Thieves!

[Larry Edgerton]

I was out working at my new shop/house complex today and noticed a large copper kitchen hood I had setting next to my shop weathering was missing. It was there Sunday when my wife mowed. Looked around and they got some of my structural steel from out back. Not a lot, but enough that it ticks me off. They will be back, there is more steel, and I will have cameras up.

Thing that worries me is there is about $250K in tools in the two building. They didn't break in, but if they looked in the windows......

I have been trying to finish the house for cash, and when I live there I will be there to protect my tools, but until then I have been stressing out about this very thing. I may have to think about borrowing a little money to get moved out there. Don't want to, but being there would stop that stuff. My tools are my lifes work, many of them irreplaceable, and I dread the though of getting cleaned out.

Just the thought of at least a couple of guys walking around my property looking for things to steal makes me sick. I got by for years because no one messed with the Edgerton boys, but we are getting old and I knew this would happen eventually. Still, if I find out who it was before the cops........

Annoyed in Michigan

Larry

[John McClanahan]

We live in an age where if it isn't locked up, it's OK to take. (and if it is locked up, it might be OK to take!)

John

[Myk Rian]

It's all over, Larry. Sign of the times.
Should think about covering the windows when you aren't there.

[Brian Elfert]

I have no idea on your building configurations, but will being there really help? Are the buildings close enough to hear any thieves?

A Scout camp out in the middle of nowhere was ripped off last winter while they were closed for the season. A bunch of copper and scrap metal was stolen. The camp is 20 minutes off the closest paved road. Only four people live there over the winter and I suspect they tend to stay inside a lot. Two are employees and the other two are their wives.

[Ted Calver]

Had a guy stop at my place today who was just cruising the neighborhood looking for recyclables. There is a junk yard out on the main drag that has a line of pickups stacked with scrap metal out onto the street all day long, every day. Craigslist is full of people volunteering to remove your scrap metal for free. A/C units are being pilfered from vacant homes and copper pipes and electrical wiring in new construction disappear overnight. Times are tough...ya gotta protect your stuff. Cameras where you can get license plates and faces might work. Just remember...in most places the use of deadly force to protect property will get you slammer time.

[Larry Edgerton]

The house is about 75 feet from the shop and at this point I guess I will put an alarm on the shop door to wake me up. For years I never locked my house, but since the downsizing of the national economy this stuff moved in here. Times are tough, and some people have no conscience. I have been locking my doors for a couple of years now. Sad......

Larry

[Dave Lehnert]

I think your tools will be ok, They were most likely after the scrap metal and that's it.

[greg lindsey]

I was in a resturant last week that had probabaly 40 tables with faily thick pounded copper tops(fancy place) on them. I was checking them out thinking, man the "crack heads" would love to hit this place.

Here in Texas, we would probably get some more copper put out and wait just sayin...

[Kevin W Johnson]

I think your tools will be ok, They were most likely after the scrap metal and that's it.

That may well be true, but it's the casual discussion they have with others that may send real thieves (people taking more than scrap lying about) that you have to worry about. I absolutely avoid having people I don't know in my house or shop. We'll be buying new furniture soon as we sold our present couch, recliner and another chair this past saturday. I will be going to pick it up myself rather than having it delivered. While I can fetch it myself cheaper than the delivery charge, more importantly, I won't have to worry if someone will pay me a visit later when I'm not home.

[Mac McQuinn]

Seems like a trip to your local scrap metal dealers might come in handy, if they're required to keep records of all metals purchased by walk-ins, you can track down your materials & the culprits.

As far as future protection against theft, a well trained security dog should deter things.

Mac

[Belinda Barfield]

Larry, my house was broken in to years ago. Once I got past the anger I just felt sick. My biggest concern was that the theives would return because the took a key that I believe they assumed was a spare to my house. I'm sorry to hear that you were robbed. I agree that you should cover the windows of your shop. Tools go missing in our area as fast as you can put them down and turn around. We have recently added on to our shop and had several different trades come and go. There were some light fixtures that we yet to be installed, and a good bit of wiring that have just disappeared. I really don't want to stand over someone the entire time they work but it seems things have come to that.

[Brian Elfert]

There is a scrap yard in a questionable part of town here that is really busy. I was going to go there once, but the lines were out the entrance and there was a block long line of vehicles waiting in the street. There were some real clunkers waiting to cash in. I do question where some of the guys who show up multiple times a week get their scrap metal. I go to a scrap yard in the suburbs that is easier to get in and out of.

The state requires photo IDs and payment by check only. I don't believe they have to photograph the items. I don't know how you would prove ownership of metal unless it was unique. Someone stole over 100 vases from local cemeteries just before Memorial day. They were worth perhaps $30 each as scrap, but they cost $200 to $500 each to replace. The scrap yards were on the lookout and someone left them in a local park and they were returned.

[Ron Natalie]

I had lowlife idiots steal my temporary power drop. At least they knew to turn it off before they took it. What they hadn't realized is that the cable they saw which they cut off after it went underground was really only buried shallowly under the temporary driveway and it then emerged on the other side and ran about 150 to the site. They got about 20' of wire.

[Lee Schierer]

Copper is in high demand and fetches a premium amount at the scrap yards. I've heard of thieves pulling copper water lines out of homes while people are away as well as stripping out their wiring. It must be a royal pain for contractors building new homes.

Recently our local Habitat for Humanity project was robbed of some lumber, so no one is immune. We had to board up the houses every night when we quit and reopen everything the next morning. It took several people almost 30 minutes each day to do this.

[Don Jarvie]

Sadly if something is valuable then it needs to be locked up. Add a few motion lights to the building especially by the doors, put some blinds on the windows and good locks on the doors. If you have more than 1 door then lock them all from the inside. I have my 2nd set of double doors on my garage padlocked from the inside on top of the outside.

At least make them work for it if they come back. Most likely they were looking for stuff laying around that was easy to grab.