How can I stop copper pipe thieves?

[pauldv]

In my case they turned the gas off but the police said thats unusual they normally dont bother and take the meter too.

I spoke to a builder friend today who said he just done a job and had some steel cover made to box in pipes, said it was cheap (about £30 for 15 foot) and hes going to give me the number. In the mean time I'm getting some silver paint and denso tape today.

I live in wirral so it's not as bad as Liverpool but it's becoming a common problem worldwide.

apparently on average British homes have 175kilo of copper and if China used the same amount as we do there wouldn't be enough in the world.

 

[bengasman]

Connect it up to 240 volts as you say.
That's what I would do.

Don't you install MEB?

 

[Norcon]

Didn't realise it was a gas supply.
I'd still wire it to 240 v though with an extra dummy pipe installed.

Having being burgled recently I have an extremely hardened view towards theives.
Had another neighbour attacked last sunday night by 6 armed and masked men.
He fought back thinking they were going to kill his wife and somehow managed to fend them off. His daughter helped also.
He thought the gun was a toy replica. He's in his mid sixties and doesn't quite know where he got the strength from.
They had rolls of tape with them to restrain their victims.
A shot was fired passing through the ceiling, lodging itself in the upper loft joist.

The theives were still in my home when the 999 call went through.
It took the police nearly an hour to arrive.
I arrived home quicker in my work van from site 9 miles away.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Paint it with 'anti climb paint', it cost £8 from screwfix.

They won't want to get it on their clothes as it doesn't come off easily.

Andy

 

[transam]

I had the ****** around my place took most of my scrap from around the back , had to stack the rest in my spare bedroom , & I live in a village , dunno what the worlds coming to !

my mate kept getting some one jumping over his garden wall on the pilfer , so he went down B&Q got a 8x4 sheet of ply & banged 4" nails through every 6" left it were they were jumping over hidden under some sheets that were already there , kept checking it for blood during the proceeding weeks , no such luck !! any way he forgot about it & trod on it himself nail up through his shoe

 

[cumbriahandyman]

Get yourself one of these...

 

[htgeng]

I had the ****** around my place took most of my scrap from around the back , had to stack the rest in my spare bedroom , & I live in a village , dunno what the worlds coming to

posted in cc instead!

 

[Whitespirit66]

If the wall that the pipe runs up is rendered/painted, paint the pipe in Sandtex textured wall paint to match.