In the contemporary world, having an automatic garage door opener is a real advantage. This convenience device will save you from a physically strenuous garage door opening, but it can also be a weak link in your home security. As you have already known, every garage door opener has an emergency release lever with a cord hanging down freely.
Once you pull it down, you can open the door manually. Well, it is a disadvantage of the whole mechanism. In general, anyone can do the same thing and enter your garage when you are not at home. So, you need to find ways to secure the garage door and prevent such access. Let’s do it together!
Security Tips for Your Garage Door Openers
1. Check the landscaping
Prevent burglars from taking advantage of the tree or bush next to your garage door as a place to hide. It is a place for growing smaller bushes and flowers there. It will also be excellent that your neighbor has a clear view of your entrance to see any suspicious activity.
2. Think like a burglar
Once you install the garage door, you should walk around to take a look at the exterior of your garage. That way, you can see the possible paths the burglars can use to enter inside.
3. Close the door
Do you know that keeping the roll-up garage doors closed, the number of burglaries in the residential area decreased by 50%? Always close your garage doors when you are not at home. Plus, you can always check if your doors are correctly closed if you have an automatic door closer or sensor installed.
4. Turn off the power
The easy way to protect your garage is to turn off the electricity when you are not at home. Do it by flipping the switch or unplugging the opener.
5. Install a smart garage door opener
New smart technology can let you know what is going on in your house, although you are not there. Find an adequate smartphone app, and it will alarm you if someone opens your garage doors. Also, you can open and close the doors by tapping on your phone’s screen even you are far away from home.
6. Upgrade an outdated garage door opener
Even though older models of remote-controlled lift mechanisms were practical, they weren’t reliable enough and couldn’t protect the garage in the right way. It wasn’t complicated to hack the system and open the garage doors with a universal remote.
On the other hand, contemporary models contain a more secure rolling code technology. Believe it or not, it will generate a new code each time you press a remote button. It is an excellent solution!
7. Install a wireless keypad
The use of a wireless keypad is an excellent solution you can use these days. It is an inexpensive, easy-to-install, and highly convenient option that only requires to program the keypad with the particular code. Using this practical gadget allows you to disable the emergency release lever when you are out of your home.
8. Secure the emergency release
If you have a garage door that opens and closes automatically, your lift motor always contains an emergency release and the cord attached to the emergency lever. It is an excellent option for you, but the burglars can take advantage of it. So, you should consider removing it.
9. Lock the release lever
Most garage door openers use a wire or plastic cable to tie the level. Since this piece always contains a hole for attaching the release cord, you can prevent violent entry into your garage by running the wire through the hole. This simple mechanism will disable anyone to pull the lever down and open your garage door.
10. Install a garage door lock
It is not hard to install a locking handle on the inside of the garage door if you have a model that opens manually. You will need a physical key to open it, so it won’t be easy for someone to break in.
11. Consider a single-sided deadbolt
When you decide to buy a lock, you should think about a single-sided deadbolt. It has a solid plate on the outside, and a thumb turns on the inside. It is usually enough to prevent any attempt of burglary.
12. Cover a window
You should try to prevent burglary in any possible way. One of the excellent solutions is to cover your window and disable good visibility of the inside of your garage. For this purpose, you can cover the window with a curtain or choose the stained glass if you prefer this design.
13. Frost a window
Frosted glass lets enough light into the garage and hides the interior at the same time. It can be an excellent way to protect your property without spending too much money.
14. Add blinds to the garage window
Blinds will prevent sunlight from entering your garage, but this is an efficient way to prevent someone from peeking inside. You can quickly open them while working in the garage and close them when going out.
15. Keep the garage door in good condition
Take care of your garage door and maintain it regularly. The old, faded, and warped door without a tight door seal can’t protect your possessions adequately. Therefore, you should repair or replace it with a modern model available on the market to keep the garage properly secure.
Investing in a high-quality garage door is one of the best things you can do to improve your home’s security. Pick out the model made of high-quality materials, such as wood or metal, and no one can break it manually. Plus, it will add some value to your house.
16. Lock the door between the garage and the house
To prevent burglary, you should never leave the door between the garage and house opened or unlocked. That way, you will avoid undesirable access to your home throughout the garage.
17. Shield your lock
Install a garage shield that will protect the emergency release cord of your garage door. This device will make the breaking into your garage impossible. The advantage of this solution is easy installation and low price. It will also increase the security of the door and keep the release cord available in case of an emergency.
18. Upgrade a back-garage door
It is useless installing a high-quality garage door if you forget to pay attention to the back door. Pick out the sturdy solid-core model with a deadbolt, and make it equally secure. Since 28% of house burglaries in the US occurs while the owner is at home, take care of it to keep this door locked all the time.
19. Lock the garage door manually
When you go to the vacation, always lock the garage door manually by using a handle. You can also buy and use a padlock to ensure the door stays closed.
20. Zip tie your emergency door release
Zip tie for an automatic garage door opener is an economical and probably the cheapest garage security option you can find on the market. By securing the release lever with a zip tie, you will keep it safe. In a case of a power outage, you can use the emergency lever after cutting off the zip tie.
21. Install a garage security system
The statistics show that burglars avoid targeting homes with mounted visible security systems. So, you should include the garage in your home system. The excellent news is that contemporary security systems have sophisticated connectivity features, and you can control them with a smartphone.
22. Install security cameras
One of the best options to protect your home is to install security cameras above your garage door. Contemporary video cameras are high-quality, affordable, and motion-activated with feeds that you can follow on a smartphone.
A motion-activated model will start recording from the moment someone approaches the garage. That way, you will always have a description of a person walking near your home.
23. Put in a security timer on garage door
Door timers are security features that will automatically close your garage door once you leave it open for a precisely determined length of time. It is an excellent option for you if you are absent or hate going out of the car to close the door after leaving the garage.
24. Install motion sensor lights
Solar-powered floodlight installed above your garage door, about 10 to 12 feet (3 – 3.6 m) above the ground, is an excellent option to protect your home during the night.
The advantage of this model is the absence of electrical wiring and a wide-ranging detection base, approximately 26 feet (7.9 m) away. Another option is to mount motion detector lights inside.
25. Never leave the garage door key and remote inside the car
Take care to never leave your keys or remote inside the car, especially in the place visible from the outside. I know it is annoying to carry this device with you all the time, but it keeps your home safe.
26. Don’t leave valuables in the garage
In the end, the best way to protect your valuable possessions is to avoid keeping them in the garage. That way, burglars won’t have any motivation to break your garage door.
