Ten Ways to Make Your Garage Door More Secure
Protecting your property is a vital part of owning a home. You are keen to lock the windows at night, pull the shades, and replace blown light bulbs in your house immediately, but what about your garage? Whether your garage is attached to the house is not as important as whether or not all of your property is safe. We have ten ways that you can beef up the security of your garage door to reduce burglaries and protect your family in this blog post.
Add physical locks
You can attach a slide bolt to prevent the door from being lifted from the outside. Putting a deadbolt or programmable lock on the man door between the house and an attached garage is additional security for your family should someone break into your building. A lock will prevent the door from opening when someone else has a device with the same radio frequency as your opener. When you plan to go out of town for long periods, stay over at work or friends, or leave late at night, you can padlock the throw latch as an added measure.
Stay on top of maintenance and safety checks
Keeping the springs and mechanical parts of the track oiled and in good shape is vital to securing your garage door and making sure it operates safely and correctly. Checking the auto-reverse function and the closing force of the door every month is something you probably do on time. A good visual inspection with a bright light is all you need to perform a thorough check of the entire opening mechanism and the door.
Add an alarm system to your garage
Installing surveillance equipment can be a theft deterrent. Cameras with night vision can capture thieves in case of a robbery. You can use the footage to file a police report. Cameras are useful for court cases involving theft. The cameras can lower your insurance costs and boost the value of your home.
Install lights with motion detectors
Your cameras or alarm system may come with motion detecting lights, but experts suggest upgrading all exterior lights on your garage to these systems. The additional detectors cover the entire garage. If your building is detached from the house, then you can put motion detectors on the house to light up the path between the structures.
Upgrade your garage door opener
Safewise says that clipping your opener to the visor is not a good idea. For the best protection, you should always take the remote inside at night or when returning home. Remembering the remote the next day is the hard part. To make things simpler, Safewise says that many home improvement stores have keychain technologies that you can adapt for your model and brand of garage door opener. This method lets you keep a remote opener with your keys so you will not run out without it on a late morning.
Install window treatments
Garage door installation companies and insurance experts recommend covering garage door windows and any openings in your building. Preventing others from seeing into the garage keeps others from wanting your possessions. Frosting the windows is one way to avoid blocking the natural light while reducing visibility. You can also apply a window tint like you can for your vehicle.
Check the emergency release
Put the garage door down. Release the emergency handle. Adjust the door if necessary. Pull the cord towards the door to reconnect it to the opening mechanism.
Double check the door when home
Accidents happen with garage doors like any technology. Someone leaves the door open, or a neighbor has the same opener frequency. Your door might be standing open if someone forgets to close it. Double checking the door is a fast way to ease your mind.
Install a window or wide peephole on attached garages
To keep an eye on your belongings or to check out a noise in the garage, you can put a small window or wide-angle peephole to give you a fast look at the situation. This additional security feature can keep your family from walking in on a burglary when entering the garage.
Make use of timers
At some point, you or someone in the house will forget to shut the garage door. Garage door timers can add more protection by automatically closing the door after a preset time. The technology usually attaches to the door track and the operation console.
Keeping your garage as secure as the home can help you protect your family and belongings. The additional locks are helpful for securing your garage ahead of heavy wind events and bad storms. If you live in an area that sees hurricanes or nor’easters, then attaching slide locks, deadbolts, and padlocks can protect your door from whipping around in the wind and minimizing damage. With these ten tips, your home and garage will be safer giving you peace of mind when traveling away from home for the holidays or vacation.
References:
