "visitors" were less industrious, or drunker. They only tried to kick down a steel door, ignoring the large windows. I once owned an alarm business so used what I had to cobble a system. Mine includes shock sensors on the walls and glass protection.
Surplus Center http://surpluscenter.com/community.asp?UID=2003031823141350&catname=electric sells hardwire panels and parts for a total system. Their prices are substantially higher than I can get wholesale, but if their techs are as good in that area as they are others, worth paying for.
You either want interior space protection or a way to detect someone coming through your wall. I'm out of date, but last I knew, passive infrared "motion" detectors weren't good in unheated spaces. Oops, Baton Rouge- never mind. They'll work fine. I've successfully used sound discriminators. Either would be fine for you for interior space protection which will be cheaper than the shock sensors I used. A dual detection unit will preclude false alarms when you don't fully understand environmental influences on the unit.
Electronics will be cheaper than fortifying your garage. Probably you have a few weeks (to collect the insurance and replace the tools) before they return. If you'd like, I think I still have a simple wireless system here that you'd be welcome to if it still works. Have to check that. I don't think much of them as all the transmitters require a battery and most of the panels don't know whether the battery(ies) is working or not (unsupervised).
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
i hooked up a school bell from HD to a motion detecting light, don't forget the transformer.
that's a good idea ...
my Dad rigged something up from one trip to radio shack.
'course he also electrified the fence once to stop the neighbor kids from climbing on it!
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
A couple of geese would do it.
; )
"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd." Voltaire
maybe replace the masonite with something somebody couldnt "kick a hole in " ?
If unfinshed , throw some 3/4 plywood up inside .
some thieves around here figured out that all that stood between them and your stuff was some masonite,insl. board and sheet rock. they had a hey day. i had a alarm system in my shop that used the infared detectors, worked great ,never got to put it to the test but i slept better at night. larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.