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Is your Garage Door an Easy Entry Point for Thieves?

Here’s one secret about thieves that every homeowner must know:  they look for easy access!  You’ve probably seen news stories about criminals pushing in window air conditioning units to gain access to homes, and you may even know that installing motion-activated lights in all dark corners of your property can persuade potential intruders to pick another house.

garage-door-security-burglary

What you may not realize is that garage doors are often easy entry points, and your local thieves know how to put your door to the test. The good news is that you can use these garage door safety tips to put your door to the test FIRST!

Inspect Your Door

How long has it been since you gave your garage door a close look? Take a few minutes to head outdoors and inspect for signs of rust or loose boards and panels. If you have an older door, you may even notice that the wood is in bad condition. Look at both sides of the door to inspect the springs, hinges, rollers, pulleys and cables. The most basic form of garage door safety is to replace old doors that are in poor condition.

Embrace Technology

You shut the door to your garage before driving away, but you’ve probably still come home to see the door wide open a time or two. Perhaps your teenager isn’t always mindful of security, or you forgot to hit the button on a rushed morning. You can avoid those issues and make your garage door burglar-proof by investing in one or more of the following technologies for garage door safety:

  • MyQ Technology
  • Timer-to-Close
  • Alarm
  • Motion-triggered Lights
  • Keychain Remote

If you haven’t heard of MyQ Technology yet, it’s a two-way communication system created by LiftMaster. You can control your door from any location using your smartphone, tablet or other devices with internet access. Imagine safely opening the door for visitors when you’re not even home or double checking that you shut the door when in a hurry!

A Keychain Remote can replace the remote inside your car, preventing thieves from accessing your car and then your home.

With Timer-to-Close, a timer is used to ensure that your door closes after a set period of time, so you’re protected even if you forget to do it manually.

Inconvenience Your Local Criminals

When a thief walks down your street trying to activate garage doors, you don’t want yours to open. Go the extra mile and reset your code so that your garage door opener doesn’t respond to factory settings. When you head out for vacation or an extended business trip, disable your garage door opener by pulling the plug. You can also use a rope, wire or zip tie to attach the emergency release cord to the carriage assembly so that the release can’t be pulled from the outside of the door with a coat hanger.

Finally, make sure that you have a sturdy door in good condition leading from your garage into your home. If you have a smaller side door leading into your garage, make sure it’s solid and in good condition as well. A sturdy deadbolt on each door is essential.

If you’d like to learn more about garage door safety, Mile High Garage Door Sales & Repair is one call away! Call us at (303) 908-1290 for a Free Estimate!