Garage Security Tips

 As doors and windows in our homes become more secure, thieves are now looking for alternative break-in points such as garages.  Most households that have access to a garage, are not using them for their intended purpose of housing a car, but instead use them to store general items such as bikes, garden equipment, tools and other sporting items, all with fairly high price tags!  Lets look at the best ways to protect garages and their contents.

Lets start with the basics!  Firstly a garage door needs to be closed to offer any sort of security, this may sound completely obvious, but some people do leave their garage door open!  Secondly, make sure the door closes properly, this is most relevant to any wooden doors, as these swell in damp condition.  Once these two basic security ....... have been addressed we can start to look at the different locks that are available.

As standard a garage door is secured by it's locking handle, these are often low quality locks that can be easily by-passed.  It is therefore advisable to add additional locks to secure a garage door.  A pair of locking garage bolts is one of the most popular garage door locks, as they can be fitted to most type of garage door, they are simple to fit and very easy to use.   Supplied in pairs, these bolts are fitted to each side of a garage door to offer complete protection, the bolts are also very versatile, with long extending bolts and mounting horizontally or vertically for different styles of door.  The locking kit is supplied with all required fittings and fixtures including mounting bolts, ground or wall sleeves, escutcheons and 3 keys

Another way to restrict garage door opening is to place a large immovable object in front of the door, a parked car close to the garage door with certainly do the trick, but is then removed when you go out.  Garage defender are a large surface mounted 'T' bar that sits in front of an up and over garage door to restrict the door from being moved.  These are a very visual deterrent that will put off most passing criminals in favour of a less secure garage.  The base of the Garage Defender is screwed into the ground using supplied bolts, the 'T' arm is then placed over the base and then padlocked to secure.  The two different types of defender are supplied with a round shackle less padlock that is very hard to remove or with a concealed padlock enclosure, both of these locking types provide excellent security protection.

When checking garage security, all entry points should be considered.  Side or rear pedestrian doors should treated as any other home external door and should therefore be fitted with a 5 Lever British Standard Lock, this also includes any doors that lead from the garage straight into the house.  Windows need to be locked shut, just like any other house windows, also consider some sort of window screening such as net curtains, these will restrict the view into the garage.

Similar to a shed it is good practice to secure expensive items within the garage.  If you do choose to leave the family car outside and store bikes, garden equipment and tools inside instead, these can be further secured by a padlock and chain.  A long chain and padlock coupled with a decent ground anchor, and you family bike will be nice and secure.