Garage Door Locks – additional security

Garage door locks are vital to our home security. Without them, an intruder could simply lift your garage door open and enter not only the space where you park your car, but in many cases, your home itself!

Garage door locks are useful. They afford us privacy and security; not just from burglars and intruders but also from accidental openings, nosy neighbors, playful children and even the weather! These locks come in many forms and vary from highly inexpensive to more pricey. There’s literally something for every need and every budget!

In the old days…

Not so long ago, locks on garage doors were quite simple. So were garage doors come to think of it! Before the advent of rolling, sectional garage doors, homeowners used a single door tilt up which was secured, if at all, by a padlock. In order to access your garage, you had to manually lift the solid door up and into the garage. If it was secured by the padlock, you opened that first, of course. Nowadays, most garage doors are of the rolling kind and in you have an automatic garage door opener; it already comes with a lock. Try it for yourself – close your garage door and attempt to lift it manually. You can’t – that’s because the opener system already locked it. These nifty automatic garage door openers not only give us security, they also provide convenience as we never have to leave the comfort or security of our cars in order to open or close our garages.

So why do I need another lock?

Getting another lock for your garage door is not a requirement; it’s merely an option for enhanced security. Many home doors have more than one lock on them and it’s really no different for your garage door. If you do choose to add an additional lock, we’ve got you covered! Select a lock from those mentioned below or call us, or your favorite local residential locksmith for additional details and ideas.

Keypad locks

These are quite common in better residential areas. A keypad is installed outside the garage door and access is granted when the correct number sequence is entered into the pad. The garage door opens or closes on demand. These locks allow for handy garage door access when on foot and not near the opener unit in the car. The number sequence can be changed at will in case new tenants or buyers take over the property.

Garage deadbolt locks

Chances are, you have a deadbolt on your front door. Garage doors can also benefit from having one of these installed. These must be operated manually by simply closing the garage door and turning the deadbolt knob to secure it in place. You can unlock the deadbolt from the outside with a key (just like your front door, again). One big advantage to having a garage door deadbolt is that it helps prevent outside tampering with your garage door opener unit with a coat hanger or other device that can be slipped through your panels and used to unlock your automatic opener.

Padlocks

Remember your old high school locker? That same padlock that secured it can also work wonders on protecting your garage door! These locks are simply slipped through a hole drilled into your garage door track. Make sure the hole is large enough to accommodate the lock ring and then slip the padlock into place and your garage door is secured as the door will not be able to move up and down inside the track system. The advantages of these locks are that they are easy to use, quite portable and very inexpensive. The disadvantages are that you have to do some drilling, and that if you forget your combination, you’ll need some help removing the lock.

Slide locks

These are also portable, inexpensive and easy to apply. Unlike the padlock, you won’t need to drill anything. Simply slide the lock into place on your garage door track and secure it so that the garage door rollers won’t be able to move up and down inside the track. Be sure and don’t forget that they lock is in place – you can burn out your opener motor by trying to use your remote to open the door while it is still secured with your slide lock.

Biometric garage door locks

Biometric locks use your thumbprint to lock or unlock your garage door. They are relatively new on the market but their popularity is rising quickly, especially in high end neighborhoods. You can use these locks from inside or outside your garage and like keypad locks, they can be change and programmed easily and quickly.

Is your garage attached to your house?

If your garage connects directly to your home, you’ll want to make sure that it’s secure from intruders. Think about it. If a crook manages to get inside of your garage, all he or she has to do is close the door back up and then rifle through your garage’s contents. This can result in a stolen car or missing items like bicycles, motorcycle, garden tools, toys, collectibles and anything else of value inside your garage. There’s another problem – if you’re inside garage door is unlocked, the crook can simply walk into your home! Even if it’s locked, it is easy to pick the lock undisturbed since the garage door is closed and no one can see you from the street! As an extra precaution, we encourage our customers to get in the habit of locking this interior garage door, even if you are home! Don’t be paranoid, but do be careful, and locking your inside and outside garage doors is one way to start!