Garage door security

D

Dynamate

Guest
Greetings folks,

I was washing the Glide on the drive yesterday when a couple of dodgy looking geezers (to be fair...probably the nicest pair of blokes you could ever meet but you never really know) in a scrap metal van cruised slowly up the road. I caught the eye of the passenger and attempted to give the unspoken impression that I was well-up the pecking order in a desperately savage outlaw bike gang and that to mess with my bike would be tantamount to suicide. In reality I would undoubtedly have looked like the tall, skinny keyboard-tapping geek that I am :(.
It got me to wondering what I could do to enhance the impregnability of my flimsy steel up-and-over garage door for those periods when it's not possible to keep a car pressed up against it.
I have anchors and chains etc for the bikes inside the garage but wondered what others used to beef-up the doors themselves - proprietary and DIY? I also thought about installing a little wireless alarm system in the garage, though in my experience no-one much takes any notice of alarms these days.
Any thoughts gratefully received.

Ta muchly.
 
Re: Garage door security

B*llocks to "being fair", the chances of two doubt looking geezers cruising around in a truck full of scrap being pretty much that.... I'd bet folding money on it
 
Re: Garage door security

Can you get the bike round the back of the house to wash it? Out of sight is out of mind. Is the garage connected to the house? Consider an inside connecting door if you don't have one, the up & over door can then be fortified from the inside
 
Re: Garage door security

Thieves tend to fold up a corner of an up and over garage door (if it's a metal one) to gain access so some form of lock on each side at low level (better if you can lock it from inside) would help to prevent this.

Not sure what your roof construction is but only last week some friend of mine had their roof peeled back and all their bikes were stolen:

Roof_zpsnzewurkx.jpg


Alarms are often ignored, but if you have decent neighbours it won't be...........unless of course you keep tripping it accidentally.......then it's likely they will roll their eyes saying, " The plonker has gone and tripped it again".

I had my garage rear door forced open by a crowbar a few years ago at a previous address and a mountain bike was stolen. The Police said they will probably be back to steal the insurance replacement, so best be prepared, so I fitted a wireless Response alarm. Around 10 months later at 4am the alarm was triggered and I ran out to see the rear door flapping in the wind. but all contents were there and they never came back, so it was worth every penny.

The locksmith said, if they really, really want what you have they will get it, but what you need to do it make it awkward and time consuming for them so the risk of actually walking away with it is higher and the majority of thieving low life prefer soft targets so if they see there is an alarm on your wall they will probably walk by.
 
Re: Garage door security

Try a Garage Door Defender the ones that drop down or pull up from the ground, mite be some use when the car aint there , I think they sell for around ?50 mark depending on quality
 
Re: Garage door security

People tend to take garage security more seriously after the event. Ask me how I know. Alarms are a good idea and reasonable money. Physical security can be pricy but doing the basics needn?t cost too much. The biggest security weakness on garages is normally the road door, so this is where you may need to spend the most cash. Up and over doors are notoriously insecure. As a minimum defend them from being lifted, folded at the corners and forced out of their rails.

Personally, I prefer discrete security to having large defender locks on view, so as not to attract the wrong attention. This is my list of things to consider:

Forget the up and over doors. Fit something like Seceuroglide roller doors with deadlocks which are secure, look good but are not cheap. Then again neither is your Harley. Maybe take the alarm option on the roller doors or fit motion sensor alarm.

Upgrade any side doors with insurance quality mortice locks and hinge defenders to deter crowbar attacks. If mortice locks cannot be fitted use an insurance quality hasp and padlock. Reinforce the insides of side doors with welded mesh.

Add wrought iron (or internal welded mesh) grills to any windows and use laminated glass.

Consider adding welded mesh under the roof aperture.

Place your most valuable tools in fixed lockable steel cabinets.

For the Harley, fix a ground anchor where it cannot be attacked and secure your Harley to it with 16mm steel chain. Use a decent SEN 5 or 6 secure padlock. (Squire 65mm closed shackle is normally the cheapest SEN 6 rated padlock).

Don?t leave bolt cutters and angle grinders lying around.

Hope that helps.
 
Re: Garage door security

Quick,cheap,and effective.The door can't be lifted or opened from the top.
Click to expand...

True. That just leaves folding the comers and easier still forcing the door off its rails on one side.
 
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Re: Garage door security

If your door has a channel at the bottom, drill through in 3 or 4 places and into the floor. Drop some bolts through and it is a quick and cheap temp fix. It helps if your garage base is solid! Do it at the corners, and it will be harder to lift and fold.
 
Re: Garage door security

Many thanks for all your suggestions guys. A typically helpful and generous approach. I am thinking initially of drilling a few more holes along the bottom lip of the garage and jamming some bolts in, an alarm of some (wireless) description and I like the idea of the trip wires and 12-bore blanks! Cant really afford to replace the door itself at this stage but I guess we are lucky in that there is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing here due to younger daughter still living at home, wife generally around and mother-in-law ensconced in an annexe on the side of the house (not as bad as it sounds peeps :) ).
Interesting to read the suggestions from those previously shafted by thieving low-life - and very true that this is one of the things that one is inclined to think more carefully about, having once been targeted by such scumbags.

Thanks again folks. Truly a top forum (and club).

Andy
 
Re: Garage door security

Andy, if you are happy to just bolt up your garage door, then consider at least two bolts in the bottom corners, and a couple of extra bolts higher up, so it cannot be forced off the rails so easily. Sliding bolts with keys could be a good option if you have access from inside.
Once you door is nice and firmly bolted shut, you may want to think about a 'spade attack' which can be countered by fitting welded mesh on the inside of the door.
 
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Re: Garage door security

Hi Bernard,

I will do as you suggest re bolts and their positions. TBH I hadn't even considered a 'spade attack'!! I'm starting to think that a couple of those steel bike lock-ups with the sliding tracks - located inside the garage itself may be the way to go. Not cheap though. I suppose, at the end of the day you have to make a decent fist of trying to make things reasonably secure. If that fails..........well thats what insurance is for :)
 
Re: Garage door security

Also use wireless baby monitor,One part in your garage and the other in your living room/Bedroom.Ps Dont get a Motorola one mine keept on loosing its connection,Changing to another make.Oh yea when your in the garage you can always shout to the Mrs can ya bring me a cup of tea .
 
Re: Garage door security

I have heard that it's also useful to link a strobe light to a motion sensor and alarm. The noise and flashing lights disorientate the feckers, giving you time to get there and administer justice :)
 
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