Well folks.... I've not met them yet, but it seems there's a welcoming comittee here in Magnolia. Wife and I left on separate missions last Wednesday, returning at the same time, around 5;30pm, Only to find that someone has busted out the back window of my brand new shop, raised the garage door, and liberated practically everything of value! Craftsman Tool Box, full of Craftsman tools, welder, chainsaw, etc. You get the picture... 'Course I'm mad as a hornet, with no one to direct it toward, so I'm venting here.. Hope you all will indulge me a bit, as I'm usually very mild mannered. ) 'Course, local law enforcement wants serial numbers from all the stuff, So does Insurance Co... I don't have that kind of info, even for the few things that actually had serial numbers. I listed 125 items for insurance, after 4 days searching online for model numbers for all the tools and stuff. Here's hoping that will satisfy the Ins. Co... I'm still MAD! Wife has awakened me couple of times each nite since 'cause she 'heard something'. I understand.
Here are some 'before' pictures. It doesn't look much different 'after', as most of the 'stuff' was in the white cabinets, and the tool boxes weren't here when these shots were taken. I learned that our home alarm system can accept a wireless receiver, with wireless transmitter in the shop, so It's gettin' a upgrade next week... Little too late, but may help when I start replacing my tools.
At least you have more rom in your shop now. Hopefully ins. will take care of you. Check into how much your policy will cover in tools and so on. I upped my coverage. Also check outbuilding coverage and replacement costs. Keep ANY vehicle projects insured, even if non op. If it is lost in fire, theft, etc. Homeowners' will NOT pay.
Nice Shop ! I feel your loss , I helped some guys in a junkyard some years back and they followed me and broke into the truck and ripped me off... . I hope you now have motion activated lghts at the very least . FWIW , in 99 & 44/100's % of robbery cases , it's a person whose home you can see from your property so be aware of that.... Sad but true .
Bill, sorry to hear this! If I were a betting man, I'd bet that most of that stuff will end up in a local pawn shop, either in Magnolia, Tomball, Pinehurst, Conroe or Spring.
Thieves Man, that sucks, been there unfortunately, makes you want to trawl the streets and hunt them down like the dogs they are. But you can't, you just got to believe in karma.
Sorry to hear of your loss, I just about gave up on buying anymore tools, just tired of feeding the local drug addicts and the others that have invaded and steeling anything not painted on the house.
A real bummer. I live on sight now and have two one hundred percent honest neighbors with keys to my shop to use the the drill press, welders, or other machines so they watch it like it is theirs when I'm gone. Here's something to keep in mind; two years ago Florida and TEXAS passed the "Castle Law" which says you can use deadly force to protect property as well as life.
Thanks Guys. I appreciate the words of encouragement. Yes, the shop is getting an alarm system extension from the house. Lights are on every night, although this burglary happenen between 9 AM and 6PM !! Plain as day. My insurance covers at 'replacement cost', but I'm waiting to see how that goes. Ken, I'm tempted to make the rounds at the pawn shops like you implied, too. Nothing, however, has any positive I.D. So I'd have to just buy it back Looks like I'll be shopping all the Sears Christmas sales this year for Myself.
Tools After the loss of all my tools couple of years ago I marked all my new ones with my post code (zip code to you) old soldering iron to mark plastic cased drills, chargers and batteries, no/letter stamps for metal tools, obviously you can't mark everything but as much as you can, visible marks too, not hidden, you gotta try and beat these b@st** somehow
Sorry to hear that~ That just isn't right. I believe I was thinking about keeping that from happening when I built my garage. You can always break in through a door, but that takes more time and much more noise. Happy shopping, however! OH! It helps if you own a GMC. No one will mess with a manly truck! (Right, Neil?)
Carve your driver's license state and # on all of your tools, at least big ticket items. Pawn shops are required to call in on #ed merchandise.
Besides looking there go to the local scrape places and the local swap meets the damn drug addicts and non-documented go to besure to go to some a town ot two away from where you live.
Don't Forget : A Cattle Fence Electrifier for the door knobs . I'm glad to hear of this ' Castle Law ' , the problem of course is that some folks will misuse it to " clean up " their neighborhood of folks they don't like.... I am of the opinion that a fence and noisy dog will do the best job . That and living in The Ghetto seems to work for me , I was hit years ago but since getting rescue dogs , no further problems . others mistreated my pups and once they realized I'd never abuse them , they became *super* protective of me and mine .
that sucks! So sorry to hear. I agree with Nate - most likely it is someone who has been to your place and has seen the set up and/or they know your routine and they are close by. Take that list of tools with you to the pawn shops with all your contact info and an offering of REWARD for information leading to CONVICTION. I would also suggest you check the local CRAIGSLIST if they offer listings in your general area - i've heard of people catching their own crooks. Talk to your neighbors as they may have had similar problems - most likely the cops will never bother to put two and two together. Hopefully others on here will learn from your loss. Good luck. Also, look through lots of old pictures you might have taken of your truck and family gatherings in your garage - you never know when you might have caught an item on film and you can help use that to document your losses.
I've got the GMC part covered The sherrif's Deputy told me about the Castle Law after I asked about it, and If'n I be home, I'll be prepared too.
