How to build a secure tack room, help!

[pootler]

We have just bought a place that has a small steel framed barn. I would like somewhere secure to leave my tack, I am thinking of having a breeze block tack room with a flat roof built in the interior of it. Has anyone done something like this or have a better suggestion? I just want somewhere secure to store my tack and kit that would meet insurance requirements.

 

[millikins]

I would suggest you buy a used shipping container.

 

[cauda equina]

Not personally but I've seen it done and it worked well

 

[poiuytrewq]

I would suggest you buy a used shipping container.

Yes, I know someone who has one boarded out inside with wood. Racks and shelves etc mounted. It looks great and you’d never know what it was.
They had a normal sized door put in the side, I don’t think the end opens up anymore.

 

[brighteyes]

I'd store everything EXCEPT my tack anywhere offsite from my home.

 

[neddy man]

Harder work and more cost, but build it out of figure of 8 blocks with scrap metal dropped down the holes gobboed in to fill the holes, 2" (50mm ) square metal door frame with brackets so it's securely fastened to the blockwork a welded on lip on the outside for the internally opening door to butt up to, hinges on the inside welded onto the metal door frame and welded onto the door with welded on metals sheet fit 3x deadlocks to it . To much to sledgehammer it down, to noisy and time consuming to angle grind access through the door. That leaves the roof usually the easiest way to get into a tackroom, again metal framework securely fastened to the blockwork with metal sheeting welded to the framework. Yes it's time consuming and more expensive but the cost of new tack soon runs into thousands of pounds.

 

[planete]

Thieves have been known to get in by making a hole in the roof. If they are really determined they will get in most places unless it is thick metal hence the shipping container advice.

 

[millikins]

Thieves have been known to get in by making a hole in the roof. If they are really determined they will get in most places unless it is thick metal hence the shipping container advice.

I had two break ins, then bought the container and have not had a problem since, though I bet it's been checked out. It is possible to break into them but angle grinders are noisy things.

 

[cremedemonthe]

Seen thefts from lots of places, shipping containers (angle grind locks and metal covers off with petrol angle grinder and NO one heard at thing at 2am next to a hotel and housing estate), up in south London, Dene city farm, thieves came in through the tiled roof and by passed all alarms, was annoying as in both of these places I had just repaired and flocked lots of their saddles so were good to resell as sound and I had even microchipped some but they were never recovered as people weren't bothering to scan them.
Seen other stables security bypassed, if they want it, l they will get it, take your tack home.

 

[Petalpoos]

Unless you have a huge amount of tack, take it home. If thieves think you keep tack on site or it looks like you have something valuable there, e.g. locked barns, they may well turn over the whole place. We had that and thieves let the horses out of their stables while they had ransacked the place looking for tack (which wasn’t there) or anything else they could sell and the horses got into the feed bins afterwards. Very expensive vet bills followed.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

We have just bought a place that has a small steel framed barn. I would like somewhere secure to leave my tack, I am thinking of having a breeze block tack room with a flat roof built in the interior of it. Has anyone done something like this or have a better suggestion? I just want somewhere secure to store my tack and kit that would meet insurance requirements.

I would put a saddle and bridle rack in your garage if you have one, so covered under house insurance. Keep everything else in this "tack room" and put a sign up with "no tack left on this premises".

I have known people put corner cupboards in stables and put their tack in there

 

[sport horse]

Concrete blocks filled with metal reinforcing rods and concrete for wallks. Concrete roof with metal reinforcing rods/mesh set in. Metal clad door with hinge and door locks top and bottom. Then get a loud burglar alarm and six savage dogs!!

 

[pootler]

Thank you so much for all your comments, really helpful.

 

[Hanno Verian]

I looked at doing a shipping container for myself 15 years ago but moved to a secure yard and didnt need to, as people have said if someone is really determined to get into a tack room and has the time and resources to do so then they will.

The secret is to make it easier/safer to go somewhere else, they all do the risk v reward calculation in their heads, what they want is somewhere they can get into easily with a vehicle effect an entry, load up and leave with minimal effort and risk to themselves.

You need to take a layered approach, make vehicle access difficult - sturdy locked & chained gates, PIR lights & CCTV with intruder detection on the yard, this can run to a mobile phone app so you can look and see whats going on from your mob if you get a warning.

Tack room - solid doors, walls, window (Do you really need one!) and roof - shipping container is great, it takes time and makes noise to cut into, if its covered by CCTV and an intruder detection system no one other than the most determined thief is going to stand their and cut away for 20-30 min in the knowledge that police plus owners could be on their way. Internal alarm on door/window these are cheap will work on a sim card or phone line, internal cameras. If you have the space have a secondary door, so you come into a lobby area that is tea room/rug store etc, then there is an internal wall this can be steel bars with a secure door like a sherrifs station in a western or whatever else your fiendish imgination can come up with, but it needs to be well secured to the existing structure.

BUY GOOD LOCKS -- track who has keys, change it if any are "lost".

Mark your tack...post code it, it makes it harder to sell on

There is an awful lot of good reasonably cheap technology that will help deter a burglar, or get evidence to get a conviction - OK granted 5 hours litter picking and an outward bound course isnt exactly sending someone to Devils Island, but its better than nothing.

THere is no point in having the worlds best CCTV & alarms if you can open the tackroom door with a strong kick or having fabulous walls & doors but a plasterboard & joist ceiling. Look at your existing premises and think about what you would do if you locked yourself out of it, see if the police will give you advice on crime prevention, they used to...

FWIW I worked as a security consultant for 8 years ago...a very different sector to equine businesses and a different threat but the principles are similar.

 

[JanetGeorge]

I have had a fairly mega tack room break-in - to make it worse, I KNEW who'd done it. More than 20 saddles, 30 bridles, bits and leather girths (they left brand new fabric girths, head-collars and rugs.) They even 'borrowed' a wheel-barrow to carry their gains 500 yards through fields, as they KNEW that going past my bungalow would alert my dogs! Insurers paid out £9,500 - probably 60% of what had gone.

The only thing I could suggest - other than taking individual saddles/bridles home- would be a gun cabinet. You can get them even bigger than this - but it will give you an idea. It must be securely bolted to your barn framework. Two keys! https://www.safe.co.uk/products/9-gun-vault-extra.html

 

[teacups]

Sorry to hear about the theft, JG. That kind of thing really is soul destroying.

The gun cabinet is an interesting idea. Something like that but able to take a saddle, would be a good extra layer of security. Expensive for 20 saddles plus, but I imagine it would definitely be so much work that they might give up and go elsewhere.

 

[Hanno Verian]

What a shame you had a bad experience, but individual lockable steel cabinets would be a great investment, they need to be the right quality and standard, if you just fitted ordinary clothing lockers they would look good but serve no purpose as you could open one in 30 secs, but something of gun cabinet quality, would work well. Imagine casing a yard, finding multiple layers of security and then being faced with the prospect of 5 - 10 min of cutting per cabinet/per saddle/pair of saddles...you would just go somewhere easier. Its all about delaying them to the point its not worth the risk for them to do it, unless its motivated by something else they will always pick the easy/fast option over the longer/harder option where there is an increased chance of getting caught.

And yes...it absolutely needs to be secured properly to the floor or/and walls....

 

[Hanno Verian]

The MOD sometimes sell off security cabinets varying in size from Safe to wardrobe, they will remove the high security lock, but you have a really secure cabinet that with a bit of effort you can fit a new lock to..