This article will concentrate on the up and over/ roller shutter type garage doors commonly found in the majority of UK homes.
Over the past decade there has been a marked increase in burglaries whereby garage doors are targeted as a point of entry. There are a few reasons as to why criminals are choosing garage doors as an alternative point of entry.
The majority of garages now have inner access to the residential area of the home. However, as people become more security conscious, it is often the case that they overlook the garage door.
Another reason is that due to the significant rise in shed burglaries, homeowners are now storing items such as power tools, bikes, lawnmowers and fishing tackle in garages as they perceive the garage to be a more secure building/ area.
Therefore, it has become more of a desirable area of the home to target for high-value items to be stolen. It is effortless and quick to establish from a criminals point of view if the garage door lock is a viable potential point of entry which we will outline below:
Up and over doors are now the favourite garage door of most homes, offering easy access via unlocking the main garage door central lock from the outside with a key.
They can also be locked from the inside with the flick of a switch which is convenient for homeowners.
If you are concerned about your car being stolen off your drive, following a site visit, we can also install driveway bollards.
The standard up and over garage door lock and handle are currently being installed by companies, especially in new build type housing developments.
Turn the key to unlock the door, twist the handle and then pull the handle towards you. Gravity then helps to lift the garage door, and then the garage door slides along the inner roller mechanism before pushing it inwards for the door to be concealed neatly in the upper area of the garage space.
The traditional and still widely used method of entry utilised by burglars is to lever either side of these doors as it provides enough leverage to peel the door open and gain access.
The material is often thin metal/ aluminium, which can be manipulated with physical force or via a crowbar type implement.
Another emerging technique, which we have personally seen during our duties as emergency locksmiths in the last few years, is to punch a hole next to the garage centre console locking mechanism.
The hole created is then big enough to be able to reach in and unlock the garage door lock by flicking the inner switch:
We specialise in burglary prevention without having to make your home look like a prison.
These security garage locks come in a pair with the keys being keyed a like for convenience.
They are deep inserting sliding bolts that should be installed in the lower corners of the garage door either side to withstand levering attempts as mentioned earlier in this article.
They offer fantastic value for money but need to be installed correctly by a professional as any errors can damage your garage door and make engaging/ locking the garage door security bolts more of an inconvenience if they do not slide into the keep area correctly and smoothly.
To create metal security garage doors we offer some simple price plans.
If you purchase these locks from someone else and get stuck fitting them give us a call for a fit only service. We fit these locks routinely and have come across most of the issues when installing them.
Supplied & fitted cost from SheffLOCK £180 inc Vat (Only available for South Yorkshire residents).
*Please enquire with the team for supply only prices.*
Garage door defenders are essentially a T-Bar type product that can either be installed centrally (which is often the case) or ideally in the two corners of the lower area of the garage. This product also needs a padlock to be installed and we always advise if this is the case to ensure the Padlock is CEN rated.
Our personal opinion is that the garage door defender is no where near as cost effective as the Enfield garage door locks for domestic garage doors and can be quite inconvenient (especially if you have two installed) having to remove the padlock (s) and then put them back on etc.
Ideally also, we would suggest that to offer maximum prevention from garage door levering burglary that two garage door defenders are to be installed either side of the door to mimic the Enfield garage door lock set up.
* THE CEN grade of a padlock stands for Central European Norm - it is a testing standard for padlocks. This is not simply a rating individual manufacturers given their own padlocks it is an independent testing body. In order for the padlock to achieve a certain CEN grade it must pass through a number of intensive tests*
Roller shutters doors are still not as common as the up and over tilt type garage door with regards to domestic properties but the same concept applies for criminals when trying to gain entry. Burglars target either corner of the garage door so please ensure any side locking mechanisms (if they are installed) are to a sufficient sold secure standard which means they have been intensely tested against methods of entry via Police and Insurance approved testing conditions.
There are however products available to greatly enhance roller shutter doors security which we will outline below.
Roller shutter doors, as mentioned above are less common in domestic properties however a great security garage door lock for these type of doors for domestic use are anchor type garage locks that are easy to use and less intrusive.
We would suggest these type of locks be installed either side of the roller shutter door to again combat any levering attempts at the side of the garage door.
SheffLOCK currently only supply and fit garage door locks domestically however as Ex-Police officers we have a wealth of experience and advice to offer any business premise owners who have a roller shutter type door and are concerned about security.
The main concern for the commercial garage door owner is undoubtedly the ram raid type technique. Installing good quality, ideally Police and Insurance approved products that are pictured above, will provide your business with excellent prevention against ram raid type attempts to gain entry.
Overall, garage doors can be a complex area of security to approach however it is an absolute mistake in our professional opinion to overlook this area of home security as the statistics year on year are displaying a marked increase in this area of crime.
Our new staff have a wealth of experience repairing and installing new garage doors. Call now to arrange an appointment.
