Electricians were supposed to finish the rough in today of the custom that I am building. Got a call from the electrical contractor and someone came into the house apparently sunday afternoon and cut out and hauled off alot of wire. This house is on a dead end road way out in the country.
I would LOVE to get my hands on the #%&*@ that did this. Of the last 6 houses I have built something has been stolen or vandelized on everyone. Someone tried to set fire to one of them but we used pex pipe and when the fire burned thru the pipe it put the fire out. Still caused about 20K in damage.
I have talked to a security company that sells battery operated motion dector cameras that will save up to 8 hrs of video. They sell for about 1500.00. I mentioned this to another contractor friend. He told me he bought a set and they were stolen along with a complete kitchen. The police are too busy to do anything. The deputy that I talked too said that job site theft is out of control. He also said that if I ever caught someone stealing from a job, if the theif was a little worse for wear by the time they got there it wouldnt bother him at all. He said that if he arrests someone for theft they will be back on the street in 8 hrs and wont come to trial for at least 6 months, and then they get a slap on the wrist. Sorry for venting. What are you guys doing to stop theft and vandalism on your jobs other than locking the doors and windows?
Replies
You could fence the area with a rent-a-fence company and invest in an attack dog. Guarantee you you'll probably win that game. Or, just tie the dog up in the house. Someone tries to get in they'll hear that attack dog and think again. I wonder if someone would make an "alarm" that souinds like an attack dog. That is if a window/door is opened they'll hear this dog, though there is no dog, it's jut a recording of some sort. Enough to scare a perpetrator away.
I wonder if someone would make an "alarm" that souinds like an attack dog.
You can buy such an alarm from x10.com for around $50.
The problem with dogs - attack or otherwise - is that they are easily overcome. Most dogs will go for a nice juicy steak laced over barking. All dogs bark much less after a few hits from a pellet gun.
Too bad you can't energize the copper and fry the swine.For leads on catching them you might look on ebay with a search narrowed to your geographic area. I went on ebay to buy wire not long ago and was quite surprised at what I saw. Some were obviously builders/contractors/distributors selling unneeded stock, but quite a bit had the feel of a thieves market. I used to be an electrical distributor, and talked to some colleagues who had caught emoyees and non-employee thieves selling on ebay.Of course, if they are just hacking pieces, they will be going to scap dealers. But wire runs 30' or longer are frequently offered on ebay.
I think that thieves have too many ways of getting around dogs, some of them not very nice at all - especially out in the country. Plus, this is not a good way to own a pet. They need care and attention.
JLC, a couple of issues back, had a couple of mentions of jobsite security equipment. One of them was a trailer mounted tower tht had security lights and video surveillance - reportedly very effective but definitely not cheap. Couldn't find a reference to it in a Google search, but did run across these which might be of interest to some of you:http://www.djc.com/news/co/11166677.html
http://www.constructionequipment.com/article/CA6386932.html?industryid=23392
http://www.masonrymagazine.com/8-06/theft.html
http://www.toolbase.org/Best-Practices/Business-Management/Job-Site-Crime
Sharper Image has an alarm that sounds like irritated German Shepherd...connected to motion detector. One at each door...
Forget the barking dog.
I'd rather see the scum get into the house, and then get ripped apart by a big dog waiting in ambush.
But i think a dog would have to be pertty well trained for that.
maybe a big, hungry python??
I've always wondered if it would be worth having a worker on site at all times. Lower waged night bird doing cleanup and busywork?
damn, am I fat!
yeah, he can open the door and close up after the thieves take off.
I have done that on expensive remodels when I had my appliances sitting waiting to be installed.
I have a friend who is unable to hold down a job because of illness so I hire him from time to time to watch the house at night he requires a recliner and tv but it has been worth it.
I have seen 8' chainlink fence put up, you rent it they setup and takedown at end of job.
Another idea would be large floodlights on motion detectors and maybe an alarm attached.Goes off for 30 minutes then resets.
ANDYSZ2WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR IS A REAL JOB?
REMODELER/PUNCHOUT SPECIALIST
What do you pay him for that ?
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
Just curious . . . when this type of theft occurs, do you have insurance to cover it? If so, does it cover the cost of materials and labor?Jason
I paid him 50$ a night for about 12 hours. He loved it as it gave him a boost to his ego and finances and he got to socialize with the crews in the morning something he was sorely lacking by being hemmed up in his own misery.
ANDYSZ2WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR IS A REAL JOB?
REMODELER/PUNCHOUT SPECIALIST
Very cool.=0)Win-win.
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
I don't want to hi-jack the thread but had to share this article from the Des Moines Register on December 1:
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Copper thieves steal pipes, leave flood
Thieves struck a house on the east side of Des Moines on Wednesday night, making off with copper pipes and leaving the basement flooded.
Officers were sent to investigate a break-in at the Dan Reasoner house in the 2100 block of East 24th Street after Reasoner heard a noise upstairs and backed out of the house. Police arrived to find a back door open. A search of the house turned up no burglars, but the basement was flooding.
"There were pieces of copper piping laying on the ground," police said in a report of the break-in. "After further investigation we found that the copper pipes were missing from the ceiling of the basement, along with copper pipes from the kitchen.
Crime scene investigators were called to look for clues, while Water Works employees were called to turn off the water. No arrests have been reported.
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I've been really lucky thus far while building my own house...and haven't lost anything...yet.
Rip
Wow. Stuff like that is why we bought a trailer & live in the front yard while we build.
We are out in the country, but thankfully we're in a field & my brother who lives a quarter mile down the road has plain view of our house.
A friend is an ironworker here in Mass. Does alot of work for the railroad. They can't keep copper wire on the job. While they were working some dirt bag stole some extra leads right off the back of his truck in the middle of the day.
They even steal from the police.
Copper wire stolen from site of county construction
NEWS TRIBUNE
Duluth News Tribune - 12/12/2006
Copper thefts in the region continued over the weekend when about $3,000 worth of copper was stolen from the construction site of the new St. Louis County joint public safety facility going up near Chris Jensen Health and Rehabilitation Center in Duluth.
Sheriff Ross Litman said the copper was stolen from Merrimac Construction of Ham Lake, Minn., the general contractor on the project. The 25,000-square-foot building — to be completed in June — will house the south St. Louis County 911 emergency dispatch communications center, a radio shop, crime lab, investigations unit, evidence storage and records management.
Theft of copper wire, which in some markets has nearly quadrupled in value over the past year, has been plaguing area contractors large and small.
“The majority of the stolen copper was from a grounding system for a wireless communication tower on the site and is needed because of the nature of the electronic equipment of the dispatch center,” Litman said. The theft was discovered Monday.
A construction trailer also was broken into and copper for water line was stolen.
“We’re still trying to total up the damage, but it’s at least $3,000,” Litman said. “The number of copper thefts being reported to our office and to all agencies is on the rise, no question about it.”
I couldn't find a link to the article that still works, but we had a guy here in Kentucky that broke into an electrical substation to steal copper and got electrocuted. So they reap what they sow sometimes.
"we had a guy here in Kentucky that broke into an electrical substation to steal copper and got electrocuted."I wouldn't be surprised if the SOB's family were suing the power company for a million bucks as a result.
BruceT
yeah, we have had thefts here also of wire from substations, sometimes causing power outages.....you have to have at least some some level of knowledge to avoid getting killed. We also had two big electro-magnets go missing from an industrial site recently.,...I think they were worth around 200,000 each. Crazy.Cabinetmaker/college woodworking instructor. Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
they make a camera alot of deer hunters use... thats motion activated... think i saw em on ebay for less than $200... think it's digital still pics
welcome to my world....knock on wood I've been lucky last year or so... but for a few years it was an everyday deal for me... at one point they ruined over 150k worth of ac units i had at a shopping center.... i hate frick'n steal'n
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