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Open Mon–Thu 8:30 AM–9 PM, Fri 8:30 AM–4 PM, Sun 9:30 AM–9 PM
Locksmith services are always 10% off for seniors.
Open Mon–Thu 8:30 AM–9 PM, Fri 8:30 AM–4 PM, Sun 9:30 AM–9 PM
GTA Lockman Mobile Locksmith Services · Toronto & GTA
Deadbolts, strikes, keypads and hinges for the garage door most people forget.
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Most detached and many semi-detached houses have a garage with a small side door, sometimes called a service door or man door, opening onto the side yard or the back garden. It is the door people forget. It often has the original builder's knob lock, a frame that has taken years of weather, and sometimes no deadbolt at all.
That door matters because the garage behind it holds bikes, tools, sports equipment, garden machinery and often a second fridge or freezer. On an attached garage, it also leads to the door into the house, and the garage gives anyone inside plenty of cover to work on that second door out of sight.
No deadbolt. Many garage side doors have only a knob with a spring latch. A spring latch can be slipped or forced far more easily than a deadbolt.
A weak frame. Garage frames are often lighter than house frames, and the side door frame is exposed to rain, snow and ground moisture at the bottom. Rot at the base of the jamb is common.
Warping and sticking. Garage doors sit between outside air and an unheated or partly heated space, so they move more than house doors. A door that sticks is often left unlocked.
Old or mismatched keys. The garage side door is frequently on a different key from the house, and the key is often lost.
Glass panels. Many side doors have a window, which puts a thumbturn or knob within reach of a broken pane.
Fit a deadbolt. A deadbolt with a full bolt is the single most important improvement. If the door is too thin or too weak for a standard deadbolt, a reinforcing plate or a surface-mounted deadlock can work.
Reinforce the strike. Fix the strike with long screws that reach the framing, or fit a reinforced strike plate. On a weak or rotted frame, repair the frame first.
Deal with the glass. Where a window is within reach of the lock, laminated glass, security film or a key-operated inside cylinder can help. A garage is not usually an escape route in a fire, which makes a key-operated inside lock more acceptable here than on a house door, though anyone working in the garage must still be able to get out.
Check the hinges. Garage side doors often swing outwards. If the hinge pins are on the outside, security hinges or hinge studs stop the door being lifted out.
A keypad deadbolt on the garage side door is popular because it lets family members, gardeners or a neighbour get to the garage without a key. The garage often holds the lawnmower, the bikes or the recycling bins that others need, so a code is convenient.
Keypads on garage doors face harsh conditions: rain, snow, cold and direct sun. Choose a model rated for outdoor use and keep fresh batteries in it through the winter. The general strengths and weaknesses are the same as for other keypad locks.
The overhead garage door usually has its own keypad and remote, controlled by the opener. That is a separate system, and changing its code or reprogramming remotes is handled through the opener's own settings.
Keying the garage side door to the house key means one key opens every exterior door. Most residential cylinders can be rekeyed to match, and this is one of the most useful small changes on a house with several keys. The approach is the same one used for one key for every door.
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Photographs from GTA Lockman Mobile Locksmith Services work across Toronto and the GTA. Send a picture of your own door and we can tell you what the visit would involve.
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On an attached garage, the side door is the first barrier and the door into the house is the second. That inner door should have a deadbolt, a solid strike and, in most cases, a self-closing mechanism so it shuts and latches on its own. It is often fire-rated. Fire rating and self-closing hardware are the main requirements for garage-to-house door locks, and that door deserves the same attention as the front door.
Detached garages and larger outbuildings are further from the house and less watched. Their side doors benefit from the same deadbolt and strike reinforcement, and padlocked doors need a strong hasp and a shrouded padlock. A hasp bolted through the door, not screwed to its face, makes the most of shed and outbuilding padlocks.
Garage side doors move with the seasons more than house doors. A few checks each spring and autumn help:
A frozen lock on a garage door in January is a common call, and the causes and fixes match those for frozen door locks in winter.
Many garage side doors are used only a few times a year, for mowing the lawn or getting the bins out. Their locks stiffen, the key is lost, and eventually the door is left unlocked because nobody can find the key. If the door is rarely used, it still needs to lock reliably. Keying it to the house key, or fitting a keypad, removes the problem of the lost key. If the door is never used at all, securing it permanently from inside, with the fire exit needs of anyone working in the garage in mind, is an option.
Garages used as workshops, home gyms or studios often hold far more valuable equipment than a car: power tools, bikes, weights, instruments. The side door on such a garage deserves the same standard as a house door: a sturdy deadbolt, a reinforced strike, security hinges if it swings outwards, and attention to any glass. Some owners add an alarm contact on the side door linked to the house alarm.
In some households, the family comes and goes through the garage side door rather than the front door. That door then gets far more use than it was designed for, and its hardware wears out sooner. Replacing a light knob lock with a heavier-grade handleset and deadbolt, and checking the hinges and frame, makes sense when the side door has become the main way in.
Some home insurance policies ask whether exterior doors have deadbolts, and a garage side door with only a knob lock may count against the house. Where a break-in into the garage leads to a claim, the insurer may ask how the door was secured. A deadbolt on every exterior door, including the garage side door, is a simple way to meet most requirements.
Some garages have a rear door opening onto the backyard rather than a side door. The same principles apply, with one addition: a backyard door is often completely out of sight from the street and the neighbours, so someone can work on it undisturbed. A sturdy deadbolt, a reinforced strike and good lighting matter even more on a rear garage door. Motion-activated lighting on the back of the garage is inexpensive and makes the door far less attractive.
Where the garage side door is rotten, warped beyond adjustment, or too light to hold a deadbolt, replacing the door and frame is often the sensible choice. A pre-hung steel or fibreglass door in a new frame gives a solid base for the lock and hinges. The locks can then be keyed to the house, and the new door fitted with the same standard of hardware as the house doors.
A mechanical deadbolt keyed to the house suits a garage side door used by the household only. A keypad suits a door used by several people, such as a gardener, a neighbour watering plants or older children coming home through the garage. Where the garage is attached, a keypad on the side door combined with a mechanical deadbolt on the door into the house gives convenient access to the garage without making the house itself any easier to enter.
Bikes are among the most commonly stolen items from garages. A secure side door is the first step, but a bike stored in the garage is also safer locked to a ground anchor or a wall-mounted rack with its own lock. Together, a locked side door and a locked bike mean a thief has two obstacles rather than one.
Snow drifts against garage side doors, and meltwater from the roof often drips onto the step and freezes. Ice around the bottom of the door can stop it closing fully, and a door that does not close cannot latch. Keeping the step clear, and fixing a gutter that drips onto the door, prevents a surprising number of garage door lock calls every winter.
Tell us whether the garage is attached or detached, what is currently on the side door, whether the door has glass, and whether you want it on the house key or a keypad. Photographs of the door, its frame and the existing lock help.
We can fit deadbolts and reinforced strikes, repair or replace worn frames at the strike, fit keypads rated for outdoor use, key the garage to the house, and fit security hinges to out-swinging doors. Other work around the house comes under our residential locksmith services.
Keep reading
Yes, in most cases. Many garage side doors have only a knob with a spring latch, which is much easier to slip or force. A deadbolt with a full bolt and a reinforced strike makes the biggest difference.
Yes, in most cases. Many garage side doors have only a knob with a spring latch, which is much easier to slip or force. A deadbolt with a full bolt and a reinforced strike makes the biggest difference.
Usually. Most residential cylinders can be rekeyed to match the house key, so one key opens every exterior door.
It is convenient for family members and helpers who need the garage. Choose a model rated for outdoor use and change the batteries before winter.
The hinge pins may be on the outside. Security hinges with fixed pins, or hinge studs, stop the door being lifted out even if a pin is removed.
Yes. A strike or hinges fixed into rotten wood give little resistance. The damaged section of frame should be repaired or replaced before a new lock is fitted.
Garage doors sit between outdoor air and an unheated space, so they move more than house doors. Adjusting the hinges and strike usually solves it.
Yes. It should have its own deadbolt and solid strike and, in most cases, close and latch on its own. It is the second barrier if the garage is entered.
The overhead door keypad belongs to the garage door opener and is changed through the opener's settings. We deal with the side door and house door locks.
GTA Lockman Mobile Locksmith Services is a mobile locksmith working on homes, businesses and vehicles across Toronto and the GTA, with more than 14 years in the trade. Every review is written by a customer on Google, where you can read them in full.
Areas served: Toronto, North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Stouffville, Newmarket, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Milton, Halton Hills, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Uxbridge.
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