You are Here: Blog Home | How Secure Is Your Garage Door? Preparing Your Home for the Darker Evenings
Call us on: 01603 410304
or: 0800 0180304
Call us on: 01603 410304
or: 0800 0180304
As the evenings start drawing in, home security often becomes more of a consideration. We remember to lock our front and back doors, but the garage can sometimes be overlooked.
For many households, a garage contains far more than just a car. Bikes, tools, gardening equipment and other valuable belongings are often stored inside, while an integral garage may also provide another route into the home itself.
If you are replacing an older garage door, security should therefore be an important part of your decision.
Secured by Design (SBD) is a police security initiative which works to improve the security of buildings and products and help design out crime.
For a garage door to achieve Secured by Design accreditation, it has to meet recognised security standards and undergo independent testing. This gives homeowners additional reassurance that the security of the door has been properly tested rather than simply relying on a manufacturer’s claims.
Hörmann’s accredited garage doors have undergone testing that includes a prolonged brute-force attack to demonstrate their strength and resistance to attempted intrusion.
Sectional garage doors are already a popular option for customers who come to us looking for a combination of security, insulation and everyday convenience.
Rather than opening outwards, the door is divided into horizontal sections which travel vertically before moving back underneath the garage ceiling. The lack of exposed external hinges also helps to reduce potential points of attack.
Hörmann’s automated LPU 42 and LPU 67 sectional garage doors are supplied with Secured by Design as standard, subject to the required installation and specification criteria.
The doors achieved the accreditation in their standard format without additional security modifications being required.
The LPU 42 and LPU 67 are both double-skinned sectional doors, making them particularly suitable where you also want good thermal insulation. This can be important if your garage is attached to your home, used regularly as a workshop or gym, or simply somewhere you want to keep warmer during the winter.
If space is limited, we will often recommend looking at a roller garage door instead.
Because the door opens vertically and rolls into a compact housing above the opening, you don’t need to leave room for the door to swing out across your driveway. You also retain more usable ceiling space inside the garage.
Hörmann’s RollMatic T and RollMatic 2 roller garage doors can now also be supplied with Secured by Design accreditation, subject to the required installation and specification criteria. The SBD specification can be selected when the door is ordered at no additional cost.
Like the sectional doors, the RollMatic models have been independently tested against attempted forced entry. This provides an accredited security option for homeowners who prefer the space-saving design of a roller door.
There are some conditions that need to be met for Secured by Design accreditation. These include requirements around how the door is installed and restrictions on options such as glazing, external handles or releases. Our team can talk you through these when specifying your door.
There is no single garage door that will suit every property. The right choice depends on the size and shape of your opening, the available space, how you use the garage and the level of insulation and security you require.
At Cooks Doors, we supply and install the full range of Hörmann garage doors and can advise you on the most suitable option for your home.
If you are thinking about replacing your garage door as we head into the darker months, visit our Norwich showroom or contact our team to arrange a free survey.
