Imagine…it’s the middle of the night and darkness engulfs a cozy kingdom nestled at the end of a cul-de-sac. The almost worthless incandescent bulb hanging above your garage door flickers irregularly, as if mustering up its final breaths before burning out altogether. In the distance of the night, a fowl beast grows nearer; one whose skin burns brighter than the decaying light illuminating your garage door and whose soul was sculpted out of fire and shadows.
Resting inside is an old man cloaked in grey. His aged hand pulls a single shade down to observe the approaching doom. Just as the beast is about to pass into the realm of flickering light being casted onto the ground, the bulb takes one final breath before falling into an eternal sleep. The beast’s ember-like skin flares up from the passing of a gentle breeze as it approaches the garage door.
Out steps the old man, who takes a firm stance in front of the garage door. He draws back his hood and now takes on a wizardly form with what appears to be the beard of Zeus hanging from his shrewd face. The wizard knows he must defend his kingdom and take arms against this demon forged from the fiery furnaces of darkness. The beast takes up its flaming whip and cracks it on the concrete. The wizard reveals a wooden staff from under his cloak and raises it into the air. As he drives the wood into the ground, he yells “YOU! SHALL NOT! PASS!”
How far would you go to protect against intruders? Burglars and thieves prey on garage doors seeing as they can be giant weak spots for entry. We all can’t be Gandalf from Lord Of The Rings, so we’re stuck defending our kingdoms with…more realistic security methods. Sorcery, wizardry and incantations? Get real. We’re human…we specialize in trickery.
Following are some tips and tricks to make your garage door more secure:
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Rethink Thou Remote Opener: Where do you normally place your remote opener? Clipped to the sun visor? If your car is parked in your driveway and the garage door remote is visible then you’re begging for trouble. Put in your glove box or hidden compartment.
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Deadbolt of Thunder: If never hurts to be overprotective sometimes. Install a deadbolt for your garage door. This doesn’t mean you have to use all the time because I’m sure you’ll get annoyed having to unlatch it all the time. However, it’s a great installation to have if you’re going on vacation or if you only use your garage for storage and don’t actually open it on a regular basis.
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Seal Potential Pathways: If your garage has windows and, if it’s attached to your home, a door that leads inside, make sure to keep them sealed. All entry ways must be locked. Most homeowners don’t lock the door that leads into their home, so if a burglar manages to breach your garage then the rest is easy.
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Install a Peeping Hole: Majority of the time, it’s not really cool to be a peeping tom, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. If you install a peeping hole in your garage door or in a wall near it, you’ll be able to peer outside without having to open the door. This is a safe way to check what’s outside without putting yourself at risk.
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Darken Thou Enemy’s Line of Sight: If your garage door has windows, slap some tint on those bad boys so no one can look inside and see what goods you’re carrying.
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Keep Everything Secret, Keep Everything Safe: If you do store a lot of items in your garage, stow away everything in boxes and keep everything from view. That way, when you open your garage door, no one will be able to really tell what is inside.
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Light the Way: This should be pretty obvious, but make sure the area around your garage door is well lit. If someone is going to attempt a B & E at least make it difficult for them. If you want to startle them, you can add a motion detector light.
Written by the staff of G.P. Construction, the leading experts in garage door repair Columbia MO has to offer!