Security Bar advice needed.....

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I am looking to build security bars for the walk through door on my garage, Nothing special about the door, it's your standard exterior door, wood on bottom half, 3 glass windows on the top, which is the area of concern. Door leads from garage to rear yard, not anything that would ever be used as a fire exit or anything that is part of the living area. Door is dead bolted and has two wood 2x4 that cross the lower part of the door with part of the 2x4 going behind two very heavy workbenches (one on each side of door) as additional security. Even though it has been a few years since this door was opened, I want to retain the ability to open it, if I need to do so. My simple solution is two 30 inch, 1.5 inch x 1.5 inch x 1/8 angle iron as side rails on either side of windows.... the flat part will be bolted to the door so that the "L"s are facing each other... then I'll form a grid with five additional pieces of this angle iron welded to the side rails with the bottom of the "V" facing inwards... In the perfect would, I would bolt the side rails to the exterior of the door, then use the top, bottom, and middle cross rail to cover the bolts. However, since I don't live in the getto, I want to hide the security bars inside... besides, if someone tried to break in, it would be a nice surprise. Here is my question, what do I need to do to protect the bolts.. I was thinking I would take square flat stock, drill hole for bolt, then weld bolt to flat stock, bolt go thru door, thru angle iron, washer, and nut that will be tac weled to bolt, not angle iron. Is this a secure enough design, will the bolt heads be an easy issue to over come that will cause the failure of the entire grid...?? Should I use two 30 inch pieces of flat stock with 3 bolt holes in each versus the small squares?Qualified & experienced at welding scrap metal
Reply:I'm sorta confused.  Possible to take a photo of the existing, then sketch your proposal over it in Microsoft paint.  Use bright colors, draw straight lines.  Its sorta fun.  Save as .jpg and upload?  You can also add text right to the photo.  Keep final photo to 640 x 480 pixels in size so it uploads easily.I suspect you'd get some better suggestions if we clearly understood what you are trying to achieve..   No offense intended,  zip.
Reply:is the door solid wood? and how thick?why wouldn't lag bolts only on the inside work?Option B is cariage bolts as through bolts. Option C add trim to the outside of the window to disquise the cariage bolt heads. so that no one knows they are there.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:You are talking to a guy who can't draw a straight line.... I'll try to fab up a way to show what I have in mind ........Qualified & experienced at welding scrap metal
Reply:Here is the door in question, (window covered by cardboard will be replaced)36' x 80"? door.... probably 1.75 inches thick. Three glass panels at top, wood at bottom.I plan on bolting the side rails like this... one on each side of window with three bolts going completely thru door, thru the angle iron, then putting a nut that will be tac welded to the bolt, not the angle iron.There will be five (5) cross bars going across windows like this with ends of cross bars welded in the "L" of the side rails.Now use your imagination here... imagine all angle iron is the same size... The side rail is the "L" piece on the right and the cross bar is the other piece.... notice the cross bar is laid on the side rail in an upside down "V" with the wide part of the "V" welded to the side rail.If I was mounting the bars on the outside of the door, versus the inside, I would leave the top, bottom, and middle cross bars off until AFTER I bolted the side rails in place, then I would weld the the top, bottom, and middle cross bars in place which would cover the boltheads. Did I clear things up, or just confuse people more?Last edited by little Jeep; 04-25-2013 at 07:32 PM.Qualified & experienced at welding scrap metal
Reply:I wouldn't worry about going all the way through the door and just do 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" lag bolts from the inside of the door. I'd cut your vertical sections long enough to put one lag bolt on the outside of both the top and botom horizontal bars. and then 1 bolt between each horizontal bar. then you've got no evidence on the outside. and it's strong enough to combat someone trying to break through it.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:I thought about just bolting a piece of stretched steel across the inside of the windows and calling it a day.Qualified & experienced at welding scrap metal
Reply:Originally Posted by little JeepI thought about just bolting a piece of stretched steel across the inside of the windows and calling it a day.
Reply:Originally Posted by Fnord5This.Make a frame for the expanded steel, bolt that to the door(lag bolts or carriage)This will prevent anyone from breaking the window and reaching the door knob.
Reply:I went by my friendly metal supplier yesterday and picked up enough metal to build the security bars. I'll post pics when I start the project.Qualified & experienced at welding scrap metal
Reply:Here is what I did this afternoon,,,,,,Side oneTest fit.....Painting in my redneck paint-n boothAll done....View from outside.... bars are really not noticeableThe angle iron is 1.5 x 1.5 x 1/8. I used 10 1.5 inch, 1/4 lag bolts. Mig welded, I didn't write down settings.Last edited by little Jeep; 04-27-2013 at 10:00 PM.Qualified & experienced at welding scrap metal
Reply:Looks good little Jeep.  But......., if I wanted through your door I would just break the glass and reach inside and turn the deadbolt and doorknob and open the door. I think you need to guard that area of the door so a potential thief could not reach the deadbolt and door knob.
Reply:west coaster need to read the rest of the thread. Looks good Jeep.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:Originally Posted by WestcoasterLooks good little Jeep.  But......., if I wanted through your door I would just break the glass and reach inside and turn the deadbolt and doorknob and open the door. I think you need to guard that area of the door so a potential thief could not reach the deadbolt and door knob.
Reply:Originally Posted by ThorsHammerwest coaster need to read the rest of the thread. Looks good Jeep.
Reply:Originally Posted by WestcoasterMy bad! Guilty as charged!
Reply:I couldn't leave things as is..... I decided I needed to make some modifications,,,, I even got fancy and cut a few corners... literally.Then I added a couple additional cross bars to the lower part...Here is the finished product.... at least finished until I modifiy it again, Qualified & experienced at welding scrap metal
Reply:Good job! But if you keep adding metal to that door you will soon find out that you had been better off replacing the whole thing for a metal door to beging with... XDIf I were to enter your house I promise I wouldn't worry about the door itself. Seems truly solid from here.Mikel
Reply:Originally Posted by Mikel_24Good job! But if you keep adding metal to that door you will soon find out that you had been better off replacing the whole thing for a metal door to beging with... XDIf I were to enter your house I promise I wouldn't worry about the door itself. Seems truly solid from here.Mikel
Reply:Here is a close up pic of the exterior of the door once 3 bars were in place to cover the lower section of glass. I have ideas to add more to this project, but there come a point where I might need to reinforce the wall to be able to support the weight of the door. You really don't notice the lower bars and the upper ones are almost invisible.Qualified & experienced at welding scrap metal
Reply:You could have just screwed a piece of #9 expanded metal over the opening and saved all that angle.
Reply:Originally Posted by BobYou could have just screwed a piece of #9 expanded metal over the opening and saved all that angle.