The Entry Most Thieves Try First
Do you know what the weakest security element in many houses is? Would you be surprised to know that it's a door? In fact it's the biggest door in most homes and also one that many burglars can unlock within 10 seconds.
In fact, this particular door is now used as the main entrance by almost 2/3 of all householders (information courtesy of Chamberlain Garage Trends Survey) and is so completely trusted that 1/3 of the survey participants admitted to never actually locking the inner doors behind this door.
No prizes for spotting that the garage door is what we're talking about. This is now the most commonly used entrance to the house, used in preference even to the main entrance door. The fact that people nowadays come and go almost entirely by car, together with the pervasiveness of automatic garage door openers, is most likely the reason for this trend.
The thing is though - garage doors are remarkably simple to break open. Even doors fitted with the latest electronic devices and motorized openers can be thwarted with little trouble by experienced thieves. Once past the doors any intruder is then well protected from detection as they go about breaking into the house itself through the connecting door (which as mentioned above is often anyway unlocked nearly half the time).
If your garage door has poor security then it renders the window bolts and deadlocks you may have fitted elsewhere more or less redundant. And even if you are the type to actually lock the internal garage to house door, the fact is that your garage provides perfect shelter for any intruder to set about breaking in to your home (quite possibly using any tools you might store in the garage to help them).
So how best to fix this? Securing your garage doors would seem to be a good place to start. A fairly straightforward and low-cost measure to consider is installing (and actually using) a garage deadbolt to at least deter opportunistic break-ins.
But for high quality security you should think about fitting secure garage doors. Some of the best examples look for all the world like conventional wooden garage doors but conceal an internal core of reinforced steel plates and rods, and are able to withstand a sustained attack from experienced burglar using a variety of tools and considerable force.
Needless to say, there are costs as well as benefits and getting the balance right on security is often a matter of personal judgement. The plus side of proper garage security includes obviously better protection for your possessions and loved ones; possibly reduced insurance costs and increased property value; and lastly more opportunities to use the space in the knowledge that it is secure.
If you found this article interesting then be sure to check out this wooden garage doors guide.
Tags: garage deadbolt, garage deadlock, garage door openers, garage doors, high security garage doors, home and family, home security, personal security, safe room, secure garage doors, security