The important thing to remember about a well repaired garage door is it’s just as much about safety as it is about convenience. Not only do you want your garage door to be safe — work properly so no one gets hurt — but you also want it to be secure. After all, your overhead garage door is the biggest door in your house. It’s critical your garage door is in great repair. It protects your family, secures your valuables. On average, a home is broken into every 23 seconds in the US. And most of those burglaries happen during the day when no one is home. What’s the most common entry point? You guessed it! The garage door. Here are a few easy tips to safeguard your garage, against theft and keep it in great repair, .
Install Obvious Surveillance Cameras
Surveillance cameras have become surprisingly affordable over the last several years. There’s no longer need to record everything via video tape. Most connect to the Internet and can hold fairly substantial data streams. If there’s ever a concern, you can view your door right from your phone or other device, whether you’re lying in bed in the middle of the night, away at the office, or sitting on a Hawaiian beach wondering if it’s time to call the police.
Don’t be shy about your cameras, at least when it comes to announcing their presence. While it may be a good idea to hide the actual cameras, always post notification of their existence through big and obvious signs. The fact that thieves know they are being watched is a deterrence. Maybe they’ll move down the street to easier prey. In fact, installing a surveillance camera is one of the best garage door repair upgrades you can make.
Maintain A Solid Garage Door
It’s important to keep your garage door in top functioning shape. That means making sure all the parts of your garage door are in great repair. Replace any sagging panels or run down parts. Rusty broken parts, obvious openings can be invitations to a crow bar. Don’t make it easy for the burglar.
Choose Opaque Glass
If you have glass windows in your garage, make sure they are colored or opaque panels. Otherwise, you might just want to cover them completely. Windows you can easily peer through offer window shopping opportunities for criminals. They may be peering into your garage while you’re not home to determine if a break-in is worth their time.
If you’re installing a new garage door, pay attention to privacy. It may be a good idea to install opaque glass to keep thieves from peering into our garage.
Mind Your Remote
So many people park their cars outside of their garage and leave the remote on the dash. All it takes is a rock through your car window to have complete access to your garage. Keep your remote on a keychain with your keys, store it in your purse, or treat it like your wallet and take it in with you. Your entire garage can be accessed with just one push of that button.
Always Close Your Garage Door
It’s easy to do and not even think about it. The weather’s absolutely beautiful so you open the door to enjoy the fresh air and sun. And then you go in the backyard to do some yard work. And in the meantime, your garage and by extension the entire contents of your home is open and inviting like an invitation to thieves. Bikes, power tools, household keys can be easily snatched without you even realizing it for weeks. Always close your garage door. Better yet, install a smart garage door opener to make closing the door easy, even if you’re in the backyard and realize you forgot to close it.