Advice
Garage door security
The garage is the largest opening in most houses and usually the least considered. Here is how people actually get in through one, and what each fix costs.
Call 214-733-2371Where it gives
Five weak points
None of these are exotic. Four of the five cost nothing to fix.
- 01
The emergency release cord
Every opener has a red cord that disconnects the door from the trolley so you can lift it by hand in a power cut. On many doors that cord can be reached from outside with a length of stiff wire pushed through the gap at the top of the door. Once it's pulled, the door lifts like it isn't powered at all.
The fix: A shield over the trolley, or a cord short enough that it can't be hooked. What you must not do is remove or disable the release — you need it working the day the power goes out with a car inside.
- 02
An opener old enough to use a fixed code
Openers from the early 1990s and before used a fixed code set with DIP switches inside the remote. There are only so many combinations, and a code grabber can record and replay one. Rolling-code openers generate a new code every single time the button is pressed, which makes a recording useless.
The fix: If your remote has a row of little switches inside the battery cover, it's fixed code. That's the clearest upgrade case on this page.
- 03
The door from the garage into the house
Once someone is inside the garage they're out of sight of the street and have as long as they want. That interior door is very often left unlocked, and it's frequently a hollow-core door with a passage knob rather than a deadbolt.
The fix: Lock it, and treat it as an exterior door. It is one — it just doesn't look like one.
- 04
Windows in the bottom sections
Glazing in the lower half of the door tells anyone walking past whether a car is in there, which tells them whether anyone is home.
The fix: Frosted or obscured inserts, or windows only in the top section. Both are options on every door we fit.
- 05
A remote clipped to the visor
A car parked on the driveway with a remote in it is a key to the house sitting in a box people know how to open. Same for a keypad still running the code it was installed with.
The fix: Use a keychain remote or the phone app, and change the keypad code. Both are free.
Don’t disable the release
Zip-tying or cutting the emergency release is advice that gets passed around, and it is bad advice. That cord is how you get a car out during a power cut, and how someone gets a door off a person. Shield it, don’t defeat it.
No charge
Do these yourself
- Lock the door between the garage and the house.
- Change the keypad code, and pick something that isn't the house number.
- Take the remote out of a car that lives on the driveway.
- Check the remote for DIP switches — if it has them, the opener is fixed code.
- Fit a slide lock or a C-clamp on the track when you're away for more than a day.
- Turn on open/left-open alerts if the opener supports them.
Where we come in
What we’d charge for
Release shield fitted
Covers the trolley so the cord can't be hooked from outside, with the release still working from inside.
Rolling-code opener
Replaces a fixed-code unit. Also gets you a keypad, phone control, and battery backup.
Obscured window inserts
Swapped into an existing door, or specified on a new one.
Slide lock fitted
A proper track lock rather than a clamp, for houses that sit empty regularly.
Already booked us for something else? Ask and we’ll check the release, the code type, and the interior door while we’re there — no charge. (214) 733-2371
Get started
Ask us to check your garage
Tell us what's happening and where, and we'll call you back. If the door is stuck or a car is trapped, phone us — that's always faster.
- Hours
- Open 24 hours, 7 days a week
- Shop
- 1912 University Business Dr Suite 403, McKinney, Texas 75071
- Response time
- Same-day service on most repair calls
Request service
Four quick questions. We’ll ask the rest when we call.