Detached garages have gained popularity in the last few years for several reasons. The building or addition of a detached garage to your home is a relatively easy renovation, yields a high return on investment, and adds numerous advantages to your day-to-day life. Detached garages increase the storage capacity of a home without commandeering its facade, and there’s no need to make monthly payments on a storage unit when it’s in your backyard or across the driveway! Storing large and important things in your detached garage is a great way to keep everything protected from the elements without taking up space in your house.
However, before you decide to add a detached garage to your home, or even if you already have one, it’s important to know how to keep your garage and everything in it safe and secure. Because a detached garage is separate from your home, it’s crucial to think about garage security alongside traditional home security. Below, we outline some of the most important things to consider when thinking about security systems for your detached garage.
Detached Garage Safety Tips
Before we get into security systems and technology that will keep your garage safe, there are a few easy ways to secure your garage without the need for any special tools or tricks.
When Building a Detached Garage
If you’ve decided to add a detached garage to your home, you have the unique opportunity to ensure safety in all aspects of its design. This includes where the garage is located on your property and what sits around the structure. A key consideration in determining the placement of your garage is visibility. Be sure to place your garage away from any high walls, shrubs, or trees, where potential burglars can seek shelter from anyone or anything nearby. Similarly, you want to make sure that your garage does not sit in the shadow of your home during daylight hours. Burglars often target detached garages because it is harder to hear any commotion in the garage from within a house, so maintaining visibility, even when people are home, is crucial.
When Using your Detached Garage
Security issues and burglaries can occur even when your garage is in use by a member of the household. Burglaries can happen in a matter of minutes; even in the time it takes you to step inside the house to get something to drink. There are many ways that you can prevent an unfortunate incident or oversight. When working in the garage, it is important to close your garage door, even if you or a family member is inside. Potential burglars often “case,” or survey, the homes and buildings that they intend to break into, so even if you are inside the garage, it is possible that a burglar walking by may see something that they like, such as expensive tools or a car being kept in storage. Keeping your garage door closed can help prevent attracting unwanted attention.
It is vital to inform members of the household, or anyone who frequently uses your detached garage, of the importance of getting into the habit of closing garage doors when entering and exiting the garage. If your garage door has a lock, be sure to remind your family members to lock the door each time they open and close the garage.
You can also invest in a smart garage door opener, which uses sensors to allow you to remotely open and close the door at will. There are also smart devices for your garage door that will alert you when the door is opened or closed. We will go into more detail about how to improve your home security system using different kinds of technology below.
When your Detached Garage is Not in Use
If your garage is not in use, or if no one is home to keep an eye on it, it is important to make sure that your detached garage is safe from potential intruders. Two easy ways to do this are to provide adequate lighting for your garage and to invest in a good lock. Be sure that your detached garage is well-lit in the evenings and at night so that members of the household, neighbors, and even police patrols can easily see if someone is lurking around. There are even motion-activated lights that save energy and will alert you to any unwanted activity around the garage.
There are a number of locks on the market for garage doors. A simple kind of lock that we recommend is a turn bolt lock, which allows for the added security of a deadbolt without allowing those outside of the garage to see where the lock is located. There are also different forms of lock hardware, such as hinge pins, that will reinforce your lock system if a crafty burglar attempts to get in.
These are all effective ways to keep your detached garage more secure, but there are many ways that you can further improve the security of your garage using specialized technology and security systems.
Detached Garage Surveillance
There are many options for security cameras to monitor your garage while you are away. For detached garage surveillance, you will want to make sure that you pick a quality outdoor security camera. Outdoor cameras are well-equipped to handle all kinds of weather and light conditions, often come in durable materials to prevent tampering, and offer night vision to catch all the necessary details of a burglary, even in the dark. It is also important to get a camera with a motion detector included so that you will be notified while the camera is detecting motion, giving you the opportunity to act before anything happens to your garage. You will want these cameras to face not only your garage doors but also all around your detached garage to make sure that no potential burglar is lying in wait.
Professional monitoring is another option for extra security, both when you are away and at home. Professional monitoring can be especially useful when you are away on vacation or important business and cannot attend to security matters. When a sensor or alarm is triggered for your garage, a representative from the professional monitoring service will contact you or notify local authorities of the incident. Many professional monitoring services offer 24/7 support. Because most burglaries occur in the middle of the day while homeowners and their families are at work and school, it is comforting to have someone whose sole purpose is to make sure that your detached garage and everything in it is secure.
Alarm Systems for your Detached Garage
While cameras are great for capturing any suspicious activity or incident that occurs in or around your detached garage, monitoring the event is often not enough to deter or stop a burglary. You will want to be notified of any suspicious activity and will want the potential burglar to know that they have been caught in the act! There are a number of alarm systems on the market with a variety of security features, including smart home compatibility, energy management, carbon monoxide detection, smoke detection, and wellness alerts for independent seniors. Many of these alarm systems are meant for the home, but oftentimes a detached garage can be integrated into existing alarm systems.
Completing your Garage Security System
Ultimately, the best garage security system is one that utilizes both the surveillance and alarm aspects of the systems we have covered above. There are nearly endless possibilities for security systems to secure your detached garage. The trick is to find out what kind of security works best for you. This can be hard to figure out, and comprehensive security systems can be difficult to maintain, especially in a household where a majority of the members work or go to school. One of the best options for comprehensive security is to work with a security company that can take your specific needs into account when developing a customized security system for you.
Custom Security Systems for Detached Garages with Mesa Alarm Systems
Mesa Alarm Systems specializes in creating customized security systems for each and every client in Houston and the surrounding areas. With over 25 years of experience in residential and commercial security, we have the expertise and resources to meet all of your security needs. Mesa Alarm Systems offers 24/7, 365-days-a-year professional monitoring, professional system installation and repair, and a range of equipment options, including burglar alarms, fire alarms, medic alert systems, surveillance cameras, and access control systems.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment where we can discuss your security concerns and priorities and plan a tailor-made detached garage security system just for you.