The Best Types Of Garage Door Locks To Keep Your Home Secure

Our homes are our sanctuaries, which means we want to feel safe and secure inside them, whether we are home or not. There are things you can do to protect your home from intruders, like securing door hinges, keeping lights on, and parking your car in your driveway rather than inside your garage. But even with all of those things in place, you can still be a target to intruders. The easiest way to keep your home secure is to lock your doors, and this includes your garage door. Many of us feel that keeping our garage door shut is enough to keep us safe, but that is unfortunately not the case. A garage door lock is vital for a super secure home, but there are a few different lock options, like a keyless lock or a T-handle lock, to consider.

If you want to be smart about protecting your garage from break-ins, a lock is vital. If you are tech-focused and want something modern, you can opt for an automatic, or keyless, garage door lock. If you trend more old school, T-handle locks or center locks are still great options. Here's how to decide the best type of garage door lock for your home.

Homeowners have been leaning into technological advances for their homes, and the smart home trend has taken safety to a higher level. An automatic door lock on your garage does just as it says: it automatically locks your garage door as it closes. To unlock and open your garage, you'll need a remote or you can install a keypad as well for more convenience. For the super tech-focused, many automatic garage locks also come with a downloadable app, allowing you to open, close, or lock your garage even when you are not close by.

Opting for an automatic garage lock will mean a bigger investment and a keyless lock installation is often best left to the professionals. Still, though, you can install your own automatic lock, like the popular Liftmaster 841LM Automatic Garage Door Lock found on Amazon for $115. Reviewers highlight the fact that this lock has worked well and was relatively easy to install, but it only works with specific garage door models, so make sure your garage is compatible before purchasing.

If you feel safer with a true key or metal fixture to keep your garage safe and secure, you have a few options available to you. A classic T-Handle lock is a popular option for homeowners as it is easy to install and can work with any garage door. These locks use a cylinder key and are best used for metal doors (side-hinged garage doors aren't compatible with T locks). And while they will lock your door effectively, they aren't the safest option. Experts recommend adding multiple T-Handle locks to ensure your garage is hard to get into as just one can be easy for an intruder to break through.

If you have an overhead garage door, you can install a center lock system, which is placed in the center of your garage pulley system, using the cables to secure the door when locked. These are easy to install and less expensive than automatic versions, but not quite as convenient as you need to lock and unlock them manually. Deadbolts and padlocks are other, simpler, options available for garage doors as well, just make sure they are installed correctly and strong enough to keep a large garage door locked and secured.