High Security Garage Doors — An Explanation of Ratings

Generally when purchasing a high security garage door, buyers are looking for one of two things. First, they may want a door that has an imposing presence and is hard to break through. While this is a business instinct, it is not a product specification. Second, they may have experienced a burglary firsthand or know someone who has, and they want a door that will withstand an attack of this nature. These are two different and distinct needs, and the marketplace most of the time will not address them.

The garage is the most common entry point for a home burglary. This is not because garage doors are weak. It is actually quite the opposite. Newer garage doors are generally very secure. The old garage doors that were installed in the majority of homes are the weak links. Furthermore, buyers often place security to the front door, and the garage door will be secondary in importance, and thus, be unprotected. A garage that connects to the house, and thus is secured to a lesser degree than the front door, is a target for a burglar, regardless of how strong the garage door is.

LPS 1175 and the Standards It Sets

One legit system for rating security is LPS 1175, published by the Loss Prevention Certification Board. It rates products on their ability to resist attacks using progressively sophisticated tools over eight security ratings — SR1 through SR8. For example, the majority of domestic garage doors sit at SR1 or SR2. To be rated at SR1 means that the door was able to resist an attack for 1 minute using only basic tools. At SR2, that resistance is extended to an attack lasting 3 minutes, but using more advanced tools. Neither of those options is very impressive without context, but research on residential burglaries shows that the majority of intruders who operate on an opportunistic basis will give up the attempt if a door resists for 60-90 seconds. This is especially the case for intrusions that will happen in a residential area that is occupied.

Commercial security begins at SR3. For most domestic buyers, SR3 and above are unnecessary. But, understanding SR1 and SR2 in context helps to illustrate how “high security” actually is.

PAS 24 evaluates doors and windows and examines various attack scenarios, including not just brute force, but manipulation of locking hardware. A door which is PAS 24 compliant, for example, has been tested against the locking system being picked or pried, and against someone attempting to break the door panel. For an automated garage door, PAS 24 means the locking system operates correctly for the door in the closed and locked position.

Secured by Design

Secured by Design (SBD) is the police-preferred design scheme, run by the NPCC. The products in this scheme have been tested in hinges and have the official SBD mark. Regarding garage doors, the scheme is useful for buyers in the postal code areas in the upper insurance risk levels, or where an insurer requires a police-approved product.

The Seceuroglide Excel became the first roller garage door to gain SBD accreditation in 2007 and is still one of a few roller doors which hold the accreditation. In the security assessment of roller doors, which is notoriously difficult, SBD accreditation is a valid point of comparison against other doors, where the security claims from the manufacturer are largely unsubstantiated.

Not every good door is on the SBD scheme and not every SBD door is good for the application. However, when you compare two doors and one has SBD and the other does not, the SBD door is the better option.

Where Most Doors Actually Fail

The main sections of modern sectional and roller doors are not typically the weakest parts. High quality 40mm double-skinned polyurethane filled panels are difficult to breach. The areas most commonly breached are elsewhere.

Garage side entry doors are commonly targeted. They are less costly and are not built to the same standards as the garage doors themselves. Insecurity is also present when a garage has a high security main door with a typical side entry door.

The perimeter seal is important. Buyers cannot appreciate how important it is. A door with a small gap can still be breached with a cord and loop technique. This is particularly easy to accomplish with a door that has a canopy style up and over mechanism and has not been adjusted to maintain contact with the seals. This technique has been documented.

The remote control systems of automated doors are becoming more problematic. Prior to the mid-2000s, fixed code remotes were easy to duplicate. Hardware to duplicate these remotes was easily accessible and used regularly. Automated doors that integrate technology predating rolling code tech provide little to no security to the door itself. Unlike other systems, Hörmann’s BiSecur system employs 128 bit AES and a frequency-hopping method, removing the risk of cloning. While rolling code systems offer more security than fixed code, they are still vulnerable to relay attacks within a keyless entry situation.

Reinforcement of Current Doors

Security upgrades to a building do not always require the replacement of the door. Up and over doors, particularly those with canopy gear, require the use of an astragal seal to mitigate the cord loop vulnerability. Defender bolts significantly improve security and drop into a floor socket to prevent the door from being pushed up.

Security of roller doors hinges on the locking mechanism of the top slat. This is often greatly underspecified on cheaper doors. In the Seceuroglide range, top slats are locking and purpose-designed for the door, rather than adapted hardware. This results in a remarkable difference in resistance to forced entry.

Automated sectional doors employ a spring mechanism which is a vital component. When a spring is broken, the door will rest on the bottom edge with the mechanism completely disengaged. While this is not a failure of security, it does mean the door is actually easier to lift. The condition of a door spring should be checked at least annually during a service visit. With many of the older door installations, this could actually be the last thing on the servicing schedule.

A Note on Insurance

Most domestic insurance policies do not cover claims on manufacturer security assurances; they cover claims on security certification like LPS 1175, PAS 24, and Secured by Design. Some policies may stipulate minimum security standards for access doors to the garage from the house which may not apply to detached garages. In determining which doors to purchase, it is a better approach to first check insurance terminology rather than the other way around. In the absence of this, the costs are likely to be similar and the alternative is discovering this when making a claim.