The Best Ways To Burglar-Proof Your Garage Door
Your garage door is more than just the most prominent entryway on your home -- it's also an increasingly popular way for burglars to make an unwanted entrance. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can secure your garage door and protect your home against burglary and home invasion.
Secure the Emergency Release Handle
What's often a life-saver in emergency situations can also be a weak link when it comes to your home's security. A popular way for burglars to break through your garage door is to trip the emergency release handle with the help of a long coat hanger. It only takes minutes for a skilled burglar to gain entry into your home using this method.
Threading a zip tie through the emergency release handle can help prevent burglars from getting easy access to your garage. The zip tie provides enough force to defeat the coat hanger trick. At the same time, you can still use your emergency release handle simply by yanking the handle hard enough to break the plastic tie.
Keep Your Windows Covered
Frosted or covered windows do more than prevent nosy passersby from taking a glance inside your garage. These simple deterrents also prevent burglars from scoping out your garage and getting a preview of the things they want to steal. Covered windows also make it more difficult for burglars to know whether or not you're at home.
Lock Your Garage Door While You're Away
If you plan to be away from home for an extended period, be sure to secure your garage door before you leave. There are plenty of ways you can lock down your garage door, depending on how it's made. One option involves installing a slide lock on your garage door. Slide locks physically prevent the garage door from moving, even when using the garage door opener.
As an aside, you should also disconnect or deactivate your garage door opener while you're gone. Otherwise, you could come home to a damaged garage door opener.
You can also "lock" your garage door using C-clamps. Place a C-clamp on each side of the door track and tighten it down as much as possible. This should prevent the door from moving along its track while you're away from home.
Invest in a Garage Door Alarm
The average burglar prefers a quiet, unseen approach when breaking through a garage door. A garage door alarm combined with motion-activated lighting makes this approach practically impossible. The motion-activated lighting ruins any attempt to break-in under the cover of night, while the alarm gives away the burglar's location and intent through a loud, high-pitched noise.
For more information, contact your local garage door repair service.