Good one! yeah we all have zip ties TOO!

I never was a fan of roll-up garage doors. The old wood ones with pad locks and a car parked in front can slow thieves down.

A little harder if you don't have windows in your garage.

I like how they said they won't show how it's done, but basically did minus the wood shim and mentioned the YouTube video with a million hits of how it's done.

And $5 for a zip-tie?

Thanks for sharing this!

Thank you for this post!

Wow, thanks for posting! I'll be zip tying tomorrow.

I've been in the garage door business since I was 13...check out this opener, I have installed hundreds of them...they are awesome, smart phone compatible and have an auto close feature if you (or your kids) forget to close your door...check out the electromagnetic deadbolt at the 2:40 mark in the video...BTW you want the 8500 model, not the 3800 seen in this video.

not true

I thought that this was going to be an infomercial, but this is amazing, thanks for sharing!

Tried it in my windowless garage with a hooked flat piece of steel and I was in within 30 seconds..

Good thread. I was totally unaware of this viral video.

Darn! Then there is no way I can sneak in in the middle of the night and steal your license plate.

assman.jpeg

That deadbolt is sweet. Is there anything like that I can add to a Chamberlain opener?

I dont use garage door openers so one less thing to worry about.
You can also break into cars / trucks with a shim on the top of the door frame and hanger or some Tig welding wire slipped down past the weatherstrip too.

not yet... there have been a few attempts (the one seen on Shark Tank is the latest, but its still very problematic), Chamberlain is working on a universal one but probably wont be available until late next year.

Here's another tip. On your vehicle GPS, set your home address as something made up across town.

Car thieves will steal a car, hit "Home" on the GPS and drive straight to the owners house. All they gotta do after they arrive is hit the garage door button and they're in your home.

or just look at your registration in the glove box...

This really only applies when you sell your car. As pointed out above, your registration will lead the way.

I see 20 vehicle registrations a day. Some of the smarter people have a PO box.

Well, not for everyone.
Nothing to see in my glove box.

1. I leave nothing in my car with an address. I carry papers in my wallet only.
2. I never leave an opener in the car.

-mof

The one second garage door breakout.

If they want something in your home/car bad enough, consider it stolen no matter how much you attempt to thwart a thief.

Or this......

In fact, breaking in is so easy, even a caveman can do it.

Perhaps.

I have a liftmaster 8500, torsion bar opener, no stupid cord to pull to open it Well that could be one reason i got it, along with low ceiling.

Zip Tie installed, that was simple, much thanks!
-mof

Here's another one, how many of you keep your garage door openers in your cars? Is your car parked in your driveway unlocked?

not me...we use our cellphones to open garage door...my kids, my wife or myself NEVER forget to take our phones out of the car after we park...

lm.jpg
this will convert any liftmaster,chamberlain or craftsman from 1996 or newer to be smart phone compatible...download the free app and you can check, open or close your door anywhere in the world where you have internet connection... it will also send you a notification if your door opens up when your not expecting it to (for example if someone breaks into your house and opens garage door to get stuff out through garage...many times thieves will break into a home and open garage door to pull their car or truck in, close the door so neighbors can't see and then load all your goods into vehicle)

That's pretty sweet.

Thanks for posting!

Another garage tip. Lock your garage entry way door into your house. I know that sounds no da'ish - but you'd be surprised. People feel if my garage door is closed no need to clock the entryway door. Lock it all the time.

I learned the hard way.

Only lock it if it is sturdy enough to slow them down getting to your family. Otherwise it will just
increase the repair bill. They have privacy once they're in the garage and can use as much force as they
want to break in that door.

Get a reeeeally good alarm. Not a bullshit one.

It won't stop all thieves from breaking in but it will get them gone fast.

Better to become a victim of a small smash n grab than give an intruder ample time to take everything or worse yet encounter you upon your return home.

FYI: That video is spot on. It's almost always a daylight front door kick in.

I work in digital security & several times per year assist detectives with home invasions, robberies & unfortunately homicides as well. To the folks who think a gun & a dog is enough... It's not. If you're asleep, taking a dump, grilling steaks or working on Valinor you are not ready for what's about to go down.

Or good insurance

The top of my garage door was creased in where somebody tried this technique this Summer. The knob to my service door was cranked hard too. I noticed because it was twisted out of position. They didn't get in and I suspect my dog barking from inside the house helped them to abandon their attempt.

^This. So much this.

And who would bother to rob a house when a security system is armed? When you could walk right up behind a powerless victim, and through the open front door, as the homeowners are carrying groceries into their house (or looking at their mail, or whatever).

Security is an illusion. It isn't real. Although it is a great market, and the money to made is outstanding because fear is the absolute BEST marketing ploy, bar none. Dogs can be shot as easily as people (they can usually be distracted and/or befriended with a cheeseburger too). Guns could be useful, as long as it is surgically and permanently attached to your hand (not good for the pinball cabinets). Home invasions are something that people are really powerless against, period. The one with surprise on their side wins. That is the end of the story.

Daylight invasions, with the homeowner at home, are the path of least resistance for the criminals. And as much as we all want to think of criminals as dumb, most of the ones still on the street, know how to do it and remain free on the street. It is to attack when the home is unlocked and disarmed and the folks have a pizza in their hands (or whatever).

but back to the thread...

I think this thread is basically for pin owners (in garage) and it is useful to address one very easy path of entrance. But nobody has mentioned the purpose of that release is for safety (children in the house? or pets?). Zip-ties can vary in strength and your string could break before the zip tie. Use a very skinny/weak one. Of course anything made in quite a while will have opto and pressure sensors for safety too. But if you have an old one, and kids? I'd rather my pins be at risk than my kids (or my dog). Garage doors are big, heavy and dangerous.

I put in a new opener this year. And it is designed so that there is nothing that could be grabbed with a wire coat hanger (except the handle on the string, which I removed). I think it was a Genie, I forget. I imagine that most every new opener is designed this way (although I'm no expert on everything about the current market as far as garage door opener designs). They aren't that expensive (especially for folks who buy pinball machines for thousands of dollars). Spend the couple hundred bucks for a new one that cannot be opened by a coat hanger, if you've got kids or pets. If you don't have kids or pets, the zip-tie is a good cheap idea (and remove any ball or handle on the string).

I also ran across this a while ago... a little more difficult to install than the zip-tie, but pulling the safety release is not affected.

Thanks, Ed!! Makes me want to go home during lunch to do this!

I took a look at my garage door and my release is different, it doesn't have that lever. I'm gonna look at it more in depth this weekend. Thanks for posting!

I actually want this form liftmaster 8500, BUT be warned all the new wifi home enabled devices, are not actually secure. These companies are just throwing wifi in but aren't doing a whole lot to lock them down. there have been multiple articles about this. I haven't seen or looked for any hacks/quick hacks yet, but it is why I don't have the dead bolt one. I also don't trust wireless to begin with.... I do have a couple Nest thermostat's and they have been flaking the #$@ out lately staying connected. Also you have to trust your power and wifi are up :/ Blah...better to play ignorant and hope you don't have a techno geek hacker in the neighborhood.

I agree, nothing is foolproof....however I do feel a little better narrowing down the pool of potential burglars to just those who are tech savvy...

I use a c clamp type of vice grip pliers on the rail of door touching the top roller. Cheap pair can be had at HF for $5. HF part no. 39534. Just remember to take pliers off before opening door.

Our garage already had the zip tie trick done.

Door to the outside has a metal security screen, and that door has the normal lock/deadbolt combo, same as the door to inside the house.

Also have a 100lb German Shepard that is VERY protective of myself, the house, and the GF. We don't get people coming to the door anymore (including delivery people, who ring the bell, then back off 20 feet.

See we have a bay window in the front, and that is where my dog likes to spend all day. A pretty good audio and visual deterrent.

Also looking getting a video camera system installed.

I bought one of the cheap $100 Foscams a month or two ago. They actually aren't bad at all. Setting up the port forwarding and all can be a little confusing for a Layman, but for the price, it's awesome and I can view from my phone and record from remote if I want. Might get one for the garage and upstairs too eventually.

I am looking at at least 6 cameras. Running the wires is no problem, as I did that for 8 years for my company internally. One for the front door, one looking onto driveway, one for backdoor, one for each side of the house, and one in garage.

Anyone run fake or dummy security cameras? I know it is better to have cameras, obviously. But seems it may deter some..... HD even sells them.

One of my old jobs used em to cover the arcade.....They did not do a damn thing.

Another issue is "most" security camera's have crazy poor quality. So you'll know a person did something, but try seeing their face, license plate or anything worthy of bringing to police. If you want security make sure they are HD.

HD security systems have really come a long way recently, and the prices have come down.

Yup! And finally hdd prices are low so you can keep the footage around a bit.

We did at our warehouse a few years ago, outside the building and in parking lot......
.... someone stole them....seriously, I'm not making that up