If they can’t get in your garage, they can’t get what’s inside your garage.
That may sound like a basic statement but it’s true. A garage door defender sends a strong message to thieves that you have thought about your security. They’ll know that your defender is the first of multiple layers of security and therefore most of them won’t even bother.
In this guide, we discuss some excellent garage door security devices, along with some helpful advice for anyone searching for the best motorbike security.
Table of Contents
What is a garage door defender?
A garage door defender is a physical piece of security that prevents your garage door from being able to be opened when it is in place.
How does a garage defender work?
They are usually comprised of a metal bar that locks in place on the exterior of your garage at the base of the door. With a garage defender in place thieves will find it hard to open your garage door using common methods.
Installation is fairly simple. All garage door defenders require you to drill and bolt down a base plate that stays in place and won’t get in the way of the garage door opening or be a trip hazard when you have your garage door open.
Then a strong metal bar or fabricated housing slots into the base plate and it is then secured (usually with a shackle lock) in place.
One of the best garage door security products
With a garage door defender fitted, your garage door will be next to impossible to open.
Door defenders: factors you need to consider
A garage door defender is an excellent piece of physical security that is also a valuable visual deterrent.
However, they are not suitable for every door type and they are not without their downsides.
Here are the factors that we think you should take into account before buying and fitting a garage door defender:
Does it fit the type of your door? A T-bar won’t prevent a sliding garage door from opening because none of these open outwards, and neither will a sectional garage door or a roller garage door. Garage door defenders suit up-and-over garage doors and hinged doors.
Have you got the time? The last thing you need is another time-consuming duty to battle with and carry keys for when you’re already juggling work, the school run, and a variety of other responsibilities.
Is it completely secure? Given the proper tools, the plate might be prised from the ground because some defenders don’t come with many bolts. In the same way, if the padlock is visible, someone with enough time may be able to take this on and defeat it.
Will one bar suffice? Since the corners of the door are more exposed to theft, the single bar in the middle usually isn’t enough to deter all theft. Typically up-and-over garage doors are the most vulnerable as they are usually made from metal which can be bent or torn open. For metal doors, we recommend fitting two bars, one at each edge of your garage door.
Is a garage door defender a visual clue or a deterrent? Let’s say your garage is in a row of other similar garages and yours is the only one with a garage door defender outside, what message does that give? It could highlight that you have something worth protecting in your garage. In this scenario, garage door deadbolts could offer similar levels of security while being more discreet.
Are roller shutter doors secure?
You get what you pay for in life, just like anything else.
Roller doors are a prime example of how lowering prices frequently equals lowering quality. Roller doors that are inexpensive and generic won’t provide the same degree of security as those that are higher-quality. This is because they lack essential safety features and are often constructed with less durable materials.
Almost all roller shutter doors have a skirt on the bottom of the door. You can fit locking bolts into the skirt that prevent it from being lifted.
The two main approaches to improving your roller shutter garage door security are to fit a hasp into the ground underneath where the skirt would sit flush. You can put a padlock through the hasp once the garage door is in place. This is a simple, quick and inexpensive method.
You can also improve your roller door security by fitting eyelets.
You drill a hole in your door and fit the eyelet into it, securing it from the rear with a solid base plate.
These eyelets then line up with eyelets that you locate in the ground. You can then use a shutter padlock through these eyelets to secure the door at its bottom edge.
These eyelets come in two forms. The first is where the eyelet that locates into the ground can be removed once the lock is off, by twisting the eyelet by 90-degrees from the base that is concreted into the ground. Take a look at the image on the right, which shows the housing that is concreted into the ground. The bolt is removed (once the lock is off) by twisting it by 90-degrees).
You can also fit a similar system, pictured above, where the base eyelet folds flush into its housing when not in use. Both methods prevent the eyelet from becoming a trip-hazard when the door is open.
Best places to buy garage door defenders
You can buy garage door defenders online at places like Amazon and eBay. Here’s a selection of the best-rated garage door defenders on Amazon.
You can also buy them from your local trade counter. Places like Screwfix, Toolstation, B&Q and Halfords sell different ranges of garage door blockers.
With a few basic tools, including a drill, they take around an hour to install and are a great way to burglar-proof your garage.
Sold Secure Garage Door Defenders
Sold Secure are an independent company that aim to set the standard for all types of locks and security.
They test locks and security products in order to give them a rating, so that we, as consumers, can easily compare the different levels of security on offer.
They rate in order of Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond. When it comes to garage door defenders, they are rated under the Domestic Buildings category and there is a Bronze and Silver category here.
The table below shows the current best-rated garage door defenders:
| Make and Model | Sold Secure Rating | More info | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Burton Security Garage Guard | Silver | Click here |
 | Master Lock Garage Protector 1488 EURDAT | Bronze | Click here |
 | PJB Garage Defender Master & Padlock | Bronze | Click here |
 | PJB Garage Defender (Red) & Sterling ASP181 Armoured Steel Padlock | Bronze | Click here |
 | PJB Secure-A-Door Roller Shutter & Up & Over Garage Door Lock | Silver | Click here |
 | Squire GA4 Garage Door Guard | Bronze | Click here |
 | Squire GA5 Garage Door Defender | Bronze | Click here |
Just because a product isn’t on this list it doesn’t mean it’s not going to be any good. This list is just the door defenders that have been tested by Sold Secure. It costs money to get your products tested, so not every manufacturer submits theirs for testing.
Garage Door Security FAQ
Can someone else remote open my garage door?
If you have a cheap automatic garage door opened then they can be hijacked by someone using a ‘listening’ device when you operate your garage door. This is very rare and these days pretty much all of these frequencies are scrambled or encoded.
Are garage keypads safe?
If you have an automatic garage door opener, it might also come with a wall-mounted keypad. Is there a chance that someone could “hack” it and obtain entry?
People frequently inquire about the security of garage door keypads, and the straightforward response is YES. The use of garage door keypads is completely secure. A four-digit code is typically found on garage door keypads.
Given that there are 10,000 alternative values for a number with four decimal digits, the likelihood of any one of them occurring at random is one in 10,000. To spend days in front of your keypad trying to guess the right combination, a burglar would have to be quite committed. Even then, it’s most probable that the battery in your keypad would run out before someone properly deciphered your code.
Sources
Thanks to the websites below who helped us research and publish this guide to the best garage door defenders.