Securing your property has become our reality. Gone are the days where you could leave your house unlocked while you zip to the shop for bread and milk. Now we lie awake at night and worry about what else we can do, to ensure our family is protected and our property is as secure as possible.
For those that have driveway gates, here are a few tips to improve the security of your gate; and in turn the security of your property.
- Automating your drive way gate
- Bracketing
- Tamper proofing
- Additional security considerations
Automating your drive way gate
If you have a driveway gate that is not automated, securing it with a strong chain and lock is advisable. However you may want to consider adding a gate motor, as this aids in keeping the gate locked. When in closed position, the gate cannot be forced open as the motor keeps it in locked position.
Bracketing
If you do have a motorised gate, there are still some factors you need to be aware of. If you have a sliding gate, you should check if the gate can be lifted off the rails, as this would allow someone to gain access to your property.
To prevent this from happening you can add a bracket that will ensure the gate can’t be lifted off the rails. Make sure the gate is in good condition and gate wheels is not worn which will allow play to lift the gate off the rail.
For more tips you can read the following article on basic maintenance for driveway gates.
Tamper proofing
Check if your gate motor is accessible from outside the gate. If so install an anti-theft bracket to deter anyone from tampering with your motor. You could also put up some metal sheeting at this section to prevent any access to your motor.
For swing gates, if you have an open style gate, consider adding sheet metal or wood to close the section where the arms are attached. As this will prevent tampering with the arms.
Additional security considerations
For further security, you could install a magnetic gate lock. These locks cannot be picked as a traditional lock or padlock can, and it takes a lot of force to open a magnetic lock. The only downside is, that when there is no power they lock loses its magnetism and will unlock. So you would need a traditional lock as backup, or battery backup for the power supply to your gate.
In conclusion
Home security has become very important and there are many ways that one could go about ensuring their home is as safe as possible. One of the most effective methods would be by installing a gate motor on an automatic driveway gate which cannot then be lifted off its tracks or tampered with from outside the gates.
The other consideration should also include some form of bracketing (to prevent someone climbing over), anti-theft features (to deter tampering) and additional security considerations like adding metal sheeting at swing gates where arms attach for extra protection.
Lastly, assess your gate regularly to see if any equipment or bracketing have been tampered with or if further improvements can be made to deter would be intruders.
