We store many valuable items in our home’s garage, from riding lawnmowers to cars. Thieves target garages to steal pricy items and get away quickly before being spotted by the homeowner.
Some of the most effective ways to improve garage door security are:
- Secure the Track
- Shorten Emergency Release Cord
- Safely Store Garage Door Opener Remote
- Unplug The Garage Door Opener
- Change Opener Codes Regularly
- Invest in a Home Security System
- Always Lock Interior Garage Door
- Hide Your Valuable Items
- Install Motion-Sensor Lighting
- Secure Garage Windows
- Add a Security Timer
No homeowner should live in fear that potential thieves can access their garage anytime. These methods will make would-be burglars have difficulty trying to pry open your garage. Keep reading further to learn how to make a garage door more secure.
What Are The Common Vulnerabilities of a Garage Door?
Garage door designs have remained relatively the same for decades, which gives criminals time to develop entry techniques. Unfortunately, the standard design of garages isn’t secure, so you will need to make some adjustments to maximize security.
The biggest vulnerability of an older garage door is the emergency release cord required for any garage. Homeowners can pull the cord and manually lift the garage door if there is a power outage.
However, a potential thief can pull the cord by fishing a coat hanger into the door and pulling it to engage the emergency release. Once the cord is pulled, the thief can easily lift the garage door and get direct access to your belongings.
Securing a garage will require adjusting the cord to boost garage door security. The other vulnerability of a garage door is the garage door opener. These simple remotes can be used to grant access to your home with ease.
There are numerous ways a criminal will access your garage with an opener. One of the most common ways of stealing garage door openers is taking advantage of homeowners who keep them in their car’s sun visor.
11 Ways to Improve Garage Door Security
1. Secure the Track
A garage door’s track is the main mechanism that allows someone to lift the garage door manually. If there is one thing that you take away from this article that you should do to secure your garage door, it should be locking the track.
Along the track are holes that can be used to your advantage as a homeowner. You can stop the garage door from opening fully by sticking a bolt or padlock into one of these holes. When someone tries to open it, the door will jam and not move along the track.
Since this will make accessing your garage difficult in daily life, most homeowners will skip this option. We recommend doing this option if you are on an extended vacation and don’t need access to your garage regularly.
2. Shorten Emergency Release Cord
As mentioned earlier, the emergency release lever is the main way an intruder will force entry into your home. To prevent the wire hook from wrapping around the cord, you must make it hard to reach.
Some of the most effective ways to block someone is a shield or zip tie to make it harder. You may also shorten the length of the cord, so it’s harder to reach with a metal wire from the outside.
If possible, you should invest in a new garage for your home for the door’s safety features. A new garage has extra security by having the emergency cord system at an angle. This new garage door lift mechanism makes it nearly impossible for forced entry.
3. Safely Store Garage Door Opener Remote
In many cases, a garage door isn’t accessed because of something wrong with the garage door’s design. Homeowners start to lower their guard and act carelessly with their garage door opener remote.
Don’t leave your garage door remote in a location that can be spotted easily, like on your car’s dash. Keep your garage door opener locked in your car’s glove compartment once finished using it.
For added protection against intruders, you can invest in a system with rolling code technology. The garage door opener will generate a new code every time it’s used, making it impossible for criminals to steal an access code.
4. Unplug The Garage Door Opener
Are you planning on going on vacation? Avoid all of the stress of worrying about a burglar stealing your garage’s access code by unplugging the door opener. Unplugging the opener is the only way to ensure your garage door is secure from a universal remote.
If you unplug the garage door opener, you won’t be affecting anything that damages the system or prevents access to your garage. You can plug it back in once you return to your home and use the garage door as normal again.
Many homeowners don’t think of this security tip since it is a simple option that requires you to unplug a cord. When paired with a blocked garage door track, this method is impossible to bypass for criminals.
5. Change Opener Codes Regularly
You should change the access code regularly if you have a garage door with a keypad option. When setting the code, don’t make the code easy to guess with basic combinations like “1234” or “1010“.
The access code should only be shared with those living in the house with you. If you need to grant access to someone like an outside family member or a friend, you should change the code after they leave.
While changing the code so often may seem like overkill, you will thank yourself if you catch someone trying to access the garage. You must make the burglar’s job as difficult as possible to enter the garage.
6. Invest in a Home Security System
At Serious Home Security, we recommend all homeowners install a home security system on their property. A security camera setup will help you monitor outside of your home and detect suspicious activities.
View the table to see five of the best outdoor home security systems we recommend for any reader.
| Product Name | Video Resolution | Pros | Cons |
| Wyze Cam v3 | 1080p | – Inexpensive – Local Storage – Good Quality | – Requires Wiring to Install |
| Nest Cam | 1080p | – Face Detection – Weatherproof – Easy Installation | – No Removeable Batteries |
| Blink Outdoor | 1080p | – Long Battery Life – Good Quality – Local Storage | – No Movement Detection |
| EufyCam 2 | 1080p | – Mobile App – Local Storage – No Subscription | – Pixelated Night Vision |
7. Always Lock Interior Garage Doors
If you can’t secure your garage, your goal should be to limit the intruder’s movement to the garage interior. To avoid having someone enter your home, you should lock the interior garage doors.
You can take numerous steps to improve the security of the entry door, but the most effective is adding a deadbolt and upgrading the strike plate. The entry door will resist the intruder’s attempts and reduce the chances of break-ins.
Along with locking the interior garage door, you should install an alarm system that triggers when someone enters through the door. Having a warning will give you the chance to escape.
8. Hide Your Valuable Items
While this seems like common sense, you put your valuable items in a location expecting someone to enter your home. While the situation may never come, you will have items stored properly and leave an intruder empty-handed.
According to the Crystal Lake Police Department, some items that a criminal might target in your garage are:
- Push Lawnmower
- Weed Wacker
- Set of Golf Clubs
- Cordless Drill
- Bicycle
- Aluminum Baseball Bat
If you don’t want intruders to get their hands on these items, you should hide them or secure them with a chain. Most burglars don’t want to spend the time to get past your extra security measures and will look in common locations.
9. Install Motion-Sensor Lighting
Visibility is a big component in achieving a safer and more secure home. Installing motion-sensor lighting will alert you of someone walking near your property. You should add these lights above your home’s garage.
If someone is looking around your property and checking the garage, you can see their appearance and actions. For the best results, you should pair these with security cameras for clear surveillance.
10. Secure Garage Door Windows
A garage’s windows help bring in natural light and improve visibility in your home. However, these windows are also a tool used by criminals to view your valuables. Secure garage windows require blocking the view of people looking into your garage.
There are two main methods to securing your garage windows: window frost and window treatments. Window frost allows natural light to shine through, but the clarity of the glass makes it impossible to see inside.
Additionally, you can add curtains to the windows surrounding your garage. Blackout curtains will provide the privacy and protection you need to secure your garage. Be sure to keep the curtains covering the windows during the day.
11. Add a Security Timer
Garage door security timers will automatically close your garage door after a set duration. This method will help if you accidentally leave your garage door open. Security timers are an essential feature to prevent giving criminals opportunities.
Most burglars are looking throughout neighborhoods for an easy opportunity to score valuable items. According to Science Daily, 41% of home intruders acted on the “spur of the moment.” If you accidentally open your garage, you can be sure it will close the automatic garage door.
As a responsible homeowner, you should use all the smart technology to protect your property. By installing things like a smart garage door opener, you can get the power of technology on your side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Boosting the security of your garage door requires preventing access to emergency mechanisms and windows. Once you complete these garage security improvements, you can keep most would-be burglars away. The difficulty of accessing your garage or exterior door will not be worth it to criminals.
If you have an up-an-over garage door style for your attached garage, you may wonder how you can improve the security. Fortunately, securing an overhead door is the same as a sectional garage door style. Make garage security improvements, such as placing a garage door lock in the overhead garage door mechanism.
One of the best locations for your outdoor security camera is at the corner of your garage on your property. The line of sight will capture most activity at the front of your property and alert you of any problems. Install a security system with a wide-angle view to get the best footage results.
Conclusion
Securing your home requires more than your front door. Upgrading the security features of your garage will protect valuable possessions you’ve worked hard to own. Hopefully, we have given you plenty of inspiration to make the necessary changes to your garage.
If you are wondering how to make a garage door more secure, you should make the following changes for high-security protection:
- Secure the emergency lever mechanism
- Protect your garage opener remote control
- Leave your garage door closed at all times
- Invest in a home security system
With these things in mind, get out there and be sure your garage door will provide you with exceptional protection.