How safe is your garage? You might not realize it, but in Canada, there is a residential burglary that occurs every 90 seconds. In the United States, this happens every 18 seconds. The world is a dangerous place, and there are plenty of thieves out there. Many of the break‑ins happen during daylight hours, too. In fact, this is true of between 60% and 80% of the break‑ins, which might not be what you expected at all.
One of the most common ways for thieves to get into your property is through the garage door. They head into the garage because there are often valuables kept there, such as bikes, power tools, and even motorcycles. They could steal the car, as well.
Thieves will sometimes search parking lots for cars that are unlocked. They will look for garage door remotes, as well as your registration information, and this will give them all of the information they need to find your home and to break into it. Even though this might not seem like something that could happen to you, it can and does happen to people all of the time. therefore, you are going to want to consider the following tips, which can help you to prevent these issues from happening in your home.
Consider the Age of Your Electric Garage Door Opener
Do you know how old your garage door is? If you don’t, you will want to look at the motor housing. There will be a label, which is generally beneath the plastic cover. The date should be there. If you find that the date is before 1993, you are going to want to make sure that you change the system sooner rather than later. The doors that were installed before that year utilized dip switches, which were quite easy for thieves to scan, so they could steal your code and then use them with other remotes later.
Make Sure You Hide the Remote
One of the other mistakes that people make is keeping their garage remote in an area of their vehicle that is easy to see and access, namely the sun visor. You want to be sure that you do not keep your remote in a place that can be seen. Put it somewhere that a thief is not likely to look. You might even want to bring it with you.
When you use a mini remote control (375UT), you can simply keep it right on your keyring. Just make sure that you keep the keyring safe and that you do not put it anywhere that the button could be accidentally pressed while you are at home. Only a small amount of pressure is going to cause the door to open up. Something else that you might want to consider, especially if you have a newer garage door system, is using your smartphone. Since the summer of 2017, it has been possible to do this with the Chamberlain/LiftMaster’s MyQ technology.
Going on Vacation?
If you are going to be heading out of town for a while, such as on a vacation, and you are not going to need the garage door, you might want to disconnect it. You can simply disconnect the motor from the electrical outlet, which will prevent the use of a remote control to open the garage. It will also prevent the possibility of someone trying to use the keypad outside of the garage to get inside. Just remember to reconnect it when you get back home.
Something else that you might want to consider is using the lock button, which you can find on the control panel. You will want to double‑check the panel to make sure that the indicator light is blinking.
Another option is to put a side lock on the inside of the door. This type of lock will have a steel rod that will engage with the vertical rail. You can use a padlock on this if you wish. Again, you need to make sure that you remember you have these methods up and in place when you get back from your vacation, so you do not think something is wrong with the garage door!
LiftMaster offers an automatic lock (841LM) that you can activate right from your smartphone. As long as your door opener is connected to WiFi, you will be able to open up this additional lock from the convenience of your phone.
The Windows in Your Garage Door
You should also make sure that you consider the windows that you have in your garage door. Many types of windows allow burglars to easily look into the garage and see the items that you have there. They can also look at the manual release latch, and if they have a wire hanger, they could even release the latch. If you have clear windows, be sure to cover them with some type of privacy film, or even with some curtains. In addition, you might want to consider getting windows that have tinted or frosted glass.
Get a Better Quality Door
If you do not have a rigid and insulated garage door, then you might want to rethink your entire door. If you are going to be getting a new door, you will want one that has both sides covered with steel sheeting. These doors tend to be much stronger, and they can provide you with some added protection.
Some Parting Tips
Here are a few more tips that you will want to keep in mind.
Always double-check to make sure that your garage door is closed for the night. You might also want to get a monitor (829LM) that will let you know if your door is open or closed. If you have LiftMaster’s MyQ technology, your smartphone can let you know whether the garage door is open or not.
You can also add some exterior lighting to the home, connect a security camera to your Wi‑Fi system, and even leave a radio on in the garage to make it appear as if someone is in there.
Get in Touch
Now that you know how important it is to keep your garage safe, and you have some tips to consider, you will want to contact us. We know and understand garage doors and can help you make the right decisions for your needs and budget. We can even provide a quotation by email.
If you would like, you could also visit the showroom. Consider checking out the image gallery for some examples, and the Design Centre to get an idea of what the different door styles will look like.
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