13 Ways You Can Make Your Garage Secure

What do you keep inside your garage? Take a moment and think about it. Do you keep some tools there? Sports or lawn equipment? Or maybe you place your car there every day? No matter the case, the garage usually contains some valuable belongings.

The problem is that most people overlook the importance of taking security measures to their garage areas. They tend to focus more on other parts of their home. When making some proactive steps to help in preventing intruders from finding their way inside or keeping your property overall secure, it’s essential that you also consider your garage. It holds whether your house has the garage as an attachment or not.

Why Secure Your Garage?

There’s an increasing number of home burglaries around the world. And while the front and back doors are the typical entry points for thieves to break into a house, the garage comes as the third most vulnerable one. The usual scenario is that owners forget to lock their doors and garages.

You’ll find even more reason to start re-evaluating the security measures you have for your garage if you have one attached to your home. It will only take less than an hour for a thief to break inside your garage and into your home if you leave it vulnerable or if it’s in bad condition. Of course, the last thing you’d want is for the burglar to make off with some of your personal properties easily, so don’t hesitate to reach out to reliable garage installation and repair service providers like Portes De Garage MB.

Protecting your garage and, of course, the rest of your house from break-ins only requires a little common sense, coupled with several proactive security measures and some vigilance.

Below are 13 ways you can make your garage secure:

1. Replace Or Repair Your Outdated Garage Doors

One thing that detracts from your curb appeal and hurts your home’s energy efficiency is old garage doors. Chances are these doors don’t provide a tight seal anymore, already have faded paint, and are out of shape.

Outdated garage doors don’t only affect the aesthetics and energy efficiency of your home, though, but can also be a home security liability. It will be much easier for any burglar to break into it if there are any openings or gaps.

To keep it more secure while updating the exterior look of your home, consider replacing your outdated garage doors. There are a lot of choices for modern-style garages, so you won’t find it hard to pick one based on your preference. If it’s the durability you want, you can go for steel garage doors. It’s the most popular choice nowadays, not only because it’s durable enough but also because of the numerous custom designs available for homeowners.

The main idea here is that you have to replace an outdated garage door as soon as possible. And it’s especially true for broken or damaged ones. Your home will only get more vulnerable and less secure if your garage door gets worse because of leaving it as it has been for quite some time. All your garage door requirements are covered; whether it be a small repair or a new install, Midland Garage Doors offers free advice and help.

2. Install A Security System For Your Garage

Thieves will most likely hesitate to target a home garage that has visible security systems.

If you want something that also monitors the rest of the areas in your home, opt for a garage alarm system. So whether you want to install a full-scale security system or get a little extra control, you can now get cameras.

Another effective way to deter intruders from breaking into your home is to place security cameras above the entry points of your garage. There are now motion-activated video cameras that make it easier for you to monitor any suspicious activity through feeds that you can access and watch on your electronic devices like a smartphone. Everything that happens around the exterior of your home will get recorded.

3. Stop Leaving High-Value Items Inside Your Garage

While not leaving high-value items inside the garage is only a common-sense security tip, many people still overlook its importance. It also holds for things that you usually place inside your vehicle.

Chances are when homeowners don’t find a storage room elsewhere; they’ll make the garage their catch-all-items space at home. While there’s nothing wrong with it, you must avoid including high-value items among the things you’re going to store inside the garage. It’s a risk that you wouldn’t want to take despite being diligent enough to keep all the doors in your garage locked up all the time.

4. Shed Some Light And Keep Your Garage Out Of The Shadows

Many intruders rely on the cover of night. They like to hide in the dark shadows around your home’s garage before attempting to break into your home. Thus, the need for you to shed some light and keep your garage out of the shadows.

The best thing to do is to install motion-activated floodlights near the doors and windows of your garage. It will prevent nighttime break-ins from happening since burglars will think twice about their shady plans. If you have a detached garage, you’ll find motion-sensing lights very useful in keeping it out of the shadows.

5. Lock Up Your Tools Inside A Garage Cabinetry

If you regularly work in the garage using different tools, you would surely agree that it isn’t practical or convenient to lug the things that you need back and forth when you require them. It’s the reason why many homeowners prefer to store their tools inside the garage. The problem is that they leave these things wide open, and when a burglary happens, thieves won’t have a hard time finding essential items and make off with them.

Custom cabinetry will be of great help if you can’t avoid placing some essential tools inside the garage. It’s a smart way of securing your items while making it easier to access them every time you need to use them for work.

6. Clear Away Shrubs And Large Trees In Your Landscape

It’s a mistake to think that thieves will only attack your garage or home during the night. But, yes, you heard it right; some intruders are desperate enough and won’t mind breaking inside your property if they get the chance in broad daylight.

One thing that encourages burglars to lurk around your garage in broad daylight is a large tree or bush near the door or window. Naturally, they’ll use the cover it provides to hide. That said, don’t hesitate to clear away shrubs and trees if you have some that block the visibility of your home’s entry points from the street. You’d want to make sure that it will be easy for passersby, especially your neighbours, to see everything happening near the garage.

It’s also a good idea to plant small thorny bushes under the windows of your garage to discourage thieves from breaking in that direction.

7. Be A Good Neighbor

If you think that being a good neighbour only means not disturbing other homeowners in your place, you’re going to have problems along the way. Being a good neighbour also means being a vigilant one. That said, you have to keep an eye on any suspicious activity around the homes of your neighbours.

You have to work with other homeowners to keep your area safer. Communicate with them about any security issues. Your neighbours will be happy to return the favour if you’re vigilant regarding the security of their homes and have maintained a good relationship with them.

Once you already have a good relationship with your neighbours, you can already ask them to pick your newspapers up for you when you’re away. You can also have them park one of their cars in your driveway. These will avoid making it evident to burglars that no one is home, especially when you’re on a week-long vacation. Of course, you have to make sure that you’re going to do the same for your neighbours when it’s time for them to be away.

8. Keep Your Garage Door Opener With You All The Time

It’s a common mistake among homeowners – not treating their garage door opener as another key into their homes. They usually clip it to the visors in their cars. Once thieves find it, they won’t hesitate to use it to their advantage.

Replace your garage door opener with a keychain remote, something that you can carry with you all the time. It’s also possible to open and close the garage door in your home from anywhere via smartphone if you get a smart garage door opener, so it’s also something that you’d want to consider.

9. Install Deadbolt Lock And Door Jamb Reinforcement Kits For Extra Security

The front and back doors in your home are probably already sturdy with secure deadbolts. How about your garage doors? It won’t matter if you have modern-style garage doors; thieves will always find a way to get in, so, as much as possible, you have to provide extra security.

Consider installing a deadbolt lock in your garage service door as well as the interior access door. Door jamb reinforcement kits are also ideal additions to your entries for extra security.

10. Cover The Windows In Your Garage

Another precautionary measure you could take to make the job of burglars as difficult as possible is covering your garage windows.

Thieves could take a good look at what’s inside your garage through the exterior garage service door window, side windows, or garage door windows. They’ll not only look for valuables like tools that they can take but also check if there’s any vehicle inside, indicating that someone is at home.

Again, it would be best to cover your windows. Another option is to install curtains or window blinds for garage use.

You can also opt for a translucent film over the windows if you like to get some sunlight into your garage. You can also choose a frosted glass design for your windows to not only allow sunlight but also effectively obscure the contents in your garage.

11. Zip Tie The Emergency Release Of Your Automatic Garage Door Opener

One of the most affordable garage security measures you can take is to zip the emergency release of your automatic garage door opener.

An emergency release lever is typical in automatic door openers. You’ll find a record cord attached to the release. During a power outage, the emergency release will allow you to still open or close the doors in your garage.

Such a feature, however, can get exploited by a resourceful thief. He can create a bit of a gap in your garage door by pushing in on the top. By doing this, the burglar can have access to the cord using a wire hook. They could fish the level and pull it to open the door.

What you can do to combat this strategy from intruders is to zip the release cord or lever. It’s a way to secure it and prevent it from getting tampered with. Of course, you’ll have to cut the zip tie off when there’s a power outage. It won’t be a problem, though, since you can easily replace it when the electricity comes back.

12. Think Like A Burglar

Give this security tip a try even if you find it odd, and you’ll surely get surprised by the many things you’ll learn about your home. All you have to do is to walk around your home’s exterior for a few minutes. Then, think about how an intruder might break into your house.

Look at your home from the burglar’s perspective and check how secure your garage is or which areas in your house are the most vulnerable. Use the enlightenment you’ll get from doing it to add more security measures as needed. For example, if you want to understand better the effectiveness of the exterior lighting in your home, do this exercise in the evening.

13. Consult An Expert

Don’t hesitate to consult an expert if you want to be confident about the security of your garage. They can tell you everything that you need to know. They’ll also make some recommendations to help you in keeping your family safe.

Conclusion

The garage not only provides access to your home but also stores items that are valuable to you in one way or another. By following the ways you can make your garage secure discussed in this post, you’ll know that you’ve done your best to keep your family safe. It will help you to gain much-needed peace of mind so that you can focus on other essential matters in your life.