Everyone out there should know something about garage door security. Garage doors are a common weak point and an easy target for thieves. Garage doors are not only a weakness, but provide criminals a shelter once inside. To the casual passerby an open garage with a work truck pulled up to it doesn’t look out of place or scream break-in.
Here are the most important things you can do to secure your garage.
Automatic Garage Door Openers
Let’s briefly talk about the history of these devices. When the first generation of automatic openers came out they all featured the same code. You can imagine the security risk by having one of these openers. Thieves could just drive a neighborhood pushing their purchased transmitter and if you had the same brand as they did; jackpot! The second generation of openers increased their security by featuring dip switches that could be set by the owner to a unique combination. While this did increase security, most owners would leave the default setting on and guess what? Jackpot! Another security risk of the second-gen openers is that a code grabber could be utilized to gain access to your system. A code grabber device works by locking onto your signal and memorizing it. Then, all a thief would have to do is re-transmit the code and they were in. Modern automatic garage door openers now feature rolling-code technology, where your remote will transmit a brand new security code each time you press your remote. There are over 100 billion codes, so the likelihood of a code grabber working are very slim. Be sure that your opener features this rolling-code technology.Some Garage Safety Tips
Don’t leave the garage door remote in your car – if a thief breaks into your car, he now has access to your house- Invest is a key-chain remote opener -STOP using the remote you clip to your visor
- Secure your garage door emergency release
- Keep your door locked – Put a deadbolt on the door between your house and garage. If using a key is inconvenient, consider a key-less deadbolt. We recommend the Yale Push Button deadbolt
- Make sure the door from into your house is as secure as your front door. Ensure you have a strong, sturdy door made of solid-core wood or reinforced steel door.
- Do NOT leave your garage door open. This is an invitation to thieves
- Install a wide-angle peephole in the door between your house and your garage. You’ll at least be able to see what’s going on, should you hear a noise. We suggest the Mul-T-Lock GotU+
- Frost or cover your garage windows. Don’t do thieves favors by enabling them to see when your vehicle is gone or valuable items
- Padlock the throw latch on your garage door when you’re out of town. If you don’t have a manual lock on your garage door, you can use a c-clamp tightened down on each side of the door track to effectively “lock” down the door. We recommend Mul-T-Lock high-security padlocks
- Don’t neglect maintenance on the mechanical parts of your roll-up garage door and keep an eye out for corrosion. We can recommend a reputable garage repair service
