Pole Barn Security

[dw1]

I will actually be building my barn on property I bought about a mile from my house now, what would be the latest/greatest security that I could setup. I bought a 1.5 acre property with a 115 Y.O farm house on it, this was a foreclosure and all overgrown, I have since, tore down a horse barn and leveled the lot, except the house. Hopefully I can get a 30x48x12 pole barn up in the upcoming months, I hope to have it wired soon after, but I will not have any internet access, just curious if anyone has run into this situation yet?
I want some kind of watchful eyes while I am not there.

 

[Tader82]

To start you dont alway have to have net out there. I have installed Tons of cameras in barns and metal building in 6 years of security work that didn't have net on site. The thing to think about is how the building will be sealed(Door types, windows, Etc.). Then the layout of open spaces in the barn/shop. Now all that said let me give examples for setting something up.

Now lets start with a basic square building. It will have four walls, the roof, a open floor space, one human door, a overhead door and one window. If you're just looking to just keep an eye on the building, four cameras is all that is need. They can be placed at eave height and at the corner of the building looking to the next corner. This will let the cams see the whole of the exterior of the building from camera to back of the next camera. As for an alarm, I prefer to hard wire everything. But i know that is not always do able. So that said you would put a contact on both doors. Now for the window there is three ways to cover it. one is with a contact on it, the seconded is a motion in the building, and third is with a glass break sensor.

If you plan on using a motion you will need one rated for outdoor use, unless the space will ALWAYS be conditioned. A normal motion will not work below 0 or above 110 degrees( this is just a baseline, the ones I use for home apps is -14 to 130 degree op. ranger http://www.security.honeywell.com/h...sensor/motion/dual-tec-residential/18987.html ). That being said for what i us, they are still not good for a shop/barn that is not conditioned. I live in South Texas and a closed metal un-insulated barn/shop you can damn near cook in lol. You could use a photo beam but birds, rats, and animals can trip them causing fails alarms.

As far as the alarm goes even if you don't have a pots line running out to the property its all good. We have been using GSM's for years now(its a cell phone for your alarm). So what would that barn/shop need. I would Quota you for a 4 channel DVR, 4 fixed optics cameras, and a basic alarm with GSM.

A basic alarm in this parts would run 19.99 to 25.00 and month with a 10 to 12 dollar and month charge on top of the alarm fees. For the Cameras it depends on the type and quality of the DVR and Cameras you're looking for. A basic 4 channel DVR will be 300 to 800 dollars(most of the cost is in Storage size of the hard drive. A HD DVR will start at 900 and it only goes up.
A 420 line rez fix optics camera starts at 150 a cam, a 640 line rez vera focus camera will start at 250. A HDSDI camera starts at 450 for a fixed optics.

I could write a small novel on this lol but if you're really interested in doing something we really need to see a blue print of the building you're looking at to tell you the best way to secure it.

 

[sb7979]

Something else to keep in mind, if you are going to have operators on the doors, and door sensors, you will need a remote to disarm the system from outside.

I added a key fob to my barn system for this. I think it was less than $100.

The problem with operators and an alarm system is you have to be careful not to bump the door operator remote. I have done that several times and set the alarm off.

 

[Tader82]

Sb7979 If you use a OHD to enter the building, then i would put it on its own zone and programm it to have a long count down time tell fire off the siren. but the wireless remote is always nice to have.

 

[dw1]

The building will be 30' deep and 48' wide, a 12x10 tall door and a 10'x10' tall door, 1-36" man door, all the doors will be on the one side of the building, the two windows (W) will be on the front of bldg facing road (Gable end)

----12x10------10x10-----------------------------------36"------
I I
I I
I W
I I
I I
I I R
I W O
I I A
I I D
I----------------------------------------------------------------


Ha, obviously not to scale, the gable will face the roadway, 150' away, the drive comes up and turns left, all 3 doors will be on the side of my building, this is sitting in a 1.5 acre lot, wide open (Views from all sides)

 

[buddyboy]

use your phone.

take pictures of entire building, then take a picture of all your tools and anything you leave inside or outside your building.

use the phone again to call your insurance agent.

it might be cheaper to just let them steal your stuff and let insurance pay for full replacement cost.

a security system just let's you know when you've been robbed, it doesn't replace things broken or stolen.

 

[sb7979]

Sb7979 If you use a OHD to enter the building, then i would put it on its own zone and programm it to have a long count down time tell fire off the siren. but the wireless remote is always nice to have.

The installer suggested that but we then decided that with a long count-down someone could get the door open, load some stuff up, and be gone before or shortly after the alarm goes off.

 

[Tader82]

SB7979 I'm i hear you on that, but I would never authorize any countdown beyond 60 sec. And Texas law would only allow for a 30 sec countdown as the minimal.

 

[rburke65]

Tader......what is a pots line for us rookies...... Thanks

 

[timewarp]

Tader......what is a pots line for us rookies...... Thanks

Plain Old Telephone Service


Also known as a copper fed landline.

 

[Kaizen]

If I were you I'd spend the money on old school. Pull out the welder and make some wire/bar window covers on the inside, have only access point on the man door, secure the other doors from the inside. Maybe get a cheap entry point alarm with a siren or something that will alert nearest neighbor. Put motion lights all around it. Notify neighbors and such.

I have security cameras and I have them recording to a hidden drive in my basement in case they steal my computer. but for the 1000 dollars I've spent on cameras and dvr recorders they are more of a deterrent. in other words with cameras you have to put them high enough so they can't be messed with but then anyone with a hat and a brain can evade them while breaking in. Plus its not like in the movies. no matter what they say they are good for close range. at far range like 50 feet you can see whats going on but no way make out a plate number or a face.

 

[Tader82]

Plain Old Telephone Service


Also known as a copper fed landline.

Thanks for answering this for me bud. lol i past out around 4 this afternoon. so now i'm playing catch-up

 

[Glider_6969]

This is what I use, they haven't failed me yet,,

 

[Yeager]

Cameras are great for catching who stole all your stuff, but it's always better to keep them from stealing it. You can very cheaply hook a simple system to the obvious entry points (doors and windows) with a loud siren and strobes outside, and a tear gas system (actually all pepper spray now) inside. "Burglar Bomb" is one such system. It fills the space (up to 4000sqft) with gas upon being tripped, making it uninhabitable for a few hours by causing you to not be able to see or breath. If you have sirens and strobes going, no one is going to wait the 4 hours for it to clear. Once it clears, it leaves no damage. Even with an alarm system, gas is a hell of a deterrent to thieves that ****** and run- the ones that trip the system, fill their arms with loads of stuff and take off before the police arrive 15 minutes later.

 

[tomroblee]

It all depends on how your barn is built. If you have metal siding fastened with screws, all that is needed to get in quickly is a cordless screwdriver (or a cordless saw of sorts or ???)

Signs from a monitored alarm service seem to be a good deterrent. Motion detectors are sometimes good, but seem to create more false alarms than door and window switches. I understand that motion detectors and battery powered wireless systems can have more problems when the building isn't heated (at least in cold climates.)

You might want to talk to your local law enforcement folks about monitored systems. In some rural areas that may only be one deputy on duty for an entire county during the night. If the alarm goes off, the response time might be an hour or two (or the next day?)