Introduction
In general, garage doors are seen by some people as points of weakness when assessing a home’s security status; you can even say that thieves and burglars see them as “easy targets.” Once thieves gain access, garages can become their hide-out or base of operations, a place where these criminals can set up shop while they come up with a way to break into a home or a business.
While a garage can indeed be broken into more easily than a home or business, it is possible to secure garages so that they are less enticing to burglars and thieves. Since garages often lack windows, it’s safe to say that the garage door is usually one of the main reasons garages are targeted. If you can properly secure a garage door, therefore, you can help deny entry to these housebreaking hooligans.
Making Garage Doors More Secure
Here’s how garage doors can be made more secure, to the point, in fact, of their becoming “strong” rather than “weak” access points (to a home or a business):
–Find a way to keep the garage door’s emergency release from being used against you. There are ways (including the use of zip ties) to secure such in a way that allows the door to function as it was intended to function–at the same time, make it more difficult for someone to use this as a means of making the garage door less secure.
–Strive to not leave your remote garage door opener where it might be stolen, including inside your car, your purse/bag, or even inside your back pocket. With this in hand, a burglar/thief can more easily gain access to your palace.
— Make sure your remote control garage door opener uses rolling code technology. This technology allows the device to use a different code combination each time you use it, therefore protecting you from criminals that like to steal these codes before they hit your house.
–In order to reduce the chances of your losing the device or to make sure that you keep your automatic garage door opener with you at all times do buy a keychain style remote garage door opener.
–Put a deadbolt (if you haven’t done so already) on the door leading into the house from the garage. This may mean having more steps to go through to gain access to you home but, so what?
–Stop leaving your garage door open for burglars or thieves to get a glimpse of what’s inside your garage; it also makes it easier for someone to just walk in the garage and help themselves to you treasures.
–Get rid of that cheap, easily-broken-down door between the garage and the house and replace it with a reinforced steel or solid wood door.
–Don’t provide a glimpse inside your garage, especially when the garage door is closed. Get rid of or cover any windows in the garage, including glass panels/windows that allow people driving or walking by the opportunity to “case” your place of residence or business.
–Do get wide-angle peepholes for all doors that provide entry to any visitors, including the door between the home and the garage. If thieves try to break in while you’re still home, this may buy you a few minutes so you can call the police.
–Keep the garage door working in tip-top condition; to that end, have it inspected by a professional periodically, making sure you fix all the problems that are brought to your attention. Malfunctioning or broken garage doors can sometimes be the reason for an attempted or successful break-in.
–See to it that the throw latch on the garage door is securely padlocked while you’re away on a trip. This is a good way to make sure that the garage door can’t be opened from the outside.
–Invest in a newer, more-heavy-duty and more-capable-of-taking-punishment new garage door. At sturdy, well-made garage door is much more secure than one in bad shape, not well-maintained and in need of some TLC.
Conclusion
Notwithstanding their reputation as a good means by which to break into house or business, garage doors can help enhance a home’s security status or system, if well-made, well-maintained and, last but not least, well-utilized. A garage door doesn’t have to be a security “weak spot,” if precautions are taken to make and keep it secure.
