Breaking into A Garage In Only Six Seconds

[Jaguar Fan]

... Am I paranoid???

Only The Paranoid Survive.

 

[RobSmith]

Walls, doors and locks only keep the honest people out.
If you really want through someone's garage door simply drive through it, not hard at all.

Want through a walk in door, a pipe wrench or a hammer on the knob, or if you're really serious, a 40lb post pounder will waste most locks.

A cordless circular saw and/or sawzall will go through almost any wall.


Probably the NUMBER ONE mistake I see people make is showing off everything they own to anybody that drives by. Drive through any residential neighborhood on a weekday evening or on a weekend and you will be amazed at how many garage doors are open, and even more amazed at what is on display for the world to see.

Harleys, quads, jet ski's, boats, garden tractors, tool boxes, jacks, jackstands, welders, torches, log splitters, powerwashers, lawn mowers, snowblowers, you name it, you'll see it if you look at all. If you see it on a casual drive-by, how much does one see if they're on a mission to steal something?? How many people that come through the neighborhood on garage sale day are actually looking at the garage sale items?? What else are they looking for??

I've built entire vehicles in my residential garage, driven them out after working on them for 2 years, and all but my closest neighbors asked where I got that from?? They had no clue because they'd never seen it before.

Am I paranoid???
Hell no, in fact unless I'm gone for a long weekend or on vacation I don't lock any of my doors and the keys to anything on the place are within easy reach.
BUT I don't advertise either.

Isn't that the reason for houses with the garage in the front ? To show everyone how rich you are ! What's wrong with the good old back yard garage....with a dog in the yard as well.

 

[msmith]

****, I'm going to lose sleep over that one... thanks.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Rather than keeping the inside door deadbolted all the time (inconvenient), I installed an electronic keypad lock on that door, like one of these -

http://consumer.schlage.com/electronics/default.asp

I installed one of those (in satin nickle finish) on the shop several months ago. Saves having to hunt for the hidden key (had too many on the keyring as it was, so I "hid" the one to the shop). I liked it so much that the other day I bought one in polished brass for the house. If someone wants in, all they have to do is break a window, but it makes it easier for me, I don't have to carry my keys around when I'm off mowing out of sight or down the street at a neighbors or out walking.

My garage door is 14 ft tall. Darn difficult for someone to hook the release. On mine, the link disengages and drops down. I've had to use it once when the power failed with the door open and I needed to close it.

Charles

 

[rwhite692]

Wouldn't it be easier to just put a lock through one or both of the rails?

.

Exactly...My friend isn't all that mechanically inclined, just wanted to share his solution since I thought it was amusing. He did point out that he disengages the emergency release, so that if he forgets (or wife forgets) that the chain is on, and the opener gets activated, the drive screw just spins and nothing gets damaged.

 

[HemiRambler]

I've read this thread with great interest and there's been lots of dandy suggestions, however I think you all are missing the boat (ah wait for it) in this world of instant gratification I think the best method to guard against this is simply shoddy wiring. What if you ran a 220v line (or better yet had a transformer step up the voltage) in the neighborhood of that pull cable. Go ahead and jam your coat hanger in there!!!

 

[yellowrr]

I couldn't agree more with the comments that you have to hide everything from people who are "just passing by". I can't count the numbers of twenty-something kids that cruise slowly up & down our street on a Saturday afternoon on their bicycles looking over everyone's open garage contents... (and that's when I'm out in the garage or yard and notice them! Lord knows how many go up & down the street when we're not paying attention.)

My Road Runner is under a car cover in the garage (which basically advertises "nice car under here") so I lean a sheet of plywood or paneling against the back bumper so it looks like my garage is as full of useless **** as everyone else's.

I like having the windows on the roll-up door, so I tinted them with regular automotive tint that I got at Pep Boys. I have mini-blinds on all of the side windows, so when the doors and blinds are shut, you can't see a damn thing inside of the garage from the outside.

My dad showed me something that has worked pretty well to make people think that I have some sort of alarm on everything... He used to install those cheap little neon lights that used to be used for pilot lights on appliances, etc. but he would use them to illuminate the door locks. You drill a hole in the door jamb and press the light in and wire the leads ACROSS the leads of the light switch inside the building (this one is on the switch for the lights in the garage). When the switch is in the OFF position, the neon light is on since it is completing the circuit, but there isn't enough current to light the overhead lights. When I turn the garage lights on with that switch, the current would rather flow through the switch and overhead lights and the neon light goes OFF (making people thing that the "alarm" is off). I have them on the back door of the house, the side door of the detached garage, and one on the shed that is behind the garage (where no one can see the door or anyone trying to break in!)

I also have a little device that I bought from Radio Shack that is nothing more than a plastic battery holder for two AA batteries, a length of wire coming out of it with a flashing red LED at the end. I've used it to make people think that there's an alarm on my car when I go on an overnight car show trip, or an alarm on the old house that I bought out in the country. It flashes BRIGHTLY for at least 5 months on new AA batteries.

 

[rartuin270]

luckily my garage door has no windows and has a latch that slides into the rails which a standard master lock can be applied to

 

[von zipper]

covered all my windows with 1/8 in treadplate when I brought home my Harley!

 

[thump186]

I remember when I was a teen my dad and I went to hunting camp for a week. The day after we left a neighborhood kid decided no one was home and decided he was gonna walk in the back door. To his surprise my mother and sister were both at home and sitting at the table. My house is the same shoot and ask later.

 

[TCJ1981]

Of course, on the flip side, you don't want to make it too hard too get in, because then they might figure it would be easier just to hold you or your loved ones at gun point to get whatever their after.