General Chat

We have lived in this house for 22 years almost and have always thought our back garden entrance was securely locked and nobody could get in. We are having our fencing done this week but didn't know theyw ere bringing the posts round today. We were out as I had a dentist appointment. When we got home they were taking the posts round to the back of the house. (Should say we have had these contractors before and trust them.)

The back gate was open with the padlock intact. When I queried how they got in the lad showed us. The whole gate can be lifted up above the hinge and opened.

:-( :-(

So for 22 years we have not been as secure as we thought. OH is now looking at it to see how to fix it!!! :-)

We had the same thing Ann

We have a fancy wrought iron back gate that a neighbour welded on a sliding locking plate on it for us .

It has a big padlock on it .

We were having lunch one day last summer when I saw the reflection of someone behind me .turned to see outside the patio doors a guy putting a parcel on the patio table . He waved and walked back up the path .took me so much by surprise that he had put the gate back on its hinges and drove off before I could get up the path .

How he managed to lift the gate off its hinges when it was padlocked on its other side still beats us .

As you say not as secure as you think you are

We still can't see how we can secure at least one of the hinges so it can't be lifted :-(

Thats in case you lock yourself out!!!

HAhahahhahaha OMG not funny

Ann thegood thing is in the last 22 years nothing has happened, but now you know about it , it can get sorted....stay safe :-) <3 <3

OH has he says (I haven't seen it because it is raining) fixed an angled piece of metal somehow over the hinge and bolted it to the wall.

Shirley, yes our was padlocked too. He says the simplest way would be to buy a jubilee clip that would fit over the bit that sticks up and tighten it, making sure the screw that tightens it is on the garden side of the gate.

That sounds a good idea Ann will get grandson to have a look at doing that for us . :-D

As many of you know my husband makes & erects fencing. He always puts the top hinge on upside down to prevent the gate from being lifted off.

What a good Idea Carol . Perhaps grandson can turn the top hinge over

actually if you take off one of the hinge pins , preferably the top one, as the bottom one carries the weight,

and turn it upside down and screw it back on,
the gate cant be lifted off, my next door neighbours house was broken into, the same way, lifted the gate off........

for example point your hands (flat on the table),away from you, point your thumbs towards each other and imagine the gate in between....

Bob