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So I'm moving to a new house that has a garage, woohoo. It's a standard single with an up and over door.
Bikes will be in it and secured via chain and ground anchor. Any recommendations for securing the door? Was looking at a garage door defender, something like the below. Anything else I need to know or do. Apart from getting the dog to sleep in the garage?
For a start, dead bolts in all four corners as these are the weakest points (also solves the lack of security around the locking mechanism). It's surprisingly easy to bend the corners over on a standard up and over and crawl through.
Does the garage have a side access door too or side windows?
No other windows or side doors.
Garage door bolts are better than a defender. Those defenders are a pain to use and don't really strengthen the door, just stop it opening. The bolts fix the corners so it can't be opened and it can't be bent.
To me that suggests there's something worth stealing inside.
Garage door bolts
I've fitted some on some stable doors, seem pretty good
Right bolts rather than a defender. Awesome thanks 👍
Also the door bolts are less obvious. Get keyed alike if you can - usually come as a pair, but they must do a four pack.
Will you ever use it as a garage? I decided that I would not so I got a joiner to replace my garage door with a wall and proper, secure, twin opening doors.
Are you getting it alarmed?
Perhaps put a baby monitor in there.
Oh good thread, I will hopefully be in similar position in a few months time.
Those attach into the corner of the garage door and a bolt slides into the door frame / wall? Do you put those on inside or outside of the door?
and thank you folks for the advice.
Watch some YouTube videos of people defeating garage doors to get some ideas. Basically you can kick and stamp the middle of almost any garage door to make it buckle and fall out of the runners.
My door is being replaced and I'm planning to have a length of angle iron bolted into the floor where it closes. This will give a bit of back support if anyone starts booting it and stop people from sliding tools underneath to try and lift it.
Does the key not stick out the other side of the lock with those doorbolts, so that you could use it from the inside without a keyhole behind the lock?
It's a key that is a bit odd, it turns a shoot bolt about 1 or two inches into the door frame, and then, and only then, can it come out. You aren't opening it without the key, inside or out. I've got two and they are very good. Without locking the corners etc, the doors are rubbish. With extra locks, you are going to have to make a hell of a noise to get in.
Thanks Fossy, sounds good. My garage is accessible from within the house, so it would be really easy to install and less obvious from outside (with bolt heads painted) without an external keyhole, but that won't work if the key sticks out the other side of the mechanism.
My garage is accessible from within the house, so it would be really easy to install and less obvious from outside (with bolt heads painted) without an external keyhole, but that won’t work if the key sticks out the other side of the mechanism
If you are only accessing the bolts from the inside do you need a keyed lock? Mine is similar and has a plain metal bracket. I can either put a steel pin in it for general use or a nut and bolt for super security. Or you could just use a normal gate bolt.
but that won’t work if the key sticks out the other side of the mechanism.
The key can be used from either side of the mechanism, but doesn't stick out of the other side when it's in use, so you could have it just being used from the inside with no keyhole in the door.
If you are doing that though, just use normal barrel bolts into the walls or floor
For inside access, I insert wooden blocks in the hinge arms of the garage door that wedge into the support struts on the back of the garage door. it's not moving! I also have the deadlocks for outside locking. If you have a cable operated garage door, there will be no hinge arms, so deadlocks is all you can use. I wouldn't use one of those external defenders - says you have valuables inside. And we have a block paving drive.
When I was locked IN the garage (internal door closed), I had to remove the deadbolts using tools to make my escape. It's not a quick operation. 😀
If you have a side door I would recommend using that for main access and doing all the main door security on the inside.
internally we had a dead bolt in each corner, a home made ground anchor inside to secure the bottom of the door and then had a big heavy set of shelves behind the door. As the side door was in the back garden and only accessible through house it was easier to secure it from outside.
My theory has always been stealth over visible security because whenever I see a really reinforced garage I want to know what’s inside it. Back the van as close to the entrance as possible, unload quickly, never leave the garage door open, keep an eye out for strangers and never boast about what’s inside it.
in our current rental we also back the car right up to the door as we can’t reinforce it (can’t wait t until we move next month)