Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Shed door bolt

Updated: October 2026

You want the shed shut while you are out, or a garden gate that stays closed, and a 75 mm slide looks as if it might do it. A shed door bolt only works when the leaf and the frame are solid, the fixing cannot be undone from outside, and something actually locks. An unlocked slide does not lock the shed. Police and Secured by Design advice for a typical shed is two hasps and closed-shackle padlocks, not one marketplace bolt. The listings are on the [door bolt comparison](/hub/door-and-window-security/door-bolt). Peter F. compared those amazon.co.uk pages, updated October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You want the shed shut while you are out, or a garden gate that stays closed, and a 75 mm slide looks as if it might do it.

Our top picks

SAYAYO SAYAYO padlock-hole slide bolt

Best overall

SAYAYO SAYAYO padlock-hole slide bolt
9.2/10about £8.49
View offer
JelKen JelKen 75 mm slide bolt, silver

Best value

JelKen JelKen 75 mm slide bolt, silver
9.0/10about £3.79
View offer
n/a Necked barrel bolt 75 mm, chrome

Rank 3

n/a Necked barrel bolt 75 mm, chrome
8.8/10about £4.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What a shed door actually needs
  2. 2.When a padbolt is the fitting
  3. 3.When the advice is two hasps
  4. 4.Screws and the padlock
  5. 5.What this will not do

What a shed door actually needs

West Yorkshire Police starts with the shell, not the hardware. The door, the frame and the walls have to be solid before a hasp or a bolt is worth fitting. Secured by Design then specifies two hasps that hide the fixings, one about a third of the way up and one about a third of the way down. A short indoor slide fails that job. The silver JelKen is the best value at about £3.79, and it has no padlock hole, so shed wording on the title does not lock the shed while you are out. One reviewer found a 4 inch alloy bolt too small for a side gate.

When a padbolt is the fitting

A Brenton, or padbolt, is the external pattern: a heavier shoot, a staple, and a hole for a padlock. It locks from the side it is fitted on, unless you can reach over the gate. In this set the match is the SAYAYO, the top pick, at about £8.49. The listing states 304 stainless, a 16 mm bar, 150 mm long, and an 8 mm padlock hole. The padlock is not included. Who should skip it is on the best door bolt page. It does not print BS EN 12051. A hole without a padlock is still a latch. Leave the nickel-plated alloy packs: reviews describe a broken pin and a body that split. Chrome plate is the indoor finish here.
SAYAYO SAYAYO padlock-hole slide bolt

Testsieger

SAYAYO SAYAYO padlock-hole slide bolt
9.2/10about £8.49
View offer

When the advice is two hasps

Secured by Design asks for two hasps that conceal the fixings, with coach bolts or clutch-head screws, about one third up and one third down. West Yorkshire Police adds closed-shackle padlocks. That is the advice for a shed you leave. A hasp is not among the twelve listings. A cheaper slide does not follow that note. A padbolt can still suit a gate if you accept a lock from one side. French doors and rack bolts sit on the barrel bolt or mortice bolt page. Do not import them into a shed.

Screws and the padlock

The screws in a cupboard-bolt packet are the weak point outdoors. On a shed, the published note wants coach bolts or clutch-head screws, nuts on the inside, so the fixing cannot be undone from outside. A short woodscrew into feather-edge timber pulls out. The indoor pilot-hole sequence is on the how to fit a barrel bolt page. ProtectUK points padlocks at BS EN 12320 and prefers a closed shackle. The SAYAYO hole is 8 mm, so the shackle has to pass that hole and still be closed. A 304 claim is not corrosion grade 4. A 316 padbolt outside this set is about £40.55.

What this will not do

A padbolt on the garden side of a gate does not stop someone who can reach over, and it does not lock the house. A slide with no padlock does not secure a shed while you are at work. None of these listings is a BS 3621 lock. The necked 75 mm chrome barrel is an internal pattern, not a weatherproof shed bolt. If the shed holds bikes or tools, follow the two-hasp note and spend the money on the padlocks and the coach bolts. If you only need the gate to stay shut, the SAYAYO with a padlock is the in-set bolt, with the reach-over limit still true.

Common questions

Does the padlock come in the box?
Not with the SAYAYO. The listing says the padlock is not included. The hole is 8 mm, so you choose a closed-shackle padlock whose shackle fits, preferably to BS EN 12320 as ProtectUK describes that duty. That is still not a tested doorset, and it is not Secured by Design.
Hasp or bolt?
For a shed you leave, the published advice is two hasps, one third up and one third down, with hidden fixings. A padbolt suits a gate where you want a bar and you can accept a lock from one side. A cheaper slide is not a substitute for the hasps. A hasp is not among these twelve listings, so you leave this set on purpose.
Are the supplied screws enough outside?
Usually not. Reviewers shear the small screws in alloy and chrome packs. Secured by Design wants coach bolts or clutch-head screws on a shed, nuts on the inside, so the fixing cannot be undone from the path. The household pilot-hole method is for timber doors indoors. A short woodscrew into feather-edge cladding pulls out.
Is 304 stainless the coastal answer?
It is the outdoor claim on the SAYAYO, and it is not a printed corrosion grade. Grade 4 in the bolt standard is the coastal or polluted case. A 316 padbolt outside this set is about £40.55. An uncoded 304 title, or a chrome bolt, is not that product. Do not describe a nickel-plated bolt as marine because the title says heavy duty.
Can I lock the gate from both sides?
Not with a surface bolt. It operates from the side it is fixed on, unless you can reach over. A key on both sides is a lock, not a bolt in this comparison. If people must leave the garden in a hurry, do not make the bolt the only release.

Related pages

Padlock

Door bolt

Barrel bolt or mortice bolt: when to leave the set

Best door bolt: cupboard slide, chrome or gate bar

Door bolt buying guide: type, length and the metal

How to fit a barrel bolt on a timber door and keep

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures on the twelve listings. No BS EN 12051 grade is claimed, because none of the listings prints the code.

  1. DHF: bolts to BS EN 12051:2000 (retrieved October 2026)
  2. Secured by Design: locks and associated hardware (retrieved October 2026)
  3. ProtectUK: security at home (retrieved October 2026)
  4. Secured by Design: secure sheds and outbuildings (retrieved October 2026)
  5. IronmongeryDirect: which type of door bolt (retrieved October 2026)
  6. The Crime Prevention Website: other door locks and bolts (retrieved October 2026)
  7. DHF: requirements for escape doors (retrieved October 2026)
  8. Master Locksmiths Association: minimum security requirements, January 2025 (retrieved October 2026)