Tips About Log Cabin Security. And Best Advice To Follow.

The versatile garden log cabin can be anything to everybody as they have an unbelievable amount of uses. Traditionally it would be the garden shed used for storing garden tools, and odd tins of paint leftover from decorating or bit and pieces which may ‘come in handy’. As time went on, more and more items are found to store in the garden shed such as barbecues, garden furniture and tables as well as bicycles and motorcycles.As well as this more different uses came about, such as using these buildings as a hobby room or craft room, which generally is a great use of extra space.Besides the above, a multi-room log cabin can be used for a swimming pool filtering system, if you lucky enough to have a swimming pool, or as a garden potting shed to enable the growing of plants such as tomatoes or strawberries but these are normally a purpose-built potting shed, often known as a solar shed. The tranquillity of these garden cabins also makes it a creative place where many authors have had some of their best work, and Roald Dahl is one of the most famous.

However, the value of the items in your cabins can run up to many £1000’s without you realising it. Just take a little time and list the items in there, such as bicycles, the mower, barbecues, garden tools etc. and you will be amazed. When you have done this, you will want to give as much protection to these items as you can, and this is where you need to follow basic security measures at the least.

The best bit of advice is to supplement the standard lock and add a good strong padlock on the door, even if you have a key lock the addition of a padlock will make it even harder for anyone to gain access to your building. Another piece of good advice is to ensure that all the hinges have at least one nut and bolt which goes through the wall onto the inside so that the hinges can’t just be unscrewed. The same thing applied to the hasp and staple onto which you put your padlock. Always try to obtain the flap over type of hasp and staple so that when the padlock is closed, the screws on the hasp and staple are covered.

It’s always a good idea to protect your windows and ideally choose double glazed windows if you can as these are stronger if attacked. You can supplement log cabin security by adding metal bars on the inside as this will give even more protection.

Add an alarm to your cabin so that it will alert you to any security issues. It will also, hopefully, deter professional thieves if the alarm goes off. Always go for a wireless alarm so that it can’t be disarmed and when combined with a motion detector, you will have the best information to hand as quick as possible.

Having a gravel surround to your cabin will also help as the extra noise created will also deter intruders.

An outside life activated by a motion detector is an excellent deterrent as this thieves despise being seen in action. With the light going on, it will alert you to their presence as well as unsettling the potential intruder.

When you are looking at making a property secure from burglars you should consider the above if you have a garden shed or garden workshop, summer house or log cabin so your valuables can be protected. Owen Jones, of gather.com, says that the standard cabin in the garden hold items like ladders, screwdrivers and crowbars – all of which can help a burglar to break into your house. So it would be best if you made this your first consideration with storing items outdoors in the garden. And if you do – ensure they are securely locked away and immobile at all times.

Items such as tall, long ladders which you can’t get into your log cabin should be chained to an outside wall or the outside of the building with a strong padlock so they can’t be used. The same advice applies to allotment owners so that all your gardening implements are kept safe. As allotments tend to be away from most houses, they can be more at risk than ones in your garden so try not to have any precious items left in there. In fact, down in Essex, residents were being offered free garden shed alarms to allotment owners to help deter thieves. Paul Teague, from Essex Watch, said that garden and allotment owners need to be more vigilant and certainly now the weather is getting warmer and more people are out and about.

The common garden building, or maybe that cabin you bought, is home to a great of items and the value of its use it usually not appreciated. However, if you stop and think about the many virtues of these flat-pack buildings, you will not take its use in vain again. Where would you put all the garden equipment, the children’s bikes, garden furniture and garden tools? There’s not any space indoors and even if there were you would not want these items in there. You do need to take a look in your cabin and add up all the value of the items and ensure, where ever possible, to make sure these items are covered by insurance. This is not always possible as insurance companies are not very keen on insuring risky garden cabin type buildings. However, if you persevere and show that your garden cabin kit is secure and, as importantly, is kept secure you may be able to get cover.However, after building your log cabin kit, which can be challenging but rewarding as well, you may get insurance cover. You do, however, need to keep the cabin securely locked with all security measures in place because if you don’t and it gets robbed the insurance company are likely to refuse to payout. A little similar to leaving your car keys in your car and a thief driving it away. So if you do pay for insurance, make sure you don’t regret it. Don’t let all your self build DIY work on your cabin go to waste

The other side of the coin is to take a calculated risk and make the most of any security procedures supplied as standard which the flat-pack cabin would have. This will make it hard for thieves to get at your valuables and will encourage them to move onto easier targets. I would be a little wary of having any very high-value items in the building unless you can lock your garden gate to stop thieves getting at it. The garden gate can act as a moat around the castle. In this instance, the flat-pack cabin is the castle being protected and the locked gate, and surrounding fence is the moat or first line of defence.

If you do this then you can relax a little and use your self build log cabin kit for a range of purposes whether it’s a bar to share with your friends, even a church – which I must admit is a very unusual use for a building but which needs must – maybe an artist’s studio, from a log cabin kit, such as one made by a man in Malmesbury. His creation morphed from a simple cabin, donated to him by his father-in-law, and evolved into a workshop cum party shed cum ‘man space’ with help from his friend. If you take a look at this web site’s photo gallery, you can get some excellent ideas.

This is all excellent advice as the value of items in the average log cabin is well over £1000 and which increases year on year. This is according to a report by M&S Money, the financial arm of Marks & Spencer. Some of the most expensive items included lawn mowers in nearly 40% of buildings. Bikes were also very popular items with over a quarter of cabins protecting them from the elements followed up by DIY equipment in general.

Astonishingly the survey found that nearly half of all self-build garden buildings were not locked, which must be music to the ears of thieves, and this figure had risen substantially over earlier years. This I find amazing as I would have thought that, as budgets are reduced, more measures would be taken to protect ones’ property.

However, whatever you do don’t follow the action of a lady in Leominster who, when her log cabin kit was cleared out, showed that there was a World War 2 incendiary bomb among the items in there. Action was taken to dispose of this bomb safely when it was exploded safely outside of Leominster by bomb disposal officers.