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Many people enter and exit their homes through the garage using automatic door openers. If the garage is attached, should that person deadbolt the door between the garage and the main house?

I have a detached garage, so this doesn't apply to me, but it is way too easy to get into a garage surreptitiously and then enter the house. The door between the house and garage is often flimsy and can be kicked open in a second.

- Jim

I've done one better. I do lock my garage door to the house, and I dead bolt it. I also installed a peep hole in the door.
What good is it to lock a door and "IF" you hear a noise, you unlock the door to look into the garage to see if somethings amiss. The peep hole doesn't even need to be looked through. If the door is open at night the openers light comes on and you can see the eye piece illuminate. Same goes for day time.

I dont even have a garage...

flb_78 wrote:I dont even have a garage...

...I don't either!! ...however, if I did I think I would definitely put a deadbolt on the door to the house. I have read to many instances where the BG gains entrance through the garage.

We have an attached garage. We do not lock the door but that being said...that door is on the alarm. We have the garage closed at all times unless we are out in the garage and the alarm is set when ever we leave the house and at night when we are sleeping. In-fact that door is set to instant on at night after everone is home. If someone can get past the alarm...good luck getting past the german shepherd and the angry owner with a gun (LOL)...

Our attached door is keylocked on both sides, one of these days I need to get around to replacing the one side with a latch, so we get lazy from time to time.

The (in the house, well behaved, Lab) dog alarms at anything moving in the garage and the rest of the house during the night, and then the rest of the dogs go off, which has been known to wake up the neighbors and even my wife. When that happens - and so far it has always been a false alarm - I patrol out from the bedroom with a combat flashlight and a .45, and the flashlight stays off until I need it.

jimlongley wrote:Our attached door is keylocked on both sides, one of these days I need to get around to replacing the one side with a latch, so we get lazy from time to time.

The (in the house, well behaved, Lab) dog alarms at anything moving in the garage and the rest of the house during the night, and then the rest of the dogs go off, which has been known to wake up the neighbors and even my wife. When that happens - and so far it has always been a false alarm - I patrol out from the bedroom with a combat flashlight and a .45, and the flashlight stays off until I need it.

describes my situation almost to a tee except I patrol with a .357.

Dog = best burglar alarm ever created.

pt145ss wrote:We have an attached garage. We do not lock the door but that being said...that door is on the alarm. We have the garage closed at all times unless we are out in the garage and the alarm is set when ever we leave the house and at night when we are sleeping. In-fact that door is set to instant on at night after everone is home.

+1

Here is a shocker. I have a attached garage but I dont have an automatic door opener. It stays locked and so does the door going into the house.

peep hole is a good idea.

I think maybe putting a switch on the house-side of the house/garage door so you can turn on the garage light without opening the door is likely a good idea too.

however, it's real easy in my house to not be visible through a peep hole there. but it's still a really good idea. i think i'll put one in.

we lock ours sometimes. my daughters lock it when they are at home alone (smart kids). sometimes they lock me out when i go on a bike ride and exit through the garage, returning without keys and finding the garage entry door locked.

The former owner of my home converted the 2 car garage into a family room - and did a beautiful job of it, by the way. There is a concrete parking pad large enough to accommodate our 3 vehicles immediately behind that room, over which I had a craftsman style "patio cover" built. It gives us a shady sheltered spot under which to park our cars which can also be used as a large shaded entertainment space; and it shelters the family room, which is westward facing and has a lot of glass window and door treatment, from the afternoon sun.

The layout of the yard/patio/parking area behind my house is such that there is no place for a potential attacker to hide or cover his approach to us as we are exiting the vehicles and entering the house. On top of this, an attacker would have to scale a fairly high fence from one of three neighbors' backyards to gain access, or they would have to scale a high wrought iron gate across the driveway in full public view of anybody on the street. This relative security was a happy accident, and I honestly had not considered that aspect of things at the time that I had the patio cover built.

Just lucky, I guess.

I have my garage door opener on a regular light switch.....flip it off and nobody is coming in without utilizing a chopping tool

jbirds1210 wrote:I have my garage door opener on a regular light switch.....flip it off and nobody is coming in without utilizing a chopping tool

That's a good idea!

My laundry area is the pathway between the kitchen and the garage. The laundry area has a two-way light switch but I deactivated one and put a motion sensor on the other. That way the light comes on automatically when someone walks through that area and it automatically turns off after 30 secs. I can use that other switch to kill the garage door opener. Hmm....

jbirds1210 wrote:I have my garage door opener on a regular light switch.....flip it off and nobody is coming in without utilizing a chopping tool

Mine is set up the same way, turn it off at night before i go to bed........

I also have a caged area for my dog to sleep in at night ( so she doesn't escape the back yard) kind of an early warning system as well, since she'll bark when anything is going on outside....