Garage Security: 8 Tips for Safeguarding Your Cars and Tools

GARAGE SAFETY 101 

 An open garage with cars, lots of expensive tools and other items is an inviting site to a criminal looking to make a score. Here are 8 Tips for Safeguarding Your Cars and Tools

1. 1. Don’t flash what you have – Try to avoid leaving your garage door open so that everyone who drives or walks by has a full view of your stuff. Even if you’re working in the garage, leaving the doors down is best. Don’t park your high-dollar antique vehicle outside, where everyone can see it. Try to keep what you have under wraps – and keep a low profile.
   2. Keep the door locked – This is just common sense – but it’s a fact that many thieves never have to break into anything. They just walk right on in – and walk away (or drive away) with your stuff. Use a high-quality door lock, plus a deadbolt. If you have an outside electric keypad opener, don’t use an obvious code or tell too many people what the code is.
   3. If your garage has doors with windows, consider replacing them with solid doors- As nice as it is to have a door with an upper glass section to let the sunshine in, glass allows a would-be thief to see inside your place – and get in is as simple as smashing out the window. The same goes for the entry/side door. If it’s one of those that has a large glass panel, easily smashed, consider replacing it with a solid unit that will make life harder on a would-be thief.
   4. Install a bright light near your garage– Ideally, one with a motion sensor. The light should be of the floodlight type – and either far enough up or otherwise out of reach that it would take at least a little bit of effort to defeat it by smashing the bulb or some such.
   5. Consider an alarm system- You might even get a rate reduction on your homeowner’s (as well as your classic car) insurance.
   6. Make your stuff harder to steal – Tools should be secured in heavy, hard-to-remove/move (and locked) tool cases; ideally, cases permanently fixed to hard points such as the floor or workbenches. Locked cabinets bolted to the wall studs work well. Garage doors should have heavy metal lock bars and other such devices to make them difficult for an unauthorized user to open. An eye bolt drilled into a concrete floor provides a secure anchor point for a chain to keep your bicycle (or motorcycle) where it belongs.
   7. ID your stuff – Mark vehicles (as well as expensive tools/equipment)  with a punch, Dremel tool or some such in a not-visible/hard-to-access place so that if the vehicle (or tools/equipment) is stolen and found later on, the cops will know it was stolen, and also, you can prove it is yours.

worth of tools. Read your policy carefully – and confirm the details with your agent. It’s also a smart idea to do a full inventory of everything you have – with pictures or video for backup if you get robbed and need to verify the extent of your loss. Similarly, be sure your vehicles – especially antique/collectable ones – are fully insured for their specific value (what’s known in the business as an “agreed value” policy). That means if your vehicle is stolen and not recovered, you will receive the previously agreed-upon value listed in your coverage. No haggling after the fact over what it was worth. A related point: Many of us neglect to update our policies as we update our cars – or as the retail market value of the car changes. If you recently had your car professionally re-painted, you should ensure your policy/coverage reflects that. Be sure the “agreed value” is up to date, not based on what the car was worth five years ago when you first took out the policy.

SOME BONUS TIPS TO CONSIDER: 

• Most modern garage doors have a physical lock that can be engaged to impede the up and down movement of the door. When you go on vacation or leave your home for an extended trip, engage in this lock. You can even go as far as unplugging the garage door opener power cord. Both of these methods would prevent the use of a stolen remote opener or the use of a spoofed signal.
• If possible, clean and organize your garage so that you can actually park your cars within. Several cars parked in my neighbourhood’s driveway were victims of a smash-and-grab burglar one night. Our cars were unharmed because they were parked inside the closed garage.
• Just as you would change out the door locks on a newly purchased house, you should also change the remote opener codes and keypad codes for the garage door opener. Look up the website of the manufacturer for instructions.

If you’d like a free security review of your home or workplace  – give us a call. We’d be happy to meet you.

Keep safe!

Allan