I am in the SF Bay Area fixing up a house that I have had rented for the past ten years. The house is fairly well gutted at the moment but to save some $$$, I am sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag with only a table, chairs and a microwave for company. From the outside, it is pretty obvious the place is being remodeled.
I had to go back up to Oregon for a week and while I was gone, someone broke into the place. It was bad enough that they stole about $2000 worth of tools (fortunately, most stuff was locked in 4’x2’x2′ jobsite chests), but they stole my work clothes, and, worst of all, they stole my Danner 11 1/2 EEE work boots and two other pairs of shoes. And I have about the hardest possible feet to find boots that fit. They left all the ladders, scaffolds, levels, microwave, chairs, etc, but took my clothes!!! What self respecting thief steals your shoes rather than good aluminum ladders?
Anyway, the reason for the post is that it appears that they came into the garage through a rollup steel garage door. The door had a sliding bar about 1/4″x2″ by 6″ long that slid into a square hold in the rail. The door was recently painted so I could see fresh marks and streaks on the outside of the door about the level of the sliding bar and the door itself was slightly bowed in at that point and it was not that when it was painted a couple of weeks ago. There is about a half an inch gap (now a full inch where the door is bowed in) between the door and the framing, so something could have been put through there and if it was bent into the proper hook shape, it could have been used to slide the bar over. That would have taken a bit of knowledge of garage door locking mechanisms and something of the proper shape to get in there. Has anyone experienced a similar type of break in or heard of anything like it.
Thanks, Casey
Replies
I haven't heard of such a thing and like you say, odd that they took clothing and left other stuff. Probably looking for stuff easy to carry and sell to buy drugs. Don't know how much money they'd get for used clothing though! Junkies don't always think real clearly--though clearly enough in your case to figure out how to pry the door open!
My friend is a parole officer and he told me he has a guy on parole who would just walk into stores like Lowe's and Home Depot and fill his cart with copper tubing and then push the cart to the car and drive away without paying. Then he'd cut it into random lengths, beat on it with a hammer and sell it to a scrap yard. Did it over a three county area. Had a $100/day coke habit. Just think if all that energy went into something productive!
Sounds like you are in my old neighborhood, West Oakland? Get a pit bull and keep it there if the lot is fenced in. Otherwise you are screwed. They've been watching you and knew when you were gone, they will keep coming back everytime they know you are not around and will pick you clean. Get another job box and keep everything locked up in it-and bolt it thru the bottom into the floor. Are you going to install an alarm system? Do it and make sure the ringer is loud and can not be easily accessed.
Actually the pit bull is the best idea, if its in the ghetto a pit bull standing guard is pretty much a no-go to your average theif.
These people don't have jobs they got nothing better to do than wait you out-figger out a way to break-in.
Daniel Neumansky
Restoring our second Victorian home this time in Alamdea CA. Check out the blog http://www.chezneumansky.blogspot.com/
Oakland CA
Crazy Homeowner-Victorian Restorer
OK, you've been warned .....
Warned that someone is watching you.
Warned that someone now has an 'inventory' for your stuff.
Consider that they'll be back ... prepared, with customers, tools, and help ... the next time you leave.
Anchor those tool chests. Reinforce that garage door. Lock it from inside, preferable with a U-shaped bike lock through the rails on either side. Consider putting up a temporary 'privacy wall' just inside the garage door, with just a man-sized door in it.
Consult with alarm companies as to alarms for use with Job boxes. DeWalt has been marketing such a system, that uses GPS and cell technology to alert you when the stuff is tampered with.
Relocate your primary storage area in as difficult a room as you have- NOT in the garage!
Finally ... clean up your trash! Thieves often strike twice ... saving the second visit for when the insurance company buys you new stuff. Nothing like a dumpster of tool wrappers to say "rob me!"