I keep having this scenario pop into my head each morning as I back out of my garage between 4 and 5 am in the darkness. The reason I pull into my garage and back out, is so I can watch the door as it comes down, making sure no one slips inside. Pulling out leaves too many blind spots. So while I am watching the door come down, I am surrounded by total darkness. The garage is set back from the front of the house so there is a brick wall beside me that ends about where the rear quarter panel of my car sits as I wait. There is a light on the side of the garage, but it seems to burn out once a week. I'm not so worried about myself as I am someone waiting till the last minute and slipping under the door while I struggle to hit the button to stop it and then raise it back up. Those buttons don't always work on the first try. Throw in the fact that I'd be trying to keep my car from rolling away (I'm on a hill), and it leaves me scared to death someone may get the jump on me and become "closed in" my house with my wife and baby girl. I carry a Colt Defender .45, and since I'm not allowed to have it at work, it's usually sitting in the seat beside me, holstered. I used to go ahead and place it in the glove compartment, but I started waiting on that until I got rolling down the road. What do you guys think I should do?
Backing out of the garage between 4-5 am
- Thread starter TheReeves
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Tyro
Member
IIRC there's a federal law that requires automatic garage door systems to have child safety features that prevent the door from closing if obstructed. Some sense resistance on the door, but most seem to use an 'electronic eye'. I think that this regulation was introduced in the 90's.
Mine has a light sensor that will automatically raise the door if its beam is broken while the door is descending. This is often a nuisance in the fall as leaves will stick to the bottom of the door and trip the beam when the door is closing, causing the door to go back up again.
If you've got one of these, and are worried that the intruder will simply step over it, maybe you could raise it a bit so that it's too high to hop over.
Mine has a light sensor that will automatically raise the door if its beam is broken while the door is descending. This is often a nuisance in the fall as leaves will stick to the bottom of the door and trip the beam when the door is closing, causing the door to go back up again.
If you've got one of these, and are worried that the intruder will simply step over it, maybe you could raise it a bit so that it's too high to hop over.
RexKwonDo - I do wait until it shuts. I just see someone jumping from around the corner at the last minute, into the garage while I fumble buttons, gears, and the door like a bumbling idiot.
Tyro - Mine also has the beam, but it is low. When we first moved in, I used to hit the button from inside the garage and Indiana Jones it as I left. The beam was easy to get over. I never thought about moving it up though, good suggestion.
Tyro - Mine also has the beam, but it is low. When we first moved in, I used to hit the button from inside the garage and Indiana Jones it as I left. The beam was easy to get over. I never thought about moving it up though, good suggestion.
Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
Well, I suppose I would consider the cost of a new garage door plus some body damage to the car a small price to pay for hot pursuit of someone trying to get into my house while I watched. It would definitely scramble any plans the BG had if "my foot slipped off the clutch and the car was in gear and gee, it just went right through the garage door when this guy ran in and startled me."
I'd be sure and secure the pistol in some way so it didn't scoot off the seat and disappear when you had to hit the brakes or maneuver sharply when driving though. A couple of the FBI agents who were involved in the Miami Shootout lost their pistols that way IIRC.
Sounds like you are doing the right thing, waiting there with windows rolled up and doors locked until the garage door closes all the way and watching to be sure no one zips in while you are leaving. Got a working cell phone on you to go with the pistol too, right? And a flashlight if you need it? A handy 2D or 3D MagLight kept in the car all the time has multiple uses.
hth,
lpl/nc
I'd be sure and secure the pistol in some way so it didn't scoot off the seat and disappear when you had to hit the brakes or maneuver sharply when driving though. A couple of the FBI agents who were involved in the Miami Shootout lost their pistols that way IIRC.
Sounds like you are doing the right thing, waiting there with windows rolled up and doors locked until the garage door closes all the way and watching to be sure no one zips in while you are leaving. Got a working cell phone on you to go with the pistol too, right? And a flashlight if you need it? A handy 2D or 3D MagLight kept in the car all the time has multiple uses.
hth,
lpl/nc
Is the door to the house from the garage locked? If not, change that immediately. Even if said BG slips under the door, he won't have time to get into the house with any stealth before you can reopen the door. Barring that, a vehicle coming through a garage door is a very large distraction to any goblin that thinks he is now ready to execute some ugly plan.
I don't see that you could do anything more than you are already doing except simply park in the driveway and keep the garage out of the exit loop. Being a person who works nights, I know this eery feeling because the precedent is that goblins like the cover of darkness.
I don't see that you could do anything more than you are already doing except simply park in the driveway and keep the garage out of the exit loop. Being a person who works nights, I know this eery feeling because the precedent is that goblins like the cover of darkness.
I don't understand your description of the layout of your house & garage, but you can remove all foliage that people can hide behind, or you can add to that brick wall so that nobody can get over it. If you keep the perimeter of your home so clean that people have no place to hide in or behind, BGs will find other places to lurk.
I think that you can get better motion sensor lights which do not go out every week. You can also install motion sensor lights which overlap in case of one bulb burns out.
Lastly, I learned this from Road & Track magazine: Install rear-facing foglights with a dash-mounted switch. "Light up" that area behind you while you are waiting for the garage door to close.
I think that you can get better motion sensor lights which do not go out every week. You can also install motion sensor lights which overlap in case of one bulb burns out.
Lastly, I learned this from Road & Track magazine: Install rear-facing foglights with a dash-mounted switch. "Light up" that area behind you while you are waiting for the garage door to close.
mjrodney
Member
Amen to that.
Waiting and watching until the garage door is all the way down is a good thing.
Those who would slip into the garage as the door is coming down would find themselves solidly trapped between a deadbolted steel entry door into the house and an armed homeowner in the driveway with a cell phone to his ear.
No other exit on my garage.
crankshop1000
Member
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2007
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- 372
Install one or two motion activated lights on the front of your garage.The car pulling out of the garage will trip the lights on and you will have a well lit area until you pull away. They are adjustable for sensitivity and how long they stay on.They will also light up when you pull up to the garage at night.
For light bulbs look for Rough Service bulbs. They will last longer. Lighting is worth every cent you spend. It enhances the look of your home and lets the perps know you are alert and aware. Get a pro to look at it. We like our home to be seen from space at night. 
Get the door from the garage to the house hardened. Big Box stores like Lowes/Home Depot sell door bars and such that can be installed, ugly but they work. Then just lock anyone in the garage that goes in the garage. Let the police handle the perp. Sort of like a perp trap if you will.
You must live near me. We live in a private area but people come over the walls all the time they wander around checking door handles and windows. My wife parks in the garage and doesn't open the garage door until she is locked in the car. We have a video security set up so we can see around outside our house before we go outside.
Good Luck keep diggin on the problem don't quit untill the perps go to your neighbors house instead of yours.
Get the door from the garage to the house hardened. Big Box stores like Lowes/Home Depot sell door bars and such that can be installed, ugly but they work. Then just lock anyone in the garage that goes in the garage. Let the police handle the perp. Sort of like a perp trap if you will.
You must live near me. We live in a private area but people come over the walls all the time they wander around checking door handles and windows. My wife parks in the garage and doesn't open the garage door until she is locked in the car. We have a video security set up so we can see around outside our house before we go outside.
Good Luck keep diggin on the problem don't quit untill the perps go to your neighbors house instead of yours.
the naked prophet
Member
From personal experience, it's pretty easy to get through a garage door by driving through it. Very little damage to the car, and a new garage door is a couple hundred bucks.
Blackbeard
Member
Lock the door between the garage and the house, and don't leave until the garage door is closed. Problem solved.
Lots of great advice in this thread, thanks!
To clear up some things, for the person who was unsure about my layout, my house sits at the top of a small hill about 50 yards back from the road. My driveway goes up the hill and into the garage, which sits on the right side of the home, but probably 15 feet back from the front of the house. Meaning, when I back out, my car is sitting facing the garage with the 15 feet worth of house to my left. That was the brick "wall" I had described. I have removed the bushes from the right side of the garage. As far as the door between the garage and the interior of the home, it is a cheap inner door with one of those "push and twist" type locking door knobs. Yes, I realize this is very unsafe. I currently rent the home, while trying to decide if I want to buy it. It needs some work, and we have already done quite a bit to it. I'm tired of sinking money into a place where we will basically up the value of it and then have to repay for our improvements if we buy it. We rarely use the front door to enter, and with the inner garage door having no outside keyhole, it usually stays unlocked. There is also a door leading to the back yard inside the garage. It only has a locking door knob. I've tried to install another lock, but it just wasn't the right type of lock for the door. Strike me for procrastination on that. I do however have a set of wheels and tires sitting in front of that door serving as a ghetto lock.
I like the suggestion of driving through the door. I have to admit, I baby my car, I cringe at the thought of damaging it, but a great suggestion I have honestly never thought about.
There is a motion light at the front door which I should probably reset to more sensitive. It used to go off every time a car went by on the road, so I adjusted it. The one by the garage door is just a regular porch light. I think I will check into better lighting.
Thanks all for the suggestions!
Ryan
To clear up some things, for the person who was unsure about my layout, my house sits at the top of a small hill about 50 yards back from the road. My driveway goes up the hill and into the garage, which sits on the right side of the home, but probably 15 feet back from the front of the house. Meaning, when I back out, my car is sitting facing the garage with the 15 feet worth of house to my left. That was the brick "wall" I had described. I have removed the bushes from the right side of the garage. As far as the door between the garage and the interior of the home, it is a cheap inner door with one of those "push and twist" type locking door knobs. Yes, I realize this is very unsafe. I currently rent the home, while trying to decide if I want to buy it. It needs some work, and we have already done quite a bit to it. I'm tired of sinking money into a place where we will basically up the value of it and then have to repay for our improvements if we buy it. We rarely use the front door to enter, and with the inner garage door having no outside keyhole, it usually stays unlocked. There is also a door leading to the back yard inside the garage. It only has a locking door knob. I've tried to install another lock, but it just wasn't the right type of lock for the door. Strike me for procrastination on that. I do however have a set of wheels and tires sitting in front of that door serving as a ghetto lock.
I like the suggestion of driving through the door. I have to admit, I baby my car, I cringe at the thought of damaging it, but a great suggestion I have honestly never thought about.
There is a motion light at the front door which I should probably reset to more sensitive. It used to go off every time a car went by on the road, so I adjusted it. The one by the garage door is just a regular porch light. I think I will check into better lighting.
Thanks all for the suggestions!
Ryan
MortalWombat
Member
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2007
- Messages
- 142
Not to derail the thread, but I think people would like to hear about this story.
Gunbabe
Member
It's just my opinion that you have to be alert to what is going on but you can't live in a "what if" world either. The house I bought off of my grandparents was broken into a couple times the 40 odd years they lived there but I know I'm protected with my guns and I pay attention but I don't panic everytime I walk through the door.
cassandrasdaddy
Member
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2006
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- 4,206
you can have 2 of those beams across the door do it yourself able
the naked prophet
Member
Wife was borrowing her dad's car, said "hey dad, the brakes are going out" he says "no, they're fine." Brakes go out when she pulls into the driveway, wife goes right into the garage. New garage door gets bought. Entire story told in third-person caveman sentences.
QuickDraw
Member
Here in Cali the building code requires a solid core door with
self closer for between garage and living space.Its a fire code
and one that I agree with.(except I've locked myself out before!)
I would put more automatic halogen lights up,they are cheap at Home
Despot.Oh,and deadbolt on that solid core door.
Check and see about the code for the door,maybe your landlord will
install it for you.
self closer for between garage and living space.Its a fire code
and one that I agree with.(except I've locked myself out before!
)I would put more automatic halogen lights up,they are cheap at Home
Despot.Oh,and deadbolt on that solid core door.
Check and see about the code for the door,maybe your landlord will
install it for you.
From 25 years of fire service, Drive into the garage and back out? You are kidding right? Back it in and watch through you mirrors. The light in the garage hooked to the auto closer will let you see everything.
IMHO when you are backing out into the black of night you are blind to anyone hiding there. You may take a baseball bat through the driver’s window.
I want forward vision with lights allowing me to see what is going on all around. Anyone who drives into the garage is suspected to me as a victim in more ways than one. Backing in take little time and will make a difference when it counts.
IMHO when you are backing out into the black of night you are blind to anyone hiding there. You may take a baseball bat through the driver’s window.
I want forward vision with lights allowing me to see what is going on all around. Anyone who drives into the garage is suspected to me as a victim in more ways than one. Backing in take little time and will make a difference when it counts.
Everyone's been very considerate of you. I'm not going to be.
Those cheap doors that you don't want to sink money into are all that stand between your baby girl and wife and the thug you're so concerned about. You need to realign your priorities and make that back garage door and the worthless unlocked door into your kitchen into real barriers to intruders. Find a salvage place and buy a solid security door and replace the one going into the kitchen. Buy a couple of metal brackets at Home Depot/Lowes/Builder's Square and a 2X4 and seal that back door from intruders. No one's going to stop a BG from going through the pathetic "ghetto lock" into your garage 2 minutes after you pull out of your drive way and then they're through your unlocked cardboard door into the house. Fix these right away!
Those cheap doors that you don't want to sink money into are all that stand between your baby girl and wife and the thug you're so concerned about. You need to realign your priorities and make that back garage door and the worthless unlocked door into your kitchen into real barriers to intruders. Find a salvage place and buy a solid security door and replace the one going into the kitchen. Buy a couple of metal brackets at Home Depot/Lowes/Builder's Square and a 2X4 and seal that back door from intruders. No one's going to stop a BG from going through the pathetic "ghetto lock" into your garage 2 minutes after you pull out of your drive way and then they're through your unlocked cardboard door into the house. Fix these right away!
shooting time
Member
buy 130 volt bulbs for the lights they will last way longer than the standard 120volt type sometimes the line voltage is higher than 120 and will burn out bulbs and get a steel cased door and deadbolt for the door
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