Today security is part and parcel of any home, but one area that is often overlooked is the garage. The experts from Garador explain its importance
Modern burglars know that a garage door can be the weakest point of entry in a modern house, and they also know that valuable electrical goods, sporting equipment and other tools are often stored in garages. Some garages offer access to the back of the house, where entry can be made into the house away from the view of neighbours.
In recent years, there has been a great step forward in the design of modern garage doors to try and make them more secure. One major change was the introduction of Secured by Design. This is a police initiative that gives special accreditation to garage doors that includes certain features that offer extra security.
Protective
The first company in Britain to introduce these special SBD accredited doors was leading garage door manufacturer Garador. Today SBD doors have progressed and are now available in a wide range of designs and styles to suit all homes. For instance, Garador’s specialist SBD accredited Guardian range of garage doors offers the latest in security for the ever popular Up & Over doors, all engineered to offer greater protection than normal garage doors and all tested to withstand a break-in by a burglar.
Made of galvanised high-grade steel, they have been designed with a number of special protective features including high security bracing, an anti-snap cylinder with solid locking rods plus a reinforced plate for lock body protection; the sacrificial front has been designed to prevent entry even after an attack. Even the attractive windows on glazed doors have been designed with security in mind, and come in solid black to ensure no one outside can see goods stored in the garage. The specialist Guardian range comes in three great styles, the Carlton, Horizon and Salisbury models.
More recently this special SBD accreditation has been introduced to other types of garage doors as well. A good example is Garador’s carefully designed SBD accredited sectional garage door which incorporates additional safety feature including a built-in anti-lift kit with a mechanical lock inside the operator’s boom for security. These great looking sectional garage doors have been precision engineered with security in mind and have all been fully tested to withstand a break in by a burglar.
One thing to look out for when checking SBD accredited garage doors is their insulation. In some homes, especially when the garage is used to store electrical equipment or used as a gym, extra insulation is important. Today top manufacturers should be able to offer an SBD accredited garage door option with excellent insulation.
Front Doors
With growing demand for high security products, Garador has also launched a special range of beautifully designed front entrance doors called FrontGuard. These doors are available in two ranges, with the FrontGuard-46 and the FrontGuard-65, both of which have a polyurethane foam filled core to reduce heat loss and noise. As the name suggests, the former has a 46mm thick door leaf and the latter a 65mm door leaf. A 60mm or 80mm aluminium frame, with thermal break built into the frame further improves stability and heat retention.
Whilst standard multi-point locking, protects against forced entry and offers peace of mind for homeowners. Shatterproof glazing further enhances the safety of this door. Available in a range of designs and colours, these front doors have been designed to complement Garador’s Guardian garage door range for homes that are seeking a co-ordinated look.
Remote
Electrically operated garage doors with remote control systems have been available for a long time, but recently the security of these automated systems have come under question, with some evidence that signals for garage doors can be copied by tech-minded criminals.
Especially if you keep valuable items in your garage, it is important today to look for specialist automatic operators that offer a high level of protection.
Jon Watson, Managing Director of Garador, says: “Security in remote controls is essential these days. We now offer a high degree of security in our GaraMatic operators thanks to their special 128-bit encryption and bisecur radio technology.”
“This means that the signal being transmitted is almost impossible to copy. These electric operators also offer other exciting features such as integral light for those dark winter’s evenings, partial opening features, timed closing and a mechanical lock built into the boom,” he added.
There is also a remote status query, where an LED light on the remote hand transmitter lights up so that you can quickly check whether an out-of-sight door is open or fully closed. All this gives extra peace of mind.
These specialist GaraMatic models have also been designed specifically to work in conjunction with Garador’s unique BlueSecur app, available for iOS and android smartphones. This means the garage door can be fully operated through a smartphone, controlling features such as partially opening the door for ventilation and turning on the lighting system. The app uses encryption and data protection measures ensuring a high level of security. The HCP-bus connection also allows you to connect the operator to external smart home systems such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home Hub.
Security
“We have been manufacturing garage doors for over 75 years,” said Jon Watson. “But it is only in the last decade that security has been such an issue.
“I recommend anyone looking for a garage door to ensure they also check the security. Today there are some excellent options for modern homes, so you can get great looks and functionality as well as top security; but this is an area that needs to be seriously considered when choosing your new garage door.”
Find out more about Garador’s latest range of garage door designs and operators by visiting www.garador.co.uk.
