Improving security of up and over garage door

joeyhalloran

Hey All,

We have recently moved and looking to increase the security of the garage doors. They seem pretty flimsy at the moment and were installed quite some time ago. We are getting a quote to replace the entire door with something more secure but I also want to know what options we have if that quote comes in above what we wanted to pay.

I have seen pairs of garage bolts that go in each corner which look pretty good. Has anyone got experience with these?

Is there any way of replacing the lock of the existing garage door with a 4 point lock? It would be good to only have to undo 1 lock rather than one in each corner.

Any other advice would be useful.

david37

the bolts which go in each corner are great but if someone wants to get in, its the work of seconds to bend down the door or smash it off its runners.

I reckon the door bolts might put them off unless they know what theyre there for.

i know this from bitter experience. I now have a steel roller door. its painted so it looks good. its also electric which is good because it is very very heavy.

Inside there is an alarm that if it didnt permenantly deafen a thief would certainly disorientate him. who knows he might even stagger back into the road and get run over.

daniel_b

When I had an up and over, I removed the handle altogether, and blanked it off.

Bolted 6 bits of wood (drilled the screw heads after tightening so a scrote could not simply undo them - 4 per piece of wood) on to the inside, one on each side that took a big chunky slide bolt, and then the 4 on the bottom of the front door, which also took bolts, and for which I drilled down into the concrete.

Means you can't simply open it from outside, but it was a double, and quite the mission anyway.
Switched to an electric roller door a couple of years ago, and it's night and day. So much more usable, much more space inside, and much more secure.

DeVlaeminck

By chance I just this afternoon made the schoolboy error of leaving my up and over open while I did some work on my vespa. Looked up to see two teens in hoodies looking in at me - asked me some stuff about the scooter - walked past me 30 minutes later and one hid his face.

Local Facebook page two teens of same description have tried to nick a twist and go scooter down the road and tried some car doors , great!

I'm moving soon so gonna shift the bikes and turbo out this evening - it's got a cheap alarm in the garage and I've just stuck an alarmed padlock in the outside hopefully that puts them off. Kicking myself as I never normally leave the door up .

lesfirth

If your only access to the garage door is the front door, as I have now, you have a big problem. At my previous house I had a side door. There I used four little G clamps to clamp the door at each corner the the roller track. Where I am now my bikes are locked together, I have an old curtain to hide my bikes from view when the door is open and I have an alarm.

nibnob21

Won't give too much detail on an open online forum but I have an alarm for my garage, which is next to the house. There are loads on the market and you can get some pretty effective ones for not a lot of money.

Long and short of it with mine is that as soon as the garage door moves the alarm is going off, that is of course unless you have a means of disarming it first as I do. And if the door alarm fails I have backups. It's loud enough for me to hear it from the house and it to piss off the neighbours. Also possible to get ones that will call/text you.

Defence in depth as well, like DeVlaeminck has just demonstrated, a decent line of defence is not displaying things in the first place...or maybe the lesson is don't live somewhere sh!t?

jimbohorizontal

I've wedged a length of former window frame between the nearby truss and the top of the up-and-over door.

I do live somewhere nice, though.

david37

if the courts would just lock the thieving scuum up it would be the best deterrent. instead a few scum bags cause loads of damage and loss and everyone else pays and pays and pays because the system wants to help them.

10/10 for the system i say. it's certainly helping the scum.

the thing is they might go out and attempt ten break ins a night for one success. thats ten people with physical damage to the property plus mental stress plus the time it takes to repair. and it only takes a minute for the scum to do that.

as for bikes theyre just like tools and machinery, theyre sold for the price of a fix.

cut their hands off.

oblongomaculatus

DeVlaeminck said:

By chance I just this afternoon made the schoolboy error of leaving my up and over open while I did some work on my vespa. Looked up to see two teens in hoodies looking in at me - asked me some stuff about the scooter - walked past me 30 minutes later and one hid his face.

Local Facebook page two teens of same description have tried to nick a twist and go scooter down the road and tried some car doors , great!

I'm moving soon so gonna shift the bikes and turbo out this evening - it's got a cheap alarm in the garage and I've just stuck an alarmed padlock in the outside hopefully that puts them off. Kicking myself as I never normally leave the door up .

Might have been a good idea to have reported this to the local police, ideally straight away, with a description of the suspicious characters. Then any patrol cars in the area could keep an eye out for them and maybe have a "friendly word", which could deter them from coming back later. If they were up to no good, the chances are they are already known to the police so if there are any break ins in the area the cops will know who to call on.

I hate thieves.

womack

daniel_b said:

When I had an up and over, I removed the handle altogether, and blanked it off.

Bolted 6 bits of wood (drilled the screw heads after tightening so a scrote could not simply undo them - 4 per piece of wood) on to the inside, one on each side that took a big chunky slide bolt, and then the 4 on the bottom of the front door, which also took bolts, and for which I drilled down into the concrete.

Means you can't simply open it from outside, but it was a double, and quite the mission anyway.
Switched to an electric roller door a couple of years ago, and it's night and day. So much more usable, much more space inside, and much more secure.

Daniel. Looking at going electric roller door myself. Interested in the part you say more secure.

Do they have multipoint locks on them, is that how they are more secure?

Total novice to electric doors so any tips you may have gratefully received.

joeyhalloran

Unfortunately are only access to the garage is the up and over. We have considered putting an extra door in on the house side but at the moment I am not sure funds would allow. The garage is not overlooked in anyway which is an advantage in that no one will see whats in it but disadvantage in that it's out the way. We have a Yale alarm and I am going to put a sensor in the garage but I also don't want to rely just on that.

darkhairedlord

Weld it shut.

elbowloh

Put some ground anchor things in and chain the door down to them.

Dorset_Boy

Wire it up to the mains?

super_davo

I go for the multiple lines of defence theory.

Make it as hard to get into the garage as you can do for a reasonable budget. Screwfix & Toolstation are great for stuff like that as are their forums for advice. Don't advertise that you're likely to have expensive bikes in your garage (no event / cycling group car stickers / stuff hanging up in your windows / posting your exact start finish of rides on Strava / leaving a bike rack on your car for weeks). Alarm it & put IP cameras in (HotUKDeals is your friend to find something cheap).

If all else fails & someone were to get in, then anchor down the stuff that's really important. I've got a heavy chain and some ground anchors which secure 3 bikes. Not everything is anchored down as that would be a ballache, which then means I have "sacrificial lambs" so that if someone were to get through they hopefully take them and run.

None of these measures are perfect. If someone had targetted you and really wanted your stuff and had the tools they would get through. But that is true of most security measures, and a significant proportion of thefts are opportunists. For those, you've just got to make it hard enough that there are lower hanging fruit elsewhere

itboffin

Jeebuz where do you people live? 😳

DeVlaeminck

oblongomaculatus said:

DeVlaeminck said:

By chance I just this afternoon made the schoolboy error of leaving my up and over open while I did some work on my vespa. Looked up to see two teens in hoodies looking in at me - asked me some stuff about the scooter - walked past me 30 minutes later and one hid his face.

Local Facebook page two teens of same description have tried to nick a twist and go scooter down the road and tried some car doors , great!

I'm moving soon so gonna shift the bikes and turbo out this evening - it's got a cheap alarm in the garage and I've just stuck an alarmed padlock in the outside hopefully that puts them off. Kicking myself as I never normally leave the door up .

Might have been a good idea to have reported this to the local police, ideally straight away, with a description of the suspicious characters. Then any patrol cars in the area could keep an eye out for them and maybe have a "friendly word", which could deter them from coming back later. If they were up to no good, the chances are they are already known to the police so if there are any break ins in the area the cops will know who to call on.

I hate thieves.

Unfortunately it was only later I read that they'd been up to no good - before then it was just two teenage lads in hoodies who spoke to me about a vespa.

Re. not living in a censored area - it's actually a conservation zone and the road at the end of our cul de sac Belper Road has the highest average house prices in the city - admittedly ours is bringing the batting average down a bit! It's just because it's close to the city centre - it's 5 minutes walking distance for us but also anyone who wants to walk out and do some opportunist thieving. Where we are moving is a bland middle class 1960s suburb but being that bit further out the thieves will need transport.

webboo

At my last house the up and over door was the only access to the garage and although it was in decent area. There was always people passing so they could see in and I had a climbing wall in it, so I needed to have the door at least half open for a bit more light. After looking at various security options most of which advertise you’ve got something valuable in there. We bit the bullet and had bi fold doors fitted, I only ever then needed to open the door bit of the doors and there was more light.
Current house has a roll over shutter door which looks like plastic, however if you break through that, you have to dismantle the current climbing wall to get to the garage proper.
On previous house with an up and over door and side access I screwed coach bolts through holes in the door in to the wood frame. Which meant it didn’t open.

Defblade

Up and over doors are never going to be very secure.
You can look up garage defenders - but they bolt down outside and maybe advertise you've got something worth nicking. Autolock do an internal one that's a bit more subtle, just an extra keyhole on the outside.
My first house, I fitted mortice deadlocks, keyed-alike, either side of the door, maybe 2/3rds up.
But whatever you do, the door can be bashed, folded or cut away around/between the locks.
Internal IP camera that rings your phone, alarm, etc, maybe better these days.

david37

the best defence is a kin mahoooosive dog with distemper.

And razor wire. Claymores are frowned on for domestic security but an "inspection pit" might be worthwhile.

womack

webboo said:

At my last house the up and over door was the only access to the garage and although it was in decent area. There was always people passing so they could see in and I had a climbing wall in it,

How tall was the garage!!

webboo

This sort of climbing wall

Except that seems to be upside down and I’m not sure why the picture of holiday cottage we rented appeared.

nibnob21

DeVlaeminck said:

oblongomaculatus said:

DeVlaeminck said:

By chance I just this afternoon made the schoolboy error of leaving my up and over open while I did some work on my vespa. Looked up to see two teens in hoodies looking in at me - asked me some stuff about the scooter - walked past me 30 minutes later and one hid his face.

Local Facebook page two teens of same description have tried to nick a twist and go scooter down the road and tried some car doors , great!

I'm moving soon so gonna shift the bikes and turbo out this evening - it's got a cheap alarm in the garage and I've just stuck an alarmed padlock in the outside hopefully that puts them off. Kicking myself as I never normally leave the door up .

Might have been a good idea to have reported this to the local police, ideally straight away, with a description of the suspicious characters. Then any patrol cars in the area could keep an eye out for them and maybe have a "friendly word", which could deter them from coming back later. If they were up to no good, the chances are they are already known to the police so if there are any break ins in the area the cops will know who to call on.

I hate thieves.

Unfortunately it was only later I read that they'd been up to no good - before then it was just two teenage lads in hoodies who spoke to me about a vespa.

Re. not living in a censored area - it's actually a conservation zone and the road at the end of our cul de sac Belper Road has the highest average house prices in the city - admittedly ours is bringing the batting average down a bit! It's just because it's close to the city centre - it's 5 minutes walking distance for us but also anyone who wants to walk out and do some opportunist thieving. Where we are moving is a bland middle class 1960s suburb but being that bit further out the thieves will need transport.

Little bit no man's land there isn't it, like you say just a bit too close to the city. Even just a tiny bit further up into Darley Abbey would probably avoid it. Heading to Allestree by any chance?

fullfathom5

On my up and over garage door I put a length of wood that I have cut to the correct size in each of the runners.

DeVlaeminck

nibnob21 said:

DeVlaeminck said:

oblongomaculatus said:

DeVlaeminck said:

By chance I just this afternoon made the schoolboy error of leaving my up and over open while I did some work on my vespa. Looked up to see two teens in hoodies looking in at me - asked me some stuff about the scooter - walked past me 30 minutes later and one hid his face.

Local Facebook page two teens of same description have tried to nick a twist and go scooter down the road and tried some car doors , great!

I'm moving soon so gonna shift the bikes and turbo out this evening - it's got a cheap alarm in the garage and I've just stuck an alarmed padlock in the outside hopefully that puts them off. Kicking myself as I never normally leave the door up .

Might have been a good idea to have reported this to the local police, ideally straight away, with a description of the suspicious characters. Then any patrol cars in the area could keep an eye out for them and maybe have a "friendly word", which could deter them from coming back later. If they were up to no good, the chances are they are already known to the police so if there are any break ins in the area the cops will know who to call on.

I hate thieves.

Unfortunately it was only later I read that they'd been up to no good - before then it was just two teenage lads in hoodies who spoke to me about a vespa.

Re. not living in a censored area - it's actually a conservation zone and the road at the end of our cul de sac Belper Road has the highest average house prices in the city - admittedly ours is bringing the batting average down a bit! It's just because it's close to the city centre - it's 5 minutes walking distance for us but also anyone who wants to walk out and do some opportunist thieving. Where we are moving is a bland middle class 1960s suburb but being that bit further out the thieves will need transport.

Little bit no man's land there isn't it, like you say just a bit too close to the city. Even just a tiny bit further up into Darley Abbey would probably avoid it. Heading to Allestree by any chance?

We are just far enough out we've not really had any bother - had an old bike nicked from the back garden but not bad for 20 years. A couple of streets further in and towards St Mary's church they do seem to suffer more with petty crime. I do like the area though - great community spirit too - street parties and community Easter egg hunts all that kind of stuff.

Yes moving to Allestree off Carsington - it's my mum's house - she's moved to a bungalow after my dad died last Summer. Even there suffers from its share of crime though a lad in my youngest kids' (twins) year at school just got four years for a knifepoint robbery on the rec. Suppose it's always gone on.

nibnob21

Aye nowhere's perfect. We very nearly moved to a place right next to St Mary's but ended up on Ashbourne Road. Moved out of the city several years ago now though to the safest of safeville. Still, neighbour got broken into recently by opportunists...hence why I alarmed my garage (just to bring things back on topic slightly).

joeyhalloran

Just got a quote of £800 to replace it with a four-point locking garage door.

So my options are:
1) add locks to existing door and/or and anchor points (which only helps store things which can be locked down, i.e. bikes)
2) try and find a second hand door and fit it myself (I don't have much time as we have a 4 month old), probably ~£150-200 for the door perhaps?
3) pay £800

veronese68

Sorry, meant to post earlier but copying links on my phone is a hassle. I fitted a pair of locks like this to my up and over door.
https://saundersonsecurity.co.uk/asec-garage-door-lock.html
Yes, it's still possible to force the door and bend it or something, but it's a major hassle and most would go for an easier target. The lower you fit the locks the better as there will be a smaller gap if anyone bends the bottom of the door up. Just means you have to bend lower to unlock it. Mine were about a foot off ground level, nobody was going to crawl through that gap to steal a couple of bikes. Much easier than fitting a new door and pretty secure if you ask me.
I've now changed the door to a pair of side hinged and have re-fitted the same locks going up and down. One of them has started to get a bit sticky, but it's well over 10 years old.

joeyhalloran

I did look at them and they seem like a good option but I am worried that as the locking bolts are exposed it would be pretty easy to cut through them.

veronese68

The locks fit inside the door, someone would have to grind the heads off the coach bolts which would be bloody noisy.
This is one fitted vertically

First.Aspect

Park your car right up against it.