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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 24 Sep 2016 05:36pm - Edited by: KinAlberta
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So does anyone know creative ideas for placing vauables left at at the cabin in out of sight hidden places? Any really neat ideas?
I've thought of putting a wall cupboard on a hidden hinge and utilizing the stud cavity space behind it for hidden storage. Or even cutting a hole in the floor and mounting a box between the floor joists.
In a garage, maybe adding a bump-out at the back but having the interior wall look just like a blank stud wall or even a covered wall with a couple shelves on it. (So theives would have to have taken note of the bump-out to look for it when inside.)
So folks, do you have any neat, cool, creative ideas for hiding what needs to be hidden between visits to the cottage?
Lastly, what needs to be hidden? What are and aren't theives taking these days? Maybe I should just leave a couple cases of beer for them and that will leave them no room for hauling away binoculars, etc. 
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rockies
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# Posted: 24 Sep 2016 06:28pm - Edited by: rockies
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Buy an old small iron safe and fill it with rocks. Make it just heavy enough to be annoying to carry. Leave it slightly out in the open. The thieves will grab it right away and carry it off and by the time they've broken it open they'll be miles away.
As to hiding the real stuff it depends on what it is. Probably the best thing is the false wall at the back of a closet with several shelves. Lots of people like the idea of having a hidden door on a main wall but you have to make sure that some trim completely covers and seals the gap between the door and the wall. Unless the room is trimmed out to match (like board and batten) a hidden door on a main wall can usually still be found.
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 24 Sep 2016 07:32pm
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Who remembers where Hans Brinker's amnesiac father hid the family savings in their house?
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 24 Sep 2016 11:42pm - Edited by: DaveBell
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An old water heater in the garage can hide stuff if you get the metal core out.
Google Images "home hiding places"
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KelVarnsen
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# Posted: 26 Sep 2016 09:42am
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I saw this video about creating a hidden storage shelf last week and thought it wasn't too badly done. The shelf isn't really my style but the ideas are sound.
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 26 Sep 2016 08:36pm
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Where you are building interior walls meeting for closets, showers etc. it's easy to make a void in between the walls. So say your shower stall is 3x3 feet. Build another wall one foot away from one of the shower walls, backing up to a closet or whatever. Then you need to hide the access to this void space with a false back to a closet, linen closet, cabinet or elsewhere. Easy to do when you are designing and building, not so easy with an existing building.
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brooksm29
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# Posted: 26 Sep 2016 11:44pm
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Not to wreck your mojo but....I heard from a fellow rural cabin owner that....These criminals have taken to using metal detectors iin our area, to find such hidey-holes. They actually busted a group in their cabin and when they were running away, they had a metal detector. So if you are keeping non metal objects in the hidden location, you may be ok. When I was thinking of doing the same thing, the only things I really wanted to hide were...metal objects.
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 27 Sep 2016 08:01am
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gotta hate smart crooks.
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 27 Sep 2016 08:21am
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Quoting: brooksm29 criminals have taken to using metal detectors
Put Iron or other ferrous metal filings/dust in your paint. Iron filings 12oz for $5.95 on the net. Out smart the smart crooks.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 27 Sep 2016 08:21am
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Put metal rebar in all the walls so the metal detector detects metal everywhere.
You're right, there's no silver bullet, if someone really wants to they are going to. Perhaps no lock and all valuables removed from the cabin is safest. When the thieves get no reward, that will deter them.
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SE Ohio
Member
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# Posted: 27 Sep 2016 04:55pm
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Thieves are mainly stupid and lazy. They rely more on brute force than brains- Kick in doors, smash windows, etc. I doubt but very few check walls with metal detectors.
I think the best hiding places might be outside the cabin. A waterproof box stashed out in the woods. Or hide things in plain sight- Have your mower partially disassembled and dirty, looking like it doesn't run.
But also think about an alarm system, even if you are off grid. If a loud alarm goes off, most thieves will be in a hurry to leave, even if nobody is around for miles.
At the end of the day, plan for the most likely stuff, and don't obsess over the rare stuff.
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hueyjazz
Member
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# Posted: 27 Sep 2016 05:25pm
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PVC drain pipe, glue cap one end and screw opening on other. Test for waterproof. I toss in a couple silica dry packs in. Then bury.
Metal detectors. I'm seeing a lot of buried bottle caps with a couple of hub caps for fun and its a big woods
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KinAlberta
Member
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# Posted: 27 Sep 2016 09:38pm - Edited by: KinAlberta
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Ok, so besides young Martha's precious painted rock collection in the decoy safe, I now need to slide Rusty's steel bar collection into the wall I'm planning on demo'ing.
Metal detectors... I'd say they were looking for a hidden safe more than anything else.
Does any thief look in the attic? (I'm not so lucky to have an open beam or loft.)
I guess the whole hiding place idea is very dependent on how one uses their cabin. Regular weekend users probably don't want to spend precious weekend hours hauling stuff out and hiding stuff away every weekend.
Also, I'm starting to think that everything visible should be the stuff you want stolen instead of your good stuff which will be hidden right behind or near it because that's where it makes sense to keep it.
Eg.The old busted up fishing rods hanging on a rack covering up a hidden panel with the good ones right behind them. There for they are hidden right where you'd use them. No hauling them in and out of storage.
So everything sits near where it should be, and is convenient to use, but all is 'protected' by upfront decoys.
Also say a big old flat screen TV that's hollowed out to hold the good electronics (DVDs and player etc and all you need to do is pull the wires when you leave.) A good flat screen though is just sacrificial unless you can slide it up into the ceiling or something.
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morock
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2016 01:16pm
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I just bought a new leather chair for home living room and the feet were shipped in a compartment under the seating portion of the chair. Got me thinking.... great hiding spot and lots of room if you look up the backrest has a large void too.
The only hidden compartment I have built into the cabin so far, is the last step to the loft stairs is blocked off on all sides and the riser board is removable and held in place with a couple of rare earth magnets. There is lots of room as this section of the stairs contains three steps and is quite unassuming.
Oh no, I gave away my secret hiding spot. 
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2016 04:14pm
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Quoting: morock Oh no, I gave away my secret hiding spot.
so now can you just tell me where your place is located? 
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Shadyacres
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2016 06:10pm - Edited by: Shadyacres
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Well , I'm sure there are a few scum bags that visit this site, now they will at least know where to look.
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KinAlberta
Member
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# Posted: 30 Sep 2016 02:16pm
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You mean that I shouldn't mention the fact that I'm a wealthy collector of rare gold and silver coins and large denomination bearer bonds and that my cabin is exactly 214 miles straight north of Tok, Alaska.
Oops, what did I just do!!! How do I delete this post? OMG. I better hide everything in my secret box under the woodpile.
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KinAlberta
Member
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# Posted: 30 Sep 2016 02:20pm
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Quoting: morock I just bought a new leather chair for home living room and the feet were shipped in a compartment under the seating portion of the chair. Got me thinking.... great hiding spot and lots of room if you look up the backrest has a large void too. The only hidden compartment I have built into the cabin so far, is the last step to the loft stairs is blocked off on all sides and the riser board is removable and held in place with a couple of rare earth magnets. There is lots of room as this section of the stairs contains three steps and is quite unassuming.
Yeah, I was thinking that one could turn a heavy/thick couch arm into a hiding spot for larger items. Flip the couch on its back and get out the binoculars etc.
However, if I was any good at carpentry etc. I could maybe hinge and latch the couch arm so you just have to swing it open to access hidden valuables. (plus emergency beers, etc.)
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