While businesses and homeowners take great pains to secure their properties’ front doors and windows, they sometimes neglect their garage doors. Many people neglect to lock their garage doors and occasionally even forget to close them, extending an open invitation to passersby with bad intentions.
Fortunately, there are many ways to help you keep your garage door secure. While some security measures involve high-tech solutions, others are simple tricks that can make the difference between a secure garage and a security breach.
We examine six general ways to secure garage doors from the outside and inside before specifically exploring how to enhance the safety of your residential or commercial garage door.
Here are six general tips to fortify your garage door security:
Those with bad intentions can use the darkness of the night as a cover for garage break-ins. By lighting up your garage door, would-be thieves would struggle to hide their activities. Consider installing floodlights above your door. If you don’t want bright lights shining throughout the night, install motion-activated lights that can scare off burglars and alert you whenever someone is nearby.
The presence of a security camera can serve as a warning signal for potential wrongdoers. Mount a prominent camera suited for outdoor surveillance near your garage door. Many modern cameras come with advanced surveillance technology that allows you to monitor garage door activity from a smart device, no matter where you are.
The mere sight of a sturdy door can deter criminal activity. You can increase the impact resistance of your door by fortifying your door frame with metal bars or plates. Alternatively, consider an upgrade if your garage door is seriously worn down — natural wood and steel doors offer excellent protection against impacts.
A straightforward way to enhance garage door security is through regular maintenance. By regularly inspecting your garage door parts for signs of damage, you can proactively address problems with your opener, tracks, springs and sensors before they become major concerns. You can further maintain your door by keeping the moving parts well-lubricated and replacing warn-down parts.
All electronic garage door openers have an emergency release cord. The cord is an essential feature that disconnects the opener from the door, allowing you to open your door manually when your opener is malfunctioning. However, some crooks use this feature to access a garage — they insert a wire hook at the top of your garage door from the outside to pull the release cord. With your opener disabled, they can easily lift the door manually.
To prevent someone from fishing for your cord, install a garage door panel reinforcement on the top panel. This reinforcement strengthens your garage door panel making it difficult for someone to bend your panel to access your release cord.
If your home or business has an entryway door leading from your garage to the rest of your property, you should keep it locked. This locked layer of defense can prevent unauthorized access to your home or business. Additionally, consider installing a quality deadbolt on the door for enhanced protection.
Here is a quick recap of the six ways to secure your garage door.
How to secure a garage door from the outside:
How to secure a garage door from the inside:
While your home’s garage door might be an attractive entryway for burglars, you can enhance its security with a few easy-to-implement safety tips. Some of these tips won’t cost you money or require much daily effort. Knowing that your garage door is secure can offer great peace of mind, allowing you to sleep well at night and truly enjoy time away from home.
An easy way to increase your garage security is to store your valuables out of sight instead of placing them near the entrance, where passersby can see them. Keep your garage orderly and pack away valuable items that may entice burglars.
Many people clip their garage remote to the visor in their car or leave it in the cupholder. It’s best to always keep your garage door remote with you to prevent anyone from snatching it. Alternatively, consider upgrading to a smart opener to control your garage door via a smartphone app.
Garage door opener manufacturers are adding high-tech features to electronic openers for enhanced garage door security. If you forget to close your door, you’ll receive an alert from your smart opener, allowing you to close your door remotely via your smartphone. Additionally, some openers can close your door automatically after a set time if they don’t detect any motion.
Many smart openers have built-in lights and cameras, allowing you to monitor movement inside your garage from anywhere. Some openers can also generate one-time access codes that you can send to visitors or service personnel who need to enter your home through your garage. This feature lets you control who enters your property from a single smart device.
While windows enhance the appearance of residential garage doors, they may be easy to lever open or break. If you have large garage door windows, you can reinforce them with shatter-resistant film or decorative grilles and security bars.
You also don’t want potential wrongdoers looking into your garage and window shopping. Cover your windows with a translucent film to obscure the view from the outside without sacrificing the natural light that shines through.
While garage doors may have keyed locks, T-handle locks or other locking mechanisms, some lack an effective locking system. When they go on a vacation, many homeowners simply unplug their opener to deter anyone from entering. In this case, it is best to lock your door using a lockable hatch. If your door doesn’t have a hatch, drill a hole in the track above one of the rollers to secure your door with a padlock.
Businesses need resilient security solutions to safeguard their assets so operations can thrive. Robust commercial security includes security solutions for garage doors that stand guard 24/7 to protect your capital and keep intruders out. While most commercial garage doors are built to offer excellent security, you can bolster your protection by implementing the following tips.
Ensure that your locking mechanisms are strong and reliable. You can use various locks to secure your commercial overhead garage door, including:
Companies can increase garage access control by installing a high-tech access control system. Choose between various systems, such as a keypad, keycard or biometric entry systems. Nowadays, many businesses implement cutting-edge biometric security and install systems such as fingerprint scanners or facial recognition technology. These high-tech systems are challenging to bypass, minimizing the risk of unauthorized entry and effectively verifying individuals who enter a garage.
Your access control system should also integrate with other security measures, such as alarms and camera surveillance. An integrated security system streamlines monitoring and allows security personnel to respond quickly to a breach.
A robust garage door alarm system with intrusion detection and motion sensing capabilities can quickly notify personnel of an unauthorized garage door entry. Additionally, an ear-piercing alarm can scare off intruders before they can do much harm.
To further bolster your security, consider installing security shutters or grills to defend against a forced entry attempt. A security grill has metal bars or slats and rolls up and down like an overhead door. Likewise, safety shutters can also roll up while others fold close.
Now that you know how to secure your garage door, you can involve garage door professionals to help you with the job. The experts at Viking Overhead can keep your residential and commercial garage doors in pristine condition with quality repairs and maintenance services. And if you need to replace a worn-out door, you can trust our team to help you select a robust door that will help keep your property secure, year after year. The Viking garage doors selection includes durable Clopay® doors with excellent security and superior style.
We can also help you choose the right smart opener for your door from our selection of high-tech garage door openers and install it efficiently. Our technicians will explain how to maximize all the smart features so you can get the most from your investment. Book a free estimate for any of our services online today.
