gate latch - making it more secure?

[sdss]

can anyone think of the best / most efficient / easiest way of making this more secure but with as little changes as possible (I appreciate some welding may be required) but also so it's not too obvious and hopefully facilitate some sort of lock:


View media item 59834
View media item 59835
thanks in advance for any thoughts

 

[JohnD]

what are the gateposts made of? can they flex or sag?

is it a single gate or double?

 

[sdss]

what are the gateposts made of? can they flex or sag?

is it a single gate or double?

the part on the left of the photo is attached to hinges and then a wall, the right part is a fence, mounted to the ground. The fence itself seems to be a galvanised steel or something.

thanks

 

[JohnD]

there is a stupendously huge gap, so a steel box with a mortice lock would not work if mounted in the usual way, flush with the stile.

I would be thinking about a steel-cased rimlock mounted on the inner face of the gate, probably bolted to a custom-made plate welded or clamped to the gate. Your problem will be that because of the huge gap, the lock and/or staple will have to protrude so they meet, and you will catch the protruding lock every time you walk past, unless you put a piece of steel angle on the gate or the fence, for the gate to shut against.

the sort of lock made for sheds is useless, but there are some good ones branded Wellington or Imperial that are used on utility cabins. I'd get one with a knob-operated latch as well as the lock. You can also get FB rimlocks with a standard key that the fire brigade carry.

Is it for your front door, and frequently used?

 

[sdss]

thanks for the ideas

it's just a gate to a patio area - the fence isn't particularly high so could be jumped with relative ease but I just wondered if there was an easy solution to effectively close the gate off

 

[JohnD]

if you seldom open it, a Brenton bolt and a Squire 660 padlock.

 

[Pigeon85]

How about something like this? http://www.photaki.com/picture-metal-gate-lock_58435.htm

 

[JohnD]

a box saying "this image has been made private?"

 

[sdss]

thanks for the ideas

Pigeon85's idea might be the easiest and less obtrusive looking - two pieces of metal, each with a hole, on each side of the gate with a small lock should be enough to hold it closed without looking too out of place.

thanks everyone


a related question - does anyone know what's best to 'touch up' the galvanising? - you'll notice some rust appearing on part of the current latch. I'm sure there's a product that can be sprayed but I don't know what to search for

thanks

 

[Pigeon85]

Go over with wire brush and sand smooth, wipe away with white spirit. Hammerite do a range of sprays.

 

[foxhole]

Bicycle D lock, no drill/welding required.

 

[sdss]

Bicycle D lock, no drill/welding required.

a solution with no welding or drill would be idea but unfortunately the problem with the D lock solution is that it'd look unsightly (it'd stand out massively, whereas I wanted something that was quite subtle)

although I do now wonder if there is anything that would be the right size to loop around the loops (ideally flat or thin so it could go through the latch loop bit of metal already there).

I guess the other solution would be to drill two holes and put a lock through them - although I don't think i'd find a 'wide' enough lock

 

[kbdiy]

Not sure on the exact size but how about something like this?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Long-Shac...5?pt=UK_HaG_Lock_Safes_GL&hash=item460e1da331
Drill hole through gate and fence, padlock on, job done.

EDIT: then I found this one!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EXTRA-LON...1?pt=UK_HaG_Lock_Safes_GL&hash=item48535884d3

Might not even have to drill it, just lock it around gate and fence?

 

[sdss]

Not sure on the exact size but how about something like this?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Long-Shac...5?pt=UK_HaG_Lock_Safes_GL&hash=item460e1da331
Drill hole through gate and fence, padlock on, job done.

EDIT: then I found this one!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EXTRA-LON...1?pt=UK_HaG_Lock_Safes_GL&hash=item48535884d3

Might not even have to drill it, just lock it around gate and fence?

the problem is the sizes: i'd need one at least 60mm wide (and that'd be a squeeze) and the bar is 80mm deep unforuntately.

thanks though

 

[sdss]

i'm thinking outside the box because of all the suggestions:

http://www.universeal.co.uk/products/metal-strip-seals/premier-(uv005)

http://www.universeal.co.uk/products/cable-seals/metal-body-fg-range

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yale-Boro...325?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item337eb1567d

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-x-Long-...92682033?pt=AU_Travel_Acc&hash=item3a6a5e8331



I just can't find anything that quite fits though - it reckon about 300mm length is needed (anything much longer will make it too obvious), and ideally just grey / steel etc. Anyone have any other ideas?

thanks