5 Solutions for a Garage Door Lockout
There are few things more frustrating for homeowners and their families than lockouts. While home lockouts get most of the attention, garage door lockouts are just as common, and they can be just as frustrating.
The good news is, garages are unique structures that tend to be less secure than homes, which means that they can be easier to access following a lockout. Homeowners who need to get to their cars, workshops, or storage space without spending a small fortune can read on to find out about five practical solutions for dealing with a garage door lockout.
Common Causes of Garage Lockouts
Choosing the right method for accessing a garage requires first identifying the underlying cause of the lockout. The easiest way to sort out what’s going on is to call Action Lock Doc for help, but savvy homeowners can also try looking for these problems:
Broken motors
Broken locks
Lost keys
Key broke in the lock
Each of these problems has a slightly different set of potential solutions. Once homeowners know what’s keeping them out of the garage, they can try implementing different DIY or professional lockout advice to gain entry, ideally without causing any further damage to their garage doors.
Five Practical Garage Door Lockout Solutions
Each of the solutions described below requires at least a basic level of skill and confidence with tools. Performing these techniques incorrectly can lead to significant damage to garage doors, door tracks, and side doors, and it could even cause bodily injuries. That said, when performed correctly, they can all increase the chances that homeowners can gain entry to their garages quickly and safely.
1. Use the Manual Release
Most modern garages have automatic door openers. These openers are equipped with manual release cords that homeowners can pull to release the garage door and let it move freely.
To use the manual release, just press on the centre of the garage door at the top and look for a hinged lever. It may have a cord or rope attached to it. Once homeowners have tracked down the manual release, they can use unfurled coat hangers or other thin, hooked objects to reach through the space above the door, hook the hinge, and pull the release. The garage door can now be opened manually.
Security-conscious homeowners may have realised at this point how much of a threat the manual release can be. They may want to consider locking the manual release so that burglars or other home invaders can no longer utilize this surprisingly simple garage entry method. Just keep in mind that securing the manual release will also make it more difficult to deal with future lockouts.
2. Open the Side Door
Most garages have side doors, so the first step to take is always to double-check and see if it is locked. If it’s not, that’s great news. If it is, and the door only uses a keyed knob for security, try using the credit card method to get in.
Homeowners should choose credit cards that are not active, as they will almost definitely damage the plastic. After choosing a promising card, just slide it between the door and the frame and work it up or down to the latch. Use the card as leverage to exert force towards the door and push the door to separate the latch from the strike plate.
As with manual release levers for garage doors, unsecured side doors can be as much of a boon to burglars as they are to locked-out residents. If the credit card method works to gain entry to the garage, consider adding a deadbolt and making copies of the keys for easier retrieval should another lockout occur in the future.
3. Make a Shim
Some, but not all, garage doors are designed to be secured with hasps and padlocks. When this is the case, the lock is usually visible from outside the garage. If homeowners have used cheap locks purchased from big box stores, they may be able to shim the lock to gain entry to the garage.
Start by making a padlock shim. People who have never studied the fine art of picking locks can watch a video to learn the basics. Getting the dimensions right can be a challenge because every padlock is a little different, so expect to spend some time experimenting before getting it right.
Homeowners who can successfully make two shims can then curve one of them around the outside of the padlock’s U-bend and insert it into the gap between the lock’s body and its shackle. Next, insert the other shim into the other end. To release the shackle turn both shims to the inside of its U-bend.
If this technique works, it means the padlock isn’t equipped with anti-shim security. Fortunately, or unfortunately, in this case, most of today’s locks are designed to withstand shimming. A locksmith should still be able to pick the lock.
4. Destructive Entry
As the name implies, this technique will destroy the garage door’s lock. The easiest way to destroy a lock is through lock drilling. This process can be quite messy and loud, so expect to answer some questions from the neighbours.
5. Have a New Key Made
If the only problem with the garage door is that the key is lost or broken off in the lock, it may be possible to get a new key made. As long as the garage door does not have a remote, a professional locksmith should be able to make a new physical key. It’s usually much cheaper to call a locksmith to fabricate a new key than it is to repair the damage from destructive entry, so this is most homeowners’ preferred technique.
Calling a Professional Is Always the Best Solution
As most homeowners will have realized by now, the potential solutions described above can be difficult to perform and they can pose hazards to both the structure and the person trying to break into the garage. By far the better solution is to call a locksmith to ask for professional help.
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