As with any entrance into your home, your garage door poses a security risk to your house that can’t be ignored. You may not think of your garage as an entry point, but it represents a large and inviting target to would-be burglars. Here’s how to secure your garage door opener against attempted break-ins.
Security Flaws
Your automatic garage door opener actually provides some measure of resistance to break-ins. When properly engaged, it prevents the door from opening unless being operated by the motor. However, it isn’t fool-proof and there are security flaws present.
There is a lever on the carriage assembly that disengages the automatic door opener and allows the door to be operated manually. A burglar can reach this lever and activate it using a simple coat hanger and some patience. Thankfully, there are a few ways you can guard against this potential risk to your home.
Convenience Versus Security
One way to secure your garage door opener is to take it out of the equation altogether. You would disengage the carriage assembly, unplug the opener, and go manual. Now, you can manually lock the door with a latch and open it manually. Obviously, this requires getting out of your vehicle, unlocking the door, and raising it manually each time. You have to decide on convenience versus security.
Secure Your Garage Door Opener
If you’re not ready to give up the convenience factor of your opener, you need to be sure it’s properly secured against this devious attack. The first step is to eliminate the ability of the burglar to engage the lever with a coat hanger. You can do this by removing or tieing up the emergency pull cord which is an easy target for disengaging the carriage assembly. Use a zip tie to lock the carriage so that you have to untie it from inside the garage.
You can also make it harder to navigate to the carriage assembly by covering or eliminating the windows. If the burglar can’t see their target, it will be much harder to reach it. This may be enough to dissuade them from even trying.
Other Security Steps To Take
Storing your opener remote in your car can be an unsafe practice because a thief can easily access it and open your garage. Opt instead for a keychain remote that stays with you. Also, keep your garage door well-lit so that burglars don’t have any cover of darkness to try the old coat hanger trick. Lastly, keep your interior door locked to prevent anyone who gains access to your garage from getting into the house itself.
Call Us For A New Garage Door Opener
If you worry about how secure your garage door opener is, give us a call for an evaluation. We can advise you in person on how to be secure it. We can tune up your existing opener or even install you a new one if yours is damaged or worn out. Call us today!
