How are garage doors broken into...
- Thread starter Jackfre
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Farmall450
Well-known member
I think they just drill a hole through and go. Someone posted a video (here maybe) a few years back...it takes less than a minute.
Farmall450
Well-known member
Here's how they get you if you have an opener.
KMdef9
Well-known member
If you have the locking handle as your only security, they're very simple to get into.
Like mentioned, a drill.
Or they're simple to pick.
Like mentioned, a drill.
Or they're simple to pick.
Backyard Imports
Well-known member
They got into my friends shop by sliding a long bar under the door and prying up. This caused the slide style locks to bend and slip out of the slots.
He now has a chain link lagged to the floor in the center and locks it to the bottom of the door.
He now has a chain link lagged to the floor in the center and locks it to the bottom of the door.
disston
Well-known member
I was watching and working in my friends single car garage for a couple of months while he was out of the country. Cab fleet of about a dozen vehicles. They all always came in in Saturday. I sat around doing nothing a lot during the week.
Lost the key once and had to break in by busting out one of the wooden panels of the door. Repaired it. Didn't look so different. My friend came back and I was back driving my cab instead of being the mechanic. Somebody broke into his garage one weekend by breaking the same pane out of the door. They didn't steal much. We figured one of the kids living on the other side of the alley saw me break in that way and so hit the place when he got up the nerve.
Lost the key once and had to break in by busting out one of the wooden panels of the door. Repaired it. Didn't look so different. My friend came back and I was back driving my cab instead of being the mechanic. Somebody broke into his garage one weekend by breaking the same pane out of the door. They didn't steal much. We figured one of the kids living on the other side of the alley saw me break in that way and so hit the place when he got up the nerve.
n20junkie
Well-known member
If you use the slide locks and padlock those, it's tough to get into.
But if you have an opener, that might end really bad.
But if you have an opener, that might end really bad.
555
Well-known member
When I lived in Texas, the popular method was using a car jack. They would take a bar and pry up the door just enough to get a lightweight floor jack under the door. Then they would jack up the door in a minute or less.
When we moved to Georgia, the thieves were using a battery powered reciprocating saw to cut through the siding. Mostly on a side away from the street, it took them a few minutes and didn't set off any alarms. I don't know the latest trend.
When we moved to Georgia, the thieves were using a battery powered reciprocating saw to cut through the siding. Mostly on a side away from the street, it took them a few minutes and didn't set off any alarms. I don't know the latest trend.
adamgayton81
Well-known member
This is great! Now I know how to do it tonight. No I'm not really but this would be a good way for a real thief to get some knowledge....
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Farmall450
Well-known member
slowzuki
Well-known member
Lol real thieves aren't trolling garage journal for ways to break in. It's not rocket science. Spend 1 hour thinking of ways to break into your place and see what you come up with. Thieves spend all year thinking about it.
adamgayton81
Well-known member
They may not be trolling the garage journal but they do know how to use google search...
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=How+are+garage+doors+broken+into
Oh wait what's the second link it found? Looks kinda familiar. We just don't need to be so trusting in here. I would rather see security precautions suggested instead of how it's done.
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tjdux
Well-known member
If you guys think theives don't troll sites like this your totally wrong. We talk all day about how valuable stuff is or isn't and how we store things and so forth. We show how the structures are designed and built.
Bottom line is if a mediocre theif wants your stuff they are likely to succeed unless you have pretty damn secure building. 90% of us security measures will only stop a pretty bad theif (which thankfully includes your average crack head).. if you have a window a person can fit through (even if it needs a ladder) your building is pretty much easy to break into. Bars go a long ways here but can be cut too.
10 mins with a drill or impact and you can have a peice of tin off a buiding too. 30 mins with a nut driver and its super quiet.
I good hammer blow on most door knobs will pop the knob right off and then a wide blade screwdriver will open the door. (Why deadbolts are worth it)
There are amazingly still doors that the credit the card slip trick still works on.
If you have a dirt/gravel floor pole barn 30 mins with a shovel and you can dig under the wall.
Obviously bolt cutter and break **** quick and quiet.
So basically a concrete block building with no windows and heavy duty doors is about the best bet.
Still any decent theif will be able to pick the locks in seconds. Granted most higher end theives are looking for better scores than tools tho.
Signiture; Check out my garage progress http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352703
Bottom line is if a mediocre theif wants your stuff they are likely to succeed unless you have pretty damn secure building. 90% of us security measures will only stop a pretty bad theif (which thankfully includes your average crack head).. if you have a window a person can fit through (even if it needs a ladder) your building is pretty much easy to break into. Bars go a long ways here but can be cut too.
10 mins with a drill or impact and you can have a peice of tin off a buiding too. 30 mins with a nut driver and its super quiet.
I good hammer blow on most door knobs will pop the knob right off and then a wide blade screwdriver will open the door. (Why deadbolts are worth it)
There are amazingly still doors that the credit the card slip trick still works on.
If you have a dirt/gravel floor pole barn 30 mins with a shovel and you can dig under the wall.
Obviously bolt cutter and break **** quick and quiet.
So basically a concrete block building with no windows and heavy duty doors is about the best bet.
Still any decent theif will be able to pick the locks in seconds. Granted most higher end theives are looking for better scores than tools tho.
Signiture; Check out my garage progress http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352703
adamgayton81
Well-known member
+1 on this....glad I'm not the only one who thinks like this.
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Not only have they learned how to open garage doors but from your picture they now know you have a bright red sports car sitting in it.
ratdoggy
Well-known member
Or you could leave it open all the time like a neighbor of mine and ***** when a dirtbike gets stolen from it
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James-W
Well-known member
I just figure that if someone wants to break in bad enough they will do it no matter what I do. I take reasonable steps to help deter a break in, but I think the best thing is to have good insurance.
PeterT
Well-known member
Well not really, in my father's neighborhood he has a neighbor that practically spends 24/7 in his garage listening to baseball, watching TV, wife died so he even has sleeping quarters there and he has a loaded 12 guage with 00 buckshot within reach. He doesn't rely on his insurance and I can guarantee he won't have any thievery at his house.
mygarageone
Well-known member
Yea we are all susceptible to the break ins , how ever it's pretty much known around my area , you get caught messing around my place . I'll shoot your A**. I even had the sheriff stop by awhile back asking if I threaten someone ? Me. No I said I made it known to this person , I would shoot first and ask questions later , he was ok with that and left .
RVDan
Well-known member
YouTube will teach you how to bypass any locks but in reality a big prybar will get you in one way or another. Secure the doors all you want, the vinyl siding, 3/8" sheathing, and 1/2" drywall beside the door are far easier to bust through.
Not too long ago on a dark stormy night I heard a rhythmic click click, click click. I hit the lights to see two guys with a Hi-Lift Jack horizontal across the door frame of my workshop. They were spreading the door frame until the deadbolt no longer caught.
Unfortunately they ran faster than I could get out there.
Not too long ago on a dark stormy night I heard a rhythmic click click, click click. I hit the lights to see two guys with a Hi-Lift Jack horizontal across the door frame of my workshop. They were spreading the door frame until the deadbolt no longer caught.
Unfortunately they ran faster than I could get out there.
tjdux
Well-known member
Guns are great but im not gonna kill somebody over tools and toys. Insurance seems much better even though i consider insurance agents theives in suits that smile right to your face. Especially the health insurance feild. But thats just my rant.
Signiture; Check out my garage progress http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352703
Signiture; Check out my garage progress http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352703
James-W
Well-known member
I guess if someone wants to stay in their garage all the time and guard the place with a gun, that will probably stop a thief cold. But the thing is, I don't intend to spend my entire life trying to protect material things that my insurance will pay for if they are stolen. I have other things I want to do besides being an armed guard in my garage. I can't say this for certain, but I suspect most people feel essentially the same way.
ms fowler
Well-known member
Even a bolt thru the hole in the end of the slide works to prevent easy entry through the O/H doors. Pad lock, IMO, is too much work, and adds no security---if the thieves are already inside, the padlock is not going to stop them.
omg.
I don't like the idea that there are 'normal non thieves' here on our website and 'real thieves' that aren't. Everyone is a thief. Everyone is a liar, cheater, whatever. At one point in your life, maybe or not knowingly, you probably stole something or cheated your way into or out of something that benefitted you. Thieves aren't a separate class of people, like separating the 'good' from the 'bad' that's just stupid. A good thief would probably rob you blind with a thought process like that.
What's more stupid is assuming though that a thief has nothing about their life but being a thief and therefore couldn't have hobbies that led them to this forum, or anything similar. Every box in the 'show us your toolbox' thread has a lock on it, guess that's for decoration.
Thieves are everyone. Just like with mechanics smarter ones fix more things quicker, smarter thieves do bigger jobs and get caught less frequently. Thinking of everyone as a potential thief is a lot smarter than assuming there's some mysterious clicqué of people that are only thieves in some underworld far displaced from where the 'good' people are.
RESCUE-K9
Active member
I put a pad lock in the track the door will only come up an inch
RESCUE-K9
Active member
Google is like thief....well Google just look how to open anything you can think of you'll find it
RESCUE-K9
Active member
Thats part of why my location isn't specific and Ill never show the outside of my shop.....Im a public sector employee I know the type of people that a really out there
Dirtydan69
Well-known member
Locks just keep honest people honest. Someone with any kind of sheet metal knowledge can be in your garage door in 30 seconds with a hammer and chisel.
TractorJeff
Well-known member
Its all replaceable material things as previously stated!
Everyone shows their guns, safes, cars and trucks on ALL forums!
Most everyone in the world has access to the WEB for information.
Everyone shows their guns, safes, cars and trucks on ALL forums!
Most everyone in the world has access to the WEB for information.
James-W
Well-known member
While I agree with you from a technical standpoint, I don't really consider a lot of things as stealing even though I suppose one could argue that it really is stealing.
For example, if I need an ink pen while at work to fill out a work order, I go to the office supply cabinet and get a new one. I fill out the work order and put the pen in my pocket because I will be needing it again a little later in the day. As the work day wears on I forget about the pen and it is in my pocket when I get home that night. I take off my work shirt and put the pen on the dresser. Next day I have forgotten all about the pen and go to work without it. Technically speaking, I just stole a pen from my employer. But that isn't even remotely similar to breaking into a person's garage in order to steal stuff.
pancho400cid
Well-known member
I had a rented storage unit using it for a garage many years ago. I put very heavy hasps with heavy bolts and steel reinforcing plates behind them on the Left and Right sides of the lift-up 8' door. Essentially impossible to pry open. Then I bought two expensive bolt-cutter proof locks and put them on. When done I told friends "Ha!... the only way to get in there is with a cutting torch!"
Guess what they used.
A couple of months later the property mgr called and said my unit was broken into along with every other unit that had tools. The crooks (may they howl in agony in Hell for ever and ever) totally had the place cased. There were two neat 36" dia semi-circles burned in my door around the locks, hasps etc. Probably took them two minutes.
It ***** making payments on tools you no longer own.
Guess what they used.
A couple of months later the property mgr called and said my unit was broken into along with every other unit that had tools. The crooks (may they howl in agony in Hell for ever and ever) totally had the place cased. There were two neat 36" dia semi-circles burned in my door around the locks, hasps etc. Probably took them two minutes.
It ***** making payments on tools you no longer own.
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ddawg16
Well-known member
You have to understand the mindset of a thief.
1. They are lazy
2. They are not smart.
3. They don't care how much carnage the commit getting what they want.
4. They want money for drugs
1. They are lazy
2. They are not smart.
3. They don't care how much carnage the commit getting what they want.
4. They want money for drugs
PeterT
Well-known member
Well that is certainly your choice. Some of us have irreplaceable items that have been in the family for generations, so insurance isn't the answer, now I am not the one that sits in my garage protecting stuff either, but I take certain measures other than throwing my hands in the air and saying, well thats what insurance is for
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tjdux
Well-known member
You just described what i would call a crack head/serious drug addict (pot smokers for example don't steal to buy pot, meth on the other hand)
Yeah they generally stupid (at least in the book sense) and sometimes lazy ( some are incredibly motivated actually just not to do "generally positive" or contributions to society"
There are plenty of theives who are very smart. Guy down the road from me is spending a good bit of time in prision for embezzlement. Stole 200 or 300k from his employers. Took then 10 years to catch on. Pretty smart guy.
Signiture; Check out my garage progress http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352703
PeterT
Well-known member
Good thing I don't have a mandoor
tjdux
Well-known member
See that all depends on location. My man door faces the street and my garage/car doors face the alley and are more difficult to see. Many different situations. My windows are even worse on the sides.
Signiture; Check out my garage progress http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352703
Please interpret my use of
mandoor
to mean any auxiliary entrance method.
It was a hint, not a solution.
Call it skylight, window, through the house, through the drywall or the 30 seconds with a sawzall on your tin building or the quiet drill motor and adapter to fit your screws on your tin building. .
But do not focus on one aspect of entry.
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