Garage door alert?

Anyone have one of these? I finally walked out to my garage and saw the door open for the last time. I'm on the hunt for an alert system to let me know when its open.
Spooky enough, with thefts in the area, then to walk out and see your door standing open with tons of tools ready to walk away.

If you've got an alert system chime in on what it is and if you like it.


I did order one from sears, supposed to have a 400ft range and an audible alert when door is open. had mixed reviews online, but at least their return policy is pretty open.

 

here are some i found
http://www.specialtyalarms.com/site/1313932/page/470292

http://www.smarthome.com/7311GD/Skylink-GM-318-Household-Alert-Garage-Door-Monitoring-System/p.aspx

currently im not using one, i can see my shop door out the back of my home, and Ive never left the door open or unlocked

plus my alarm system has an open door alert function, that would tell me if I ever did

 

my garage is wirelessly hooked into my house alarm. Even is the alarm is off it chirps when doors or windows are open.

 

Unless you want elaborate controls simple mechanical or magnetic switch can be used to activate whatever siren/bell/horn/light/alarm you want. Depending on what you are switching a relay may be needed.

 

Even look into these systems, cheap enough and you will not only be alerted but you can see who is there
http://swann.com/region/usa/entry/us

I have the 4 camera set up and its great.

 

Put your garage door opener on a switch and shut it off when you're not in the shop.

 

I don't like automatic garage door openers.

There are just to many clever people out there who know how to scan codes for garage doors.

Security cameras can help the problem to some degree.

The best thing I have found so far is a very large dog.

When my alarm went off one day the sheriff came out to check and he made the mistake of opening the side garage door and the dog ripped the pants off his one leg.

He manged to pull the door shut and when I got there he told me what happened and he said that dog would not allow anyone in the garage.

True story. Jimbo

 

Simple would be fine. My door is on a remote opener and faces away from my house. It opens on its own sometimes. I'd just lock it down, but parking in the garage every day makes that a PITA, especially when I cant access the walk in door unless im in the yard, and no way to enter yard from alley.

 

As Jimbo said ..those auto door openers are a security risk

I dont have them on my garage or my shop
I park my daily driver in my shop at night and open the door every day without one..a 12x14 overhead, and the bolt and "other securing" methods are in place each and every time..its a function and purpose of security for me, I dont trust electronic openers..they can be out smarted
I would never trust a chain or belt driven electric opener to safe guard my investments and property..even if they cant figure out the code or even if they are switched off..there is still that emergency release pull cable and they can get to that from the top seal of the door..and whamo..they are in!

look at this..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwd3KRK13Gs
and this..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMz1tXBVT1s

Hell , I even went as far as NO windows in my garage door, and no windows at all in my shop or the doors

 

My gargae is about a mile from my house, no elec. openers.
I just shove a old pushrod or screw driver thru a hole in the track above a wheel.

Kind of a poor boys locking system.

 

I'm with Jimbo, there are too many people these days driving around neighborhoods with garage door openers or other devices seeing if they can open someone's garage door from the street. And you never know if the neighbor down the street has the same frequency that you do and opens yours without knowing it.

If a person has to have one I'd say a keyed switch beside the driveway that can be reached from the car like the gate switches at storage units. Then use the switch inside to close it. The wife might whine but you will stand a better chance of keeping thieves out or finding the door hanging open.

When I worked for WH Thomas in Waco his shop had a hole drilled in the track for the door rollers just above a roller for a padlock. He had a batch of keyed alike padlocks for all of the doors so you only needed one key for them. I've also worked in shops that they had a padlock through the sliding bar on the lock so that it couldn't be opened from the inside. That even though there was a torch 20 ft away but it would make it more difficult for the amateur grab and run boys.

 

ok you probably shouldnt do this but my teacher in college had an airbag burried just under the ground at his door to go in his garage. It had a pressure switch just above it and he had it wired to the house on a switch, had to turn the switch off or when if you stepped on it it would go off... He had a big problem with people breaking into his garage in Nashville, tn

 

I have herd of someone who had a security system that sent a message to a smart phone when the garage door/house door/window was open. (when you're not home)

I don't know any details, but it seems like a good idea. Worth looking into.

 

Amazingly enough i've never had anything taken from my shop (that I can tell) when i found the door open. Now and then my neighbor will tell me he closed the door for me. My neighbors are retired and know if my door is open and I'm not around to close it.
I think its a wonky electrical system more than anything causing it to open.
When I'm going to be gone on a vacation or such its locked down well, I undo the electrical and have a handfull of padlocks placed here and there. Thanks for the ideas and input, ill keep you posted on my results when i get the new alert here and installed

 

a big dog is the only alert system that will work.

an alarm going off or sending an alert to your phone lets you know something is going on, but it wont stop the thief, and by the time the cops get there they are long gone with whatever they could grab before they realized they were busted. so if its an audible alarm, make it loud enough your nieghbors hear it as well, maybe train horns or something.

slightly OT, but i remember one day growing up and our house alarm went off. i came up from the basement with a paintball gun aimed at the person trying to get in. the person turned on the light to see the barrel pointed at thier head. ended up being my mom, from that day on she allowed me to have the gun, but she never forgot the code again.

 

getting something that has a 400' range seems like a waste of money jm2c get a vicegrips if you don't wanna spend for a good alarm system.

 

What is this big thing about garage door openers? Can't you guys open a door on your own??

I don't think I have ever seen one in the UK. What are they for, the old and feeble? People to short to reach the door? Or just plain laziness, people to idle to get out of their car and open the door?

I'm truly baffled.

 

Not everyone is poor.

 

Pining or vise grips on the track are fine, but I have a lock on the track in my shop. Too easy to break in then pull a pickup into the shop to load up. This slows them down some if they do get in.

 

Problem with that is, you may end up without your dog. Law enforcement likes to "take care of business" even when it ain't their business.

 

I have a roll up door on my shop that probably couldn't even be opened from the outside at all. maybe with a prybar or something but even then I don't know. I'll have to try to be certain.

anyways... generally if it is closed it is locked tight with a giant lock in the track. if a person got in and spent 5 minutes loading a truck full of my stuff I would never be able to replace it.

too many years collecting all these tools and junk and too much money spent to trust it to a garage door opener.

 

They save a lot of time and time is money. Also on rainy days you don't have to get wet and you can get a running start on snowy days. Security is another big thing. You don't have to get out of your locked car until you're in your locked garage.

Most of the newer openers have a more secure system. If your opener is in good shape, you can install a new radio control.

 

Think twice before you put a dog in your garage for security if you have a finished vehicle in there. My first new car was a 1969 Malibu and shortly after I got it the alternator quit working one weekend. My dad put the car in one of the bays in his service station that night and planned to take it to the dealer the next day while I was at work. He kept a German Shepard in there for security. During the night that dog had tried to jump up on top of my car and left scratches all over it. The paint was ruined and that "new car" feeling was gone. Haven't cared much about dogs since then either.

 

Not true with all cars, Mine goes to work with me every day and is in my shop where i sometimes have cars worth over 100k in there... She has always been around cars and doesnt get near them unless you tell her to get in.

...Horrible guard dog though...

 

For about $30 at Home Depot or Lowe's, I got a kit with a mercury switch and receiver. Mount the switch on the inside of the door and I put the receiver by my house alarm console. The receiver shows a red light when the door is up and a green one when it's down. May or may not suit you.

 

Barry, got a part # for that kit? Sounds like the ticket. I have to go outside to check and make sure my doors are down. Not fun in Ohio winter.

 

I did that and it bent the track when it went off. I unplug mine until I get it wired to a switch. They have remote control outlets I was going to consider. the switch mounts on the wall, and the remote shutoff mounts to the oulet the door opener is plugged into.

 

you can kill the electricity to the opener all you want..a theif doesnt need the electricity to pop the emergency release cable to open the door and take what he wants

really people if you are only trusting an electric door opener with the security of your shop or garage..than your security sucks and its just a matter of time.

if you really cherish what you own in there, you will secure it with better methods than an electric door opener and some remote outlet..those wont stop em from poping the track, or poping the safety lever from the outside as i showed above in my previous reply to this thread

those roll up doors need to be slide bolted on both sides, and locked down at the bottom also..and that means no cushy push button access..period

go look at post #9 and the youtube links to see what im saying

you do have to trade comfort for security..i guess you have to ask yourself what its worth to you

 

Same here and I can see my garage from the kitchen window. I also have a very observant retired next door neighbor.

 

50' out my back door
stay at home wife, and dog, and a loaded 870
and i still lock it down...i might need the extra time for target acquisition..lol