An unescured garage door can entice burglars and thieves to enter your home. You can mitigate this risk by using these 11 tips for garage door security to prevent break-ins.
1. Choose a Durable Door Material
When you shop for a new garage door, you should choose one made from a durable material. Materials used in garage door construction today include:
- Steel
- Aluminum
- Wood
- Fiberglass
Thieves may find it more challenging to breach a door made from one of these materials.
2. Use Motion-detection Security Lighting
Another simple way to improve garage door security involves installing and using motion-detecting lighting. Burglars and thieves do not want to attract attention to themselves. They want to avoid your neighbors or passersby seeing what they are doing as they try to break into your home.
Motion-detection security lighting activates when someone passes under its sensor. Anyone wanting to break into your garage would immediately become more visible to your neighbors or anyone walking or driving past your home. Motion-detecting lighting is relatively affordable and available at most hardware and big box stores.
3. Install High-quality Door Locks
You can also minimize break-ins when you install high-quality locks on your garage doors. The most common garage door locks include:
- Manual (key-operated) locks
- Automatic or motorized locks
- Padlocks, deadbolts and handle locks
- Electronic locks, such as keypads
Top-quality locks make it more difficult for people to get the door open and gain access to your garage and home. They also better protect assets, such as your car, lawn mowing equipment and recreational vehicles, that you store inside your garage.
4. Lock Your Garage Door
This home security tip seems relatively straightforward. However, many homeowners forget to lock their garage doors. Forgetting to lock your door allows thieves to break into your garage and home easily.
You should lock your garage door every day before you go to work or run errands. You should also lock it before you go on vacation or take a business trip.
If you are not in the habit of locking this door, you may find it helpful to set an alarm on your phone or leave a note on your fridge reminding you to lock it. This simple step can significantly improve your home’s security.
5. Turn Off the Overhead Garage Door Opener
You can help keep your home secure while you are away on vacation or on a business trip by unplugging the overhead garage door opener. Even if you ask your neighbors to watch your home while you are away, they may fail to detect a break-in.
Burglars often target homes when the owners are away for several days or longer. You can make it more difficult for them to get into your home by unplugging the overhead garage door opener.
6. Cover Your Garage Door Windows
Covering the windows on your garage door can improve your home’s security. When thieves cannot see what you store in your garage, they may have less incentive to break into it. They may decide breaking in and getting caught is not worth the risk if you have nothing of value to steal.
You can also mitigate the risk of a break-in by choosing a door that does not have windows in it. Thieves may decide to pass your home over in favor of a house where they can see what is inside the garage.
7. Install Window Bars
If you prefer to have windows on your garage door, you can still keep thieves away by installing bars over the windows. Thick bars made from steel, aluminum or treated wood can prevent thieves from getting inside your garage. Even if they broke the windows, they would still find it challenging to get past the bars and into your garage and home.
8. Never Leave Your Garage Door Open
Another simple tip for keeping your home secure involves keeping your garage door closed. You should close it even if you are working outside on your lawn or in your driveway. A moment of distraction can be all it takes for a burglar to get into the garage and then into your home.
You should also close the door even if you are just making a brief run to the corner grocery store. An open garage door entices burglars and makes it easy for them to steal whatever you have in your garage, as well as inside of your house.
9. Never Leave Your Garage Door Remote in Your Car
You may think nothing of leaving your garage door remote in your vehicle. After all, you have it handy to use whenever you want to raise or lower it. It spares you from having to get out of your vehicle to lift and lower the door yourself.
However, thieves can break into your car and steal your remote. They can then raise and lower the door themselves to steal from you and break into your house. You should put your garage door remote in your purse or briefcase or bring it into the house with you rather than leave it in your car.
10. Connect Your Garage Door to Your Home Security System
You should connect your garage door to your home’s security system. This tip can ensure you know if someone is trying to break into your garage. If you do not have a home security system, you can buy sensors that sound an alarm if someone tries to raise the garage door.
11. Secure the Emergency Release Cord
Securing the emergency release cord can minimize the risk of someone breaking into your garage. To secure the cord, you can shorten it so a burglar would find it more difficult to grasp. You can also use PVC to secure the cord or zip-tie it through a hole in the door’s latch.
Get in Touch to Learn About Garage Door Security
At Absolute Services, we have more than a decade of garage door service experience. We not only install and repair garage doors. We also maintain them to ensure they provide our customers with the best value and service. Our team at Absolute Services can program your door’s remote, fix parts like broken springs and maintain or repair the door’s opener. They can also recommend the best ways to improve your door’s security.
You can also rely on us for services when you need your home’s furnace, air conditioner or plumbing professionally serviced. Our team of experienced and certified technicians get to you quickly. We also design a comprehensive plan to ensure we meet all of your home’s HVAC and garage door needs. Every home visit starts with a conversation about what services you need and what expectations you have for us. Our technicians work hard until you are completely satisfied with their work.
Our team at Absolute Services offers the solutions you need for better garage door security. Contact us for more information!
