Fire and Safety Centre explains how to select the right garage door locks to help to turn your garage into a fortress. It is essential for good garage security to select the right locks for garage doors; this is particularly true when you consider what valuable items are frequently stored in your garage. This handy article will make your task much clearer.
Locks for garage doors play a vital role in keeping valuables, bought with your hard-earned cash, out of the hands of thieves, who see them as items to sell on for profit. Take the terrible case featured on Facebook in which a brand new Harley-Davidson was taken from a man’s garage only three days after it had been delivered – and before he'd even had a chance to ride it! That is an extreme example of the loss of something worth many thousands, but in another case a child's new bike was stolen. That youngster suffered all the more upset because he'd saved to buy it himself.
Putting these two examples to one side, all of us may own things like bikes, scooters, and a range of expensive power tools for DIY and gardening, all of which would be costly to replace. On top of this there is the emotional upset of being burgled as well as any subsequent hike in insurance premiums. The key point in all of these cases is that a lot of these valuable items are stored by us in our garages. This is why high security garage door locks are imperative.
How locks for garage doors prevent theft
Shutter door locks should be viewed as part of an overall security solution. Their first role is as a deterrent; showing the would-be thief that there are easier pickings elsewhere. And that’s a very valid point – police statistics prove that garages with no security are five times more likely to suffer a break-in than those having security measures. The second role is to prevent the more determined (or foolish) thief from getting in, should he choose to ignore the warning.
This Bulldog GD20 Surface Mounted Garage Door Lock is a great example of this. Equally effective on up-and-over or roller shutter doors, it is a ground T bar held firmly in place by a padlock included in the price. It is British made and it works by stopping the door being opened thus preventing thieves from being able to lever it upwards or outwards. Fitting is simple – it needs just four screws – and there’s no need to drill the door, either.
Other lock options for garage door locks
If the ground lock isn't the option you prefer, and bear in mind that steel doors can be bent, even with locks in place, then an alternative suggestion could be to use a hasp and padlock set.
The best type of padlock for this security measure would be a closed shackle padlock, as can be seen in the product example in the preceding paragraph. The closed shackle is a further thief-beating measure, because the shackle (the moveable ‘loop’ that does the locking), is out of sight and therefore can’t be cut with bolt-cutters.
Ten gems of advice for fitting garage door locks
The final, crucial part of our advice is to remember to bring all of the security ingredients together correctly. If one of the things listed below isn’t done correctly, the whole security set-up could be compromised:
1. Use tamper-proof screws;
2. Hide screw heads (The best hasp and padlock in the world is useless if a determined thief can just unscrew them);
3. Ensure doors and windows are in good order, with no old or damaged areas, and no ordinary glass. Consider adding bars to the windows;
4. Consider adding security lights;
5. Fit ground anchors inside, and fasten valuables to them with strong chains and more padlocks;
6. Think about five-lever mortice or cylinder locks for wooden doors;
7. Be in the habit of keeping the doors locked at all times;
8. Lubricate any moving parts from time to time – these products will give good service, but a little care and attention will considerably extend service lives;
9. Smear a little petroleum jelly into the keyway. It will keep out the weather, as well as vandals who think it a huge joke to put superglue into your lock; and
10. If in doubt, have a professional come and do the fitting work for you.
Fire and Safety Centre offer a wide product range
Now you know what to look for, why not browse our range of shutter door locks to see the products you need to implement our great garage security tips.
Picture Credit: Jason Smith, via Dreamstime