Your garage is a place where you can store whatever you desire, from your car, tools, bikes, sport equipment, wine, garden furniture, car cleaning products to a fridge or freezer!
However, some of your possessions may hold a lot of sentimental value to you, or be expensive to buy, in which case you may be worried about leaving them in the garage. But have you checked your garage lately to see just how secure it actually is? And if it is broken into, can a thief get into your home?
Now that’s got you thinking and checking, we are going to talk you through what you need to address to make sure your belongings are safe. The sentence given to a criminal who breaks into and steals from a garage is less than that of those who target homes, making garage thefts seem less risky to a potential burglar.
Garage Door
Is your garage door old? Does the lock work properly? Does your door get stuck easily?
Well, it may be time for a new garage door. Security and locks have changed and improved immensely over the past decade, making it harder for thieves to access your garage. When making use of the latest security technology, your garage door can help prevent break ins – especially if it is a up and over garage door, as these can be harder to open from a thief’s perspective.
Side Doors
Like your main garage door above, if you have a side door to your garage, that too needs to be secure. No matter whether it is connected to your house or not, either way you won’t want a potential criminal entering your garage, or for it to be easy access to your house.
Make sure it is locked at all times, and if it is old, have a think about renewing it. Again, the locks and security measures doors have now are greatly improved compared to those even fifteen years ago. Make sure the key to the side door and the main garage door are not left in the locks, even when you are using the garage, and that they are stored away securely.
Security Lights
Adding security lights to your garage, particularly ones that come on when someone walks past, are a good deterrent to someone looking to break in. They will immediately be illuminated to you and your neighbours, and with fear of being caught will be quick to get off your property.
Cover Up
Make sure no items that are valuable or sentimental to you are easily seen from the outside, either through a garage window or when you have your door open. Cover and store items out of sight and, if possible, in boxes. If you have roof rafters where you are able to store items, then this a great place to do so as it will be harder for a burglar to reach them – so long as no ladders are available for them to use.
Alarm
Have an alarm fitted to your garage for extra security. You can get a battery operated alarm, which are often low key in looks but pack a punch when it comes to detecting movement or your garage door opening. A loud alarm will sound, scaring off even the most intent of burglars.
The top five items most commonly stolen from a garage are:
- Bikes
- Mowers
- Sports equipment
- Power tools
- Garden tools
With this is mind, try and keep bigger items chained to something within your garage. This will be another obstacle that the thieves will have to get through when they are trying to rush to grab something from your garage. If you do your best to put in place the best security measures, you are less likely to be a target.
