Things not found on the Internet, #2

How to secure a shed in a public place. The city of Arlington has addressed this problem successfully. They have various wooden sheds on their park property that have been broken into a couple times. Sheds usually come with a clasp that folds over the middle where the barn doors meet. The clasp has a slit which fits over a small square piece of metal which is screwed to the other door in 4 places. The 4 or 5 inch clasp has just enough room that a burglar can slide a crowbar in between the clasp and the door and pull it right off. They then take the equipment inside and drive off in about 90 seconds.
Arlington secured their sheds with a clasp that hinges in the crack between the doors, not on one side of the door. This eliminates a gap between the clasp and shed.
Eden Road community Church had their shed broken into a few times, each time a lawnmower or something was stolen – until this summer. One hot summer day I decided to secure the shed. I replaced all the screws with lag bolts. I replaced the typical shed lock/clasp with this jimmyproof deadlock from Medeco:

The outside is a simple key cylinder like on any commercial door. I mounted it to a custom fitted ¼” steel plate which is bolted through the door in 4 places. The original wooden door was a 2x4 exoskeleton and ½” plywood exterior with 3 hinges on each door. The door was mounted outside the opening and swung out. I installed two sliding latch bolts on the left hand side door which now attach the outside edge of the door to the header and the floor beam. I also installed a 2 x 8 on the outside of the right door to cover up the gap between the doors. This prevents someone from prying in-between the doors. Now the right hand door closes over the left, which is secured on all four corners. There is no way of prying between the doors or prying the lock off. You can’t remove the hinges, and if you did the doors wouldn’t come off because I split a 1x1 piece of wood at a 60 degree angle and secured it to the interior of the door frame. The other piece is secured (with screws and liquid nails) to the hinge side of the door so that it closes inside the other piece when the door is closed.

This eliminates any chance of a smash and grab. If you want in this barn, you’ll need a saw or explosives.

The strange thing was, I could find nothing about this on the internet, so I had to make up my own design. I now make the design free to you to use. Or you can pay me to install it on your shed. Just email me to schedule an appointment.