Shed Locks and How to Keep Your Garden Shed Secure

Police advice is that many criminals target sheds for bikes and tools, and then use those tools to break into the house. Your shed needs a strong fitting, a good padlock, secure hinges and its contents kept out of sight. A lock is only as strong as the door and frame it is fixed to. Upgrading a cheap hasp and padlock to a heavy duty padbar and a closed shackle padlock makes your shed harder to get into.

Why sheds are targeted

Secured by Design says many criminals target sheds and outbuildings to steal cycles and tools. Many homeowners keep high value pedal cycles, motorcycles and expensive power tools in timber sheds that have very little physical security.

The danger extends beyond the loss of the tools themselves. Police crime prevention advice warns that ladders, tools and wheelie bins can be used to break into your home, so anything useful left in an unlocked shed can end up being used against the house.

Securing your shed is part of protecting your whole property.

Hasps, staples and padbars

The most common way to secure a timber shed is with a hasp and staple. A hasp and staple is a two-piece metal fastening that is secured by a padlock. The hasp is the hinged plate that folds over, and the staple is the metal loop that the padlock passes through.

For real security it is essential to use a hasp and staple with concealed fixing. This design ensures that the heads of the fixing screws are completely covered by the metal plate when the padlock is locked in place. With a basic fitting where the screw heads stay visible, the MLA warns that the whole fitting can easily be removed by withdrawing the screws, however good the padlock is.

For outbuilding doors, the Master Locksmiths Association guidelines recommend using a heavy duty padbar. A padbar is a much thicker, more robust alternative to a standard hasp and staple. It must be bolted completely through the door and the frame rather than just being screwed into the surface of the timber. Bolting the metalwork through the wood makes the fitting harder to remove than one held by surface screws.

Choosing a padlock

A heavy duty padbar is only as good as the padlock on it. You should avoid cheap padlocks that leave the entire metal loop exposed.

A closed shackle padlock has a metal body built up so that the minimum amount of the U-shaped shackle is visible when it is locked. This design offers improved security against forcing or bolt croppers because the cutting tool cannot easily grip the exposed metal.

You should also look for a double locking padlock. A double locking padlock gives the greatest security against forcing because two separate bolts lock into the heel and the toe of the shackle.

When buying hardware for outbuilding doors, the padbar and padlock fittings should be certified to EN 12320 Grade 3. The Master Locksmiths Association recommends using a Sold Secure approved padlock. Sold Secure tests security products at four different levels.

• Bronze testing offers theft resistance against a basic tool list and is aimed at stopping opportunist crime.
• Silver testing uses an enhanced tool list and is aimed at more determined attacks.
• Gold testing uses a dedicated tool list and is aimed at dedicated attacks on property.
• Diamond testing is the highest level and includes specialist tools aimed at the most destructive attacks.

If you have several outbuildings, a locksmith can supply padlocks that are keyed alike, so one key opens the shed, the garage and the side gate. You can buy padlocks in keyed alike sets, and having existing padlocks keyed alike may cost more than buying a set. The guide to keyed alike locks and master key systems explains the options.

Shed door locks with a key

While timber garden sheds usually rely on a padbar and padlock, heavier domestic outbuildings often have standard pedestrian doors. These doors require different security measures to keep the contents safe.

Pedestrian doors on garages and domestic outbuildings should be fitted with a suitable lock, a multi-point lock, a padbar, or be a complete PAS 24 door set. A PAS 24 door set is a door and frame that has been independently tested as a complete unit to withstand forced entry.

If your outbuilding door opens outwards, the hinge pins are exposed on the outside of the building. Outward opening doors should have hinge bolts or security hinges fitted. Hinge bolts are metal pins that lock the door into the frame when closed. They help keep the door held in the frame on the hinge side.

A local locksmith can advise you on exactly what type of lock your specific timber or metal door can take. Cutting a lock into a thin shed door can weaken it, and a lock is only as strong as the door it is fitted to.

Hinges, screws and the door itself

A strong lock is entirely redundant if the hinges holding the door to the shed are weak or poorly fitted. Standard shed hinges are often screwed into thin exterior wood with basic crosshead screws.

Police crime prevention advice recommends fitting one-way screws on your shed hinges. These security screws can be driven into the wood with a normal screwdriver but their heads are designed so they cannot be reversed out again. This stops a thief from simply unscrewing the hinges and opening the door from the back edge.

Smaller timber and metal sheds are vulnerable to being tipped over or lifted off their base. You should firmly anchor smaller sheds into the ground so they cannot simply be lifted up to expose the items stored inside.

Securing bikes and tools inside

Securing items inside the shed adds a second layer of protection if the door is ever forced.

You should use a ground anchor to secure motorcycles, pedal cycles and other high value items. A ground anchor is a heavy metal loop bolted directly into a concrete floor. If your shed has a wooden floor, a shed shackle can be fitted inside instead. A shed shackle is a fixing point fitted inside a wooden shed.

Items such as expensive power tools or bikes can then be chained directly to the shackle. You should always use a Sold Secure approved chain and padlock to secure your items to the internal anchor.

Lock away tools inside heavy metal secure boxes if you have the space. You must also secure ladders to a heavy object or wall bracket with a strong chain. This makes it harder for anyone to use them against the house.

Windows and what can be seen inside

Police advice is that if items can be seen from outside, they will be vulnerable.

You should cover up valuable items with old sheets or heavy tarpaulins so they cannot be seen through the glass. Tidy away tools into boxes rather than leaving them out on workbenches where they advertise what is kept inside.

You can fit internal window grilles over the glass to stop criminals from climbing through the window frame. Obscuring the glass completely with a frosted adhesive film also stops people from looking in while still letting daylight into the shed.

Alarms and insurance

Good locks on the shed door can be backed up with an alarm.

You should consider extending your main house burglar alarm to cover the shed, garage or outbuildings. Ask your alarm installer whether your system can be extended. If it cannot, police advice suggests a separate audible alarm for the shed.

You must ensure that your home contents insurance actually covers the items stored in your garage, shed or outbuildings. Insurance policies differ widely on what they cover outside the main walls of the house. Read your policy wording carefully to check the specific financial limits for tools, pedal cycles and garden equipment stored in outbuildings.

When to call a locksmith

Fitting a heavy duty padbar, installing a ground anchor or upgrading the hinges on a shed door are all jobs a professional locksmith can do. Because there is no standard fixed price for fitting a shed lock, jobs are usually priced as labour plus parts. Locksmiths charge either by the hour or as a fixed price for the whole job.

You can get better value by grouping small security jobs together into one single call-out. You could ask the locksmith to secure the garden shed, fit new garage door locks and upgrade your side gate locks all in one visit.

The time of day you call a locksmith heavily affects the labour rate. Evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays cost significantly more than a weekday appointment. Unless your shed has been broken into and cannot be secured, a shed lock upgrade is a job that can wait until the standard daytime rate applies.

Prices are also driven by location, with London and the South East costing more than other areas. You must ask whether VAT is included in the price quoted over the phone because not all locksmiths charge it.

The table below shows average hourly labour rates based on members of the Master Locksmiths Association.

These figures are typical published prices for 2026 and your local quotes will differ.

There is no government licensing of locksmiths in the UK, which means anyone can trade as one. This makes vetting the person you hire essential. The Master Locksmiths Association operates a voluntary approval scheme where companies are vetted, have criminal record checks and are inspected regularly. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 a service must be carried out with reasonable care and skill, and at a reasonable price if none was agreed beforehand.

You should watch out for common scams when booking a locksmith over the phone.

• National call centres advertising as a local locksmith and passing the job to whoever is nearest.
• A very low price quoted on the phone that multiplies rapidly once they arrive on the doorstep.
• Refusing to give a total price for the job before starting work on your shed door.
• Fitting cheap open shackle padlocks but charging premium prices for them.
• Demanding cash only with no written invoice provided at the end of the job.
• Arriving in an unmarked vehicle with no company identification.

You should check that the business has a real local address and a history of customer reviews over time. Ask for a total price including parts and VAT before any work starts. Ask for ID when the locksmith arrives at your home and always ask for a written invoice when the job is finished.

Common questions

What is a hasp lock?

A hasp lock usually refers to a hasp and staple fastening that is secured by a separate padlock. The hasp is the hinged metal plate and the staple is the metal loop. You must choose a version with concealed fixings to stop criminals from simply unscrewing the plate from the wood.

What is the best padlock for a shed?

The best padlock for a shed is a closed shackle design that hides the metal loop from bolt croppers. It should feature a double locking mechanism so it strongly resists being forced open. You should look for a padlock certified to EN 12320 Grade 3 or one that holds a high Sold Secure rating.

How do you improve bike shed security?

You improve bike shed security by anchoring the bike to the ground or the internal structure. Fit a heavy ground anchor into a concrete floor or bolt a shed shackle inside a wooden shed. Secure the bike to this heavy anchor using a Sold Secure approved chain and padlock.

What is a closed shackle padlock?

A closed shackle padlock has a solid metal body that extends upwards to cover most of the U-shaped shackle. This leaves only a minimal amount of the shackle visible when the padlock is locked. It offers much better protection against cutting tools and heavy attacks than a standard open shackle padlock.

What to do next

Upgrading your shed security requires checking the door structure, the hinges and the padlock fitting.

• Check the hinges on your shed door and fit one-way screws if the existing fixings are exposed.
• Buy a hasp and staple with concealed fixings or ask a locksmith to bolt a heavy duty padbar through the door.
• Choose a closed shackle padlock that carries a Sold Secure rating to resist cutting tools.
• Fit a ground anchor or a shed shackle inside to secure expensive bikes and power tools.
• Cover up your tools and fit internal window grilles if your shed has glass windows.
• Check your home contents insurance policy to see exactly what cover you have for items stored in outbuildings.

A professional locksmith can supply and fit heavy duty padbars, ground anchors and closed shackle padlocks to make your outbuildings harder to break into. They can also advise on whether your existing shed door is strong enough to hold the new hardware safely. When you are ready to upgrade your garden security, you can find a locksmith near you to get a total price for the work.