Where You Live Matters
Saturday, September 22nd, 2007 at 8:33 am by angrybob
While its rare, every now and then I forget to close the garage when I get home from work. I did that yesterday and it was open all night. My garage has two single doors versus the double-wide. On my side, the very first thing a spectator would see, aside from my vehicle, is the dual undertail exhaust of my Futura (ugh - with the key in it).
I have had my fair share of things stolen out of my garages and parked cars over the years when I lived in Michigan. I think a lot of it has to do with the teenager content of the neighborhood as much as the location. Fortunately I live in a good area and, for the moment, there aren’t a lot of wandering teens at night.
I always have that empty feeling in my stomach when I open the garage the morning after. I do the quick tour for the big stuff, then look at the workbench and easily grabbed tools. The only thing I could ask more of is if I got a call from the neighbors. But that would be bonus, not a requirement.
So far I have been lucky. I fear the blog entry some tie down the road full of explicatives and demeaning the human race for my loss. In the end, it would be my fault for providing the opportunity. I am sure that a few folks drove by at 3am and noticed the garage was open. Thanks for not stopping.
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AB,
Before I installed the home security system, I used a garage door monitor by Chamberland. You can pick these up for as little as $20 to monitor one door. Add an extra sensors and you can then monitor up to three doors. The base station unit can be near your bedroom or in the living room, if the red light is flashing then something is up. Kept me from having to check to make sure I did close the garage doors. Just search under Google for “Chamberlain Clicker Garage Door Monitor #CLDM1” or a few of those words and you should be good to go. A full kit with two sensors should be less than $45. Chamberlain is just one brand name and you can find these sensors under the Lifetmaster and Sears Crafstman brands as well.
Amazon.com has the CLDM1 For $23 each kit. A CLDM2 is harder to find and will cost $20. When you consider shipping, it is a better deal to buy TWO CLDM1’s from Amazon.com and get free shipping on the two. For $46 out the door, you can monitor both doors and you can even have two base stations, one in your bedroom and the other in the kitchen. The Liftmaster version is also on Amazon.com sold though Sanford and Son Overhead Doors at $16 for the Reciever and Sensor P/N: 915LM, and $11.29 for a second Sensor: 916LM. Shipping is $5.30 for a grand total of $32.54, so that is your best deal.
Now I have upgraded to a whole house security system. I got the garage door monitor, so I know when my garage door is open or not. And yes, I did opt for the cool LCD touch screen panel in two locations in the house. Since I have two garages to monitor, this is the way to go. Even got wireless remotes to lock the house up when I leave. I upgraded the door locks on the front and back doors to have an automatic deadbolt that is locked by the security system. Just in case I forgot to lock one of the doors.
So AB, get one of the Garage Door Monitors for your home and you will not have to walk into an open garage in the AM again