Garage Security

Garage Security Tips

How secure is your garage? Many of us forget that a garage is an easy entry point into your home. Here are some tips to protect the valuables stored in your garage (your car, for example) and to prevent criminals from using your garage as an entry point into the rest of your home.

Thieves love to hit garages because they are often filled with cars, bikes, lawnmowers, and other expensive equipment. Garages are rarely occupied at night, giving thieves freedom to break in without being detected. And once they break into the garage, it’s an easy step to break into the house through a flimsy connecting door.

Garage Security: Have a Good Garage Door Opener

A good garage door opener is your first defense against criminals. Electric garage door openers make it difficult for a criminal to force the garage door open. However, criminals are wise to the factory-set combinations that come with garage door touchpads. You must change the combination as soon as you install it to prevent criminals from breaking the code.

Garage Security: Change the Garage Door Combination

1) Take off the lid and examine the set of switches inside. You will see a row of 10 to 12 switches. If all the switches except one of them are facing in the same direction, the combination is unfortunately easy to break.

2) Choose a more complicated combination by flipping several switches to the opposite direction. Match the switches in your receiver to the switches in your main garage security system box. It’s easy to change the combination code on your garage security system.

Garage Security: Inspect the Door

Of course, make sure the door itself is sturdy, with no loose panels, broken panes, damaged corners, or rusty chains. Ensure nobody can pry their way in at a weak spot on the door.

Garage Security: Secure Windows and Doors

Sometimes garages have windows. They should always be securely locked or even have bars on them to keep criminals out.

Garage Security: Secure the Door to the House

Attached garages always have a door to the house. This is a common entry point for criminals, as homeowners carelessly think, since it is an interior door, that it doesn’t need a very sturdy lock. This is not the case. The door from your garage to your home should be as secure as your front door: deadbolt it, chain it, even arm it with an alarm. Criminals often target this door thinking homeowners have overlooked it.

Garage Security: Keep the Door Closed

Always close your garage door, even if you are only running up to the supermarket for a gallon of milk. You should also keep it closed when you are outside, because criminals can observe what you have inside and come back later for the goods.

Garage Security: Arrive Home Safely

When you pull into garage, make absolutely Steel Doors sure that nobody slips in with you before you close the door, or you may lock yourself in with a criminal. Look around all sides and close the door as soon as you know it is safe, then immediately go into the house, and lock the door behind you.

Homeowners often overlook garage security, but a garage is still another room in your house and should be secured as such. After all, you keep your most expensive possession in there: your car.

The Benefits Of Getting An IR Dog Door

Once a homeowner has decided to provide the freedom of a pet door for their companion, the journey of picking just the right brand begins. A variety of concerns often emerges when approaching the purchase of a dog door, as one starts to mull over security problems and wondering if a stray animal will find its way into their home. With the purchase of an IR (infrared) dog door, various models offer coded locks that keep children in the house and other animals on the outside.

The shielding barrier associated with an IR dog door is important to not only enclosing dogs, but also protecting the security of a home. Many pet owners have delay the installation of a dog door because they are not completely sure on the idea of having an uncontrolled entrance to their residence. While dogs can conveniently come and go as they choose, wild animals like raccoons, curious cats and stray animals are kept outside. Preventing these kinds of circumstances, an infrared locking dog China injection molding,laptop batteries door with barriers becomes an good solution.

An IR dog door is is made of of a self-closing magnetic cover that allows only a dog wearing a collar with an attached digitally coded infrared key to gain access to a home. Since the door only opens with this key, entry to the home is restricted to appointed pets. The collar key is powered by a CR2 lithium battery. The pet door also requires four AA 1.5V alkaline batteries in order to work.

The collar key sends out a digitally coded infrared signal so that when dogs come near of the door (about 24 inches), they are able to enter with the door locking behind them. Consumers are also able to set the length of time that the door will automatically latch. Depending on the IR pet door you choose, a consumer may encounter a variety of locking systems, including In Only, In and Out, Out Only or Locked.

Depending on the model and brand, the typical IR dog door may come with a door (interior, exterior with flap, and sometimes a tunnel), locking barrier; one key, one key ring, CR2 lithium battery for collar key, mounting materials, 2 four-way locking handles, warranty card and instructions.

Benefits of Using an IR Dog Door

Pet owners like pet doors because they give their dogs the freedom of coming and leaving as they please. They also don't have to think about letting the dog in and out of the home or forgetting to let them in from the cold. When pet owners and dogs are not on the premises, a consumer may place a barrier (offered with most models) to prevent any entrance into the home.

Since the opening to the home is magnetic - rain, loss of heat, and drafts do not pose a problem when compared to the traditional dog flaps. The magnetic locks effectively keep meandering cats and wild creatures out of the home.

Possible Disadvantage of IR Dog Doors

Some pet owners are worried that the cost of an IR dog door will cost an arm and a leg. However, most units are priced around $185 to $300. Pet owners are also worried about the size of an IR dog door, as most models work well with dogs between 30 and 100 pounds. Smaller breeds may work best with a cat door with infrared lock.

Since most IR pet doors require AA batteries, some consumers do not want the hassle of constantly changing these items. Thankfully, there are some models that work with an A/C adapter, which uses the batteries as backup. Some consumers have also reported about the noisiness of an IR dog door, which has a knack of creating a banging sound when the magnets and plastic come together. When installing, it is best to avoid attaching to doors located close to bedrooms.

It's More Than Just A Door

Doors are more than just a piece of wood that you use to cover an opening in the wall. Yes of course it is going to keep the heat in and the cold out during the winter months, and keep the cold in and the heat out during the summer months. It will even keep out unwanted guest from entering your property when you are not there. Interior doors offer you privacy. Doors have many purposes other than the very obvious ones that I have just stated.

Doors are not as simple as you think that they are at first thought. There are many things that go into a door that offers you smooth functionality, but also the many other benefits that comes along with a door that you haven't even thought of. Let me explain this so you completely understand what I am talking about.

Can you imagine your home without any doors? Now besides the fact that anything and anyone can just come and go as they please, and that your home is going to be very cold or very hot because there are no doors. Without doors your home is just not complete. Okay but here's the thing, adding just any kind of door to your home is not going to be aesthetically pleasing, but it will improve the open hole in the wall that you had.

The type of doors that you put in your home is very important to the overall look of China doors your interior design of your home. The better looking the door the better your home will look.

Exterior doors are very important because this is one area that you must be sure is secure enough to keep out unwanted intruders. There are many different ways that you can do this, and it all is done with using the proper door hardware.

Interior doors are going to leave a lasting impression on your guest if you are purchasing the right doors for your home. It's important that you interior doors match the overall design of the room that it is in. The interior door itself is important but do not forget about the door hardware because it is also very important.

If you are in need of new doors, than it's important that you understand the importance that that specific door has. So if you are looking for an exterior door than you want to be sure that you are purchasing a door that is going to safely secure your home, as well as look beautiful.

You can learn more about choosing the right exterior and interior doors by searching the internet. There are also many online door companies that you can purchase your all of your door needs online, this will save you some money on your purchase because you can shop around.

Removing Your Old Sliding Glass Door

Last week I explained how to measure your existing sliding glass door so you can order the vinyl replacement door. This week I am going to go over the steps required to remove the old sliding door before installing the new door.

First, you have to remove the sliding panel and the Steel Doors stationary panel. The vast majority of doors out there have the sliding panel on the inside half of the track, and the stationary panel is on the outside. Whatever the case in your particular door, the outside panel has to come out first. To remove the fixed panel, you need to remove the sill cap that snaps into the bottom track and runs from the fixed panel to the side jamb where the sliding panel locks. Force a screwdriver into the crease and pry the cap up. Then, look for screws on the inside side jamb holding the fixed panel in place. These screws prevent someone from prying up the sill cap and pulling out the fixed panel in order to gain entry into the home. In addition to the side jamb, be sure to check across the top header and bottom track for screws there as well. Once all the screws have been removed, you need to pull the fixed panel away from the side jamb. You can start by simply grabbing the side rail of the fixed panel and pulling as hard as you can. If you're lucky, the panel will pop free. Then you can lift the panel up as far as it will go into the top channel and swing the bottom away from the track, and remove the panel.

Now, I said "if you're lucky", because in most cases the panel will be stuck in the side jamb, the bottom track, or both. Usually, you're going to have to use a pry bar to loosen the fixed panel before it will slide out of the side jamb. Once the fixed panel is out, removal of the sliding panel is usually easier. Just lift up and swing the bottom away from the track, then remove the panel. Sometimes the bottom rollers will prevent the bottom from swinging out of the track. If that's the case, you will need to find the roller adjustment hole in the bottom corners of the sliding panel. Put a screwdriver into this hole and turn the screw counterclockwise to bring the roller as far up into the bottom of the sliding panel as possible. This should allow the slider to come out.

Now, you want to remove all the screws from the side jambs, top header, and bottom track. Then, take a pry bar and get it under the bottom track about in the center. Pry up until the track is separated from the floor. The next step will depend on whether your old frame is nailed to the house frame, or simply screwed in. If it's screwed in, then the frame should now be loose in the opening, since you removed all of the screws. You just need to remove whatever inside trim there might be around the door frame. This type of frame should come out. If your door is nailed to the house frame, you will have to do a bit more work. Use a hacksaw to cut the track in half, approximately in the center. Start with either half and raise the cut piece up towards the side jamb until the the track piece separates from the side jamb. Do the same thing to the other half.

So, now you have to remove the side jambs. You want to do this without damaging the exterior material that surrounds the door frame. Take a heavy chisel and pound it into the crack between the frame and exterior material, whether it's stucco, siding, etc. Start at the bottom 6 inches first. What you are trying to do is pull the nail fin away from the nails holding it in place. So, once the chisel is pounded through the metal frame, pry away from the side wall. The heavier and longer the chisel, the more leverage you will have. You will hear the frame "pop" free of the nail. There will be several nails holding each jamb in place, so you want to start at the bottom and work your way to the top corner. Once you get the bottom third loose, many times you can grab the jamb with both hands and pull the rest of the nails free as you go up. When you get to the top corner, work the jamb free. Do both jambs, then do the top. Sometimes the top has no nails, or just one in the center, so it will come down pretty easily. Be sure to wear safety glasses and a dust mask when doing this job, especially when removing the top header.

At this point you are ready to install the new door. The installation procedure is slightly different, depending on whether you're installing a retrofit style frame or a replacement frame. We will discuss both procedures next week.

Using Sliding Folding Doors On Your Home

Sliding folding doors are the best option Wood doors for space-saving portals to your home. They are against the conventional openings but can be maximized due to it's almost a hundred percent of its width can be opened.

They offer one of the most elegant look in doors. They basically increase the amount of light to penetrate inside your home. They provide a good view of the spaces inside and outside. As with having beauty, of course they also need to be sturdy and protection from the weather and act as an acoustic barrier.

Aluminum and wood are the best choices on saving energy saving factor. But glass is the master of acoustic shielding. Here are some of the features of a good sliding folding door:

- They provide excellent protection to natural calamities like hurricane. Apart from it, they are also suitable to withstand adverse weather conditions.

- Folding doors are also good against burglaries. Glass doors with multiple layers of wire mesh offers security from foreign materials from and even from bullets from toughened types. With being the best glass sliding door, the most preferred types are the laminated ones.

- As being a good acoustic barrier, they are also good as they can filter out 3/4 of the noise from outside. A laminated glass can have insulation to separate the outside noise.

Folding doors are one of the best in style and a new trend. With architects choosing them as one of the best choices for maximizing the view, of course with a lot of research, you can get the best quality of this door type with no hassle.