Today's homeowners may require access to their homes from their garages for a variety of reasons, such as letting children use keyless entry to get inside the house after school. Unfortunately, many home robberies take place either in the garage or the house thanks to access through the door. Here are a few tips and features you can add to help keep your home secure.

Know the basics: opening and closing

If you are running errands, working in the garage, or letting your children play outside, you may return inside the house without thinking about the garage. Now, imagine that it is late at night and you cannot remember if you closed it. Thankfully, you can purchase an in-house monitor that can tell you when your garage door has been left open.

On the other hand, you always want to be able to open your door in case of an emergency. If the power goes out, you should not have to worry about not being able to use your electronic opener. Today's newer garage opener models run on less power, which allows them to have a standby feature. This, with a battery backup system, will help ensure that your door can be opened and closed several times during a power outage. If you are interested in installing a new operating system, contact a professional garage door repair specialist for advice and assistance.

Embrace keyless entry

Older garage door openers and their single-code remote controls were more vulnerable to thieves who found ways to steal the code and gain access. Today, however, operating systems offer a rolling code system that keeps outsiders from hacking into the system. In addition, keypads can be installed outside the and offer keyless entry with easily changeable codes. More advanced models require fingerprints, ensuring that your code won't be shared. You can input the fingerprints of all users into the system, add temporary access for a neighbor or in-law, or create a code for short-term use only. This eliminates the need to make and hide spare keys around your front porch or mailbox.

Protect the interior

Even if your door is in good shape, someone may still try to find a way to get into the space. Ensure that any back doors or garage windows are sealed properly and kept locked. If your garage has an interior door leading into your home, be sure to lock it at night and while you are on vacation. Additionally, make sure the interior door is included on any home alarm system. If you are traveling and away for more than a couple of days, hire a reputable house-sitter to keep an eye on things.

The bottom line: make garage repairs now

A cheap, weak-looking, or broken door may attract unwanted guests. Ward off potential break-ins by not waiting to make door repairs. Perform maintenance and upkeep checks, and consider adding extra security features to help keep your home safe.

Garage Door Repair or Replacement?

Replacing a garage door opener is considered as one of the last steps in repair. Before you decide to proceed with this drastic step, consider checking other minor parts that could be the cause of the malfunction. For example, check the spring repair, the hinges and the rollers first. After you've checked everything minor, only then should you consider replacing the opener.

Openers that were manufactured before the turn of the century have noticeable safety defects. In fact, those manufactured before the year 1993 do not pass safety standards imposed today. If you have an older opener, simply replacing it with a newer model would help to ensure the safety of your family. The cost of the item varies depending on the style and brand you want, but they are easily available in home supply stores.

The Art of Choosing

When choosing an opener, you must take into account several factors, like power, quiet operation, safety and security. Make sure that the one you choose has enough power to handle the weight of your garage door. It is also important to choose an opener that has a quiet operation. Who would want a noisy opener anyway? It would be extremely inconvenient, especially if there is a bedroom positioned beside or above the garage.