We will be taking procession of a garage in a few weeks, but the door is broken and cant be locked.

What do I need to look for in a replacement door?

The harder to break in to the better I guess, but not wanting to spend a huge amount. It will be used for son & wife’s bikes storage and other not to valuable items

Roller doors are much safer than up-and-over ones.

“Roller doors are much safer than up-and-over ones.”

nothing like a sweeping generalisation. You get good up and overs and you get shit rollers.

at the bottom end of the market either is likely as bad as each other.

i fitted a reasonable door and then fitted suplimentary security and opted not to have an electric roller due to the fact that unless you were spending thousands they were very vulnerable to attack with basic tools.

So I’m back at square one ☝️

anybody else?

All doors have weaknesses.  We have an up and over. Thing is security. If you’ve got something valuable in there, make sure you have a ground anchor.  The standard locks are usually pants.

If it’s an up and over, you need to add in the shoot bolts near the bottom so the door can’t be bent and levered.  I’ve got shoot bolts, and a hasp lock (concealed screws) with a shipping container padlock.   I’ve had a couple of attempted break ins but nothing has gone – lads trying to hacksaw through hasp lock (not happening) and one that removed the side window intact (shame he didn’t notice the steel bars in the way).

I do know folk that have had break-ins through garage roofs.   Ideally, make it tricky and noisy to get in.

Do you need to have a one piece door that opens fully?

I’d much rather have a normal door or a pair of doors.

If you have no intention to put a car in it it will much better serve you.

I have considered having my one piece cut in two.

if its an up and over, be careful it you remove it yourself, the spring can still be loaded…

think about adding pacri bolts and maybe a garage defender. as the old saying if they want it bad enough they will find a way.

I’d go for a 115+mm lat, 15+mm thickness roller door if I were doing it again.  We’ve got a 55mm*8mm roller at the moment and whilst it’s never failed, it’s not what you’d call robust feeling.  If you’ve got the space down one wall, a side sectional would also be good.

I am looking at garage doors at the minute and in terms of security they all offer the same value of protection if you are on a budget. I think you will need to add extra security with whatever system.

Daffy i have been looking at a diy fit electric door which is a 55mm lat (from Rollador) and i was concerned it would feel a bit tinny, is that the case with yours?

I’ve got a slimline roller door due to limited headroom, echoing Daffys comments, its fixed on 3 sides so can’t be forced and folded up like an up and over, but I don’t think it would put up much resistance to a couple of heavyweights shoulder barging it or giving it a firm nudge with a car!  It bows and gets sucked in and out during stormy conditions.  The standard profile roller doors seem much more beefy.

Re: security, I’d keep it discreet, as soon as I see one of those garage defenders in front of a garage door I automatically assume there is a decent motorbike or similar inside.

Spooky, thats exactly what i am looking at, a compact roller. I had heard that they flex in windy conditions but i was hoping that applied to large doors. My garage door is only 7ft x 7ft so is that likely to still move in the wind? I may have to go back and check what thickness is available. I never thought it would be so much trouble and money to change a garage door.

Our house is very exposed and mine held up in winds which were gusting directly at it and were measured at 106mph using the anemometer on the side of my house, but the centre of the door was bowing between 5 and 6” every time the gust hit the door. Scary to watch, but never broke.

Dont buy a cheap door.  They remove all the sealing from the tops, sides, bottom and the roller cover to keep the costs down.  It means the wind (and carried water) whistles around the sides/top.

I am not too exposed but the wind can sometimes hit the garage head on so it is a low risk concern. There isnt much burgarly round here and what there is tends to happen to houses which have obvious vulnerability (seems to be patio doors with cheap eurolocks) but i would still like something which might stop a passing thief with a hammer and crowbar. I might look at spending an extra couple of hundred for the 19mm thick rd77 door.

My up n over has been out of action for ages now , will be removing to brick up with a window  included.I have good steel fire door in side wall.  never had a car in  the garage anyway. Good single security /fire exit type door £300 with a window £100  poss similar cost to new garage door £600 min?

blader, I’m quite happy with the compact one, mine is a Somfy model.  Opening is about the same as yours.  A sectional would have robbed headroom, outward opening would have been a pain due to drive layout.  Its a bit of a compromise but much better than my old up and over.

It does flex a bit and although its not as rigid as a thicker door, I’m not sure how much difference it would actually make when faced with a couple of crowbars.  It probably moves in about 2 inches under firm pressure in the centre but it seems more in stormy conditions as it gets sucked out as well as being pushed in (less so when the rear entry door is shut)

I fitted a rollerdoor last year, it’s a bit flimsy although I’ve not noticed it flexing in the wind. Most likely because it’s eastward facing.

If possible fit your guide channels on the inside of the garage door opening.

Remember seeing a post on here where thieves had prised the guide channels off and ripped the rollerdoor out of the way to gain access.

I’m guessing when you say ‘taking possession of’ that the garage is remote from your house? Possibly in a block of garages?

You may not be able to fit a roller door depending on height/headroom.

I would fit double outward opening doors with a good concealed lock and if greater security is required without making it an advert for valuable things within I’d be fitting a secondary steel grill and door inside.

Giant scum, i will be fitting it on the inside but as there is not much timber it will sit in a position where you could just crow bar it off. I think i will add more timber so it can be put further to the side and out of site. Cheers for that.

Thanks all, this is the response I had hoped for 😃
<div class=”bbp-reply-author”>psling
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I’m guessing when you say ‘taking possession of’ that the garage is remote from your house? Possibly in a block of garages?

You may not be able to fit a roller door depending on height/headroom.

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I would fit double outward opening doors with a good concealed lock and if greater security is required without making it an advert for valuable things within I’d be fitting a secondary steel grill and door inside.

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It is across the the road from our house. There is a  building at the end of the road that is two garages. It had a tiled pitched roof so I’m not to worried about theft from above  but the door is broken because someone tried to break in. Also had my bike stolen from my van when I was lazy and left it in overnight. It’s defo not a crime free zone but no Wild West.

Update- Only now have I been able to check out the garage- taken months to buy the house the garage came with.

The broken door wasn’t unable to be locked the key had been lost.

YouTubed how to get in garage door without a key.

Took lesss than a minute with a HSS ( it was new) bit and a Dewalt drill. No screaching almost noise free. Shocked at how quick and easy it was to get in.

WTF is the point of having a locking system that is so easy to get past?

Because locks are only a deterrent to honest people…

Because using violence to break the lock shows that the miscreant has “entered” as a “trespassar” “with intent” so is a burglar. Same reason crappy 5 lever locks are fitted to your front door.

Helps with insurance claim too.

The locks are mostly the same as on your office cabinet. I’ve broken into mine without damaging the normal lock, but with shoot bolts, not possible.

More than one lock and a ground anchor.

We had our up and over (plus ground anchor) broken into. We replaced it with an electrically operated Hormann sectional. Well worth it, pretty solid there’s no chance it would flex in any sort of wind. It’s also nicely sealed. Of course it’s not invulnerable but I don’t think unauthorised access would be quick.

YouTubed how to get in garage door without a key.

Took lesss than a minute with a HSS ( it was new) bit and a Dewalt drill. No screaching almost noise free. Shocked at how quick and easy it was to get in.

I could get in with a wire coat hanger and not damage it in the process 🙂

I could get in with a wire coat hanger and not damage it in the process 🙂

How did you do that? Would be handy to know for future key loss issues.

WE have ordered a Retractable door, which was sold to us as being secure(ish). But if the tumblers can be removed in seconds I cant see how having multiple secure points makes them any more secure.

I have an up and over I fitted an electric motor to, it seems to be stronger than when it was manual with three point locks.

I would personally prefer to have a split pair of doors, would be much easier to use day to day and you can bolster the doors top and bottom with dead bolts.

How did you do that? Would be handy to know for future key loss issues.

If it’s a snib at the top operated by a wire from the handle (think of a night latch on string) then thats how. If it’s the type that has two bars that latch into the side as the handle rotates then it’s a non-starter.

Yes, it was a single volt at the top operated by a wire from the handle. Simply push on the top corner to get enough of a gap to get your hand in then pull the wire with the coat hanger

This is worth watching, especially the second part, for how easy some doors are, CCTV shows ours took 7 seconds. The alarm, internal and external, didn’t deter them. The flat tyre and lack of pedals although looked comical on the recording didn’t stop them

Another consideration is how much you are going to try and fit in the garage, i had an up and over garage door and swapped it for a pair of wooden doors, it is amazing how much more space you gain inside. I have the right had door locked with the 5 bikes hanging on hooks behind it and go in and out of the left hand, so the bikes + kayak go in the dead space where the garage door was really.