Garage door locks matter more than most people think: the garage often holds the car, tools and bikes, and an inside door straight into the house. A tip-up or sectional door usually locks with a T-handle and a lock bar that throws rods into the frame; roll-up doors use a handle lock or a padlock and hasp; side and floor bolts add strength from inside. Tell us about the door, and local locksmiths and garage door suppliers will quote you, free and with no obligation.
Types of garage door lock
The usual choices are:
- T-handle lock bars: a keyed handle in the middle that pulls rods into the side frames. Standard on tip-up and many sectional doors.
- Roll-up door locks: a keyed handle or clam lock that bolts the bottom slat to the guides.
- Side and floor bolts: shoot bolts on the inside, for a door you only ever open from inside.
- Padlock hasps: a hasp and staple or a floor bolt with a padlock, the simplest add-on.
- Manual locks on automated doors: a lock for when the motor is off or disengaged.
Choosing a garage door lock
Look at the door before you buy:
- Door type: tip-up, sectional, roll-up or side-hinged timber doors each take different locks.
- Where you open it from: outside with a key, or only from inside through the house.
- The motor: an automated door is held shut by the motor, but when the power is out it can often be lifted once disengaged, so add a manual lock.
- Keying: many people key the garage to the house so one key does both; a master key system suits bigger sites.
Fitting and common mistakes
A new T-handle usually bolts through the existing hole, but the rods and guides must line up or the handle will be stiff. Common mistakes:
- Relying on the motor alone while away for weeks.
- A strong lock on bent rods or loose guides that let the door be levered.
- Forgetting the inside door from the garage to the house: give it a proper deadbolt.
- Oiling the lock. Dust sticks to oil; use dry graphite or a dry PTFE lubricant.
- A floor bolt with no way to open the door from outside if the house is locked.
What affects the price
The lock type, whether rods and guides need replacing, and travel set the price. Ask whether the lock fits your door without new holes, how many keys you get, and whether the motor needs adjusting afterwards.
If the door itself is old, bent or rusted, a new lock may not help much. Ask whether the rods, guides and springs are sound, and get a garage door supplier to quote for repairs if they are not. A locksmith can usually key the new lock to your house at the same visit.
What to include in your request
- Tip-up, sectional, roll-up or side-hinged
- Whether it has a motor
- What lock is on it now
- Opened from outside, or inside only
- Keyed alike with the house
Garage Door Locks for different clients
- Homeowners: a T-handle lock on the garage door and side bolts inside for when the family is away
- Complexes, estates and body corporates: matching handle locks on each unit garage, with a deadbolt on the door into the unit
- Offices, shops and practices: padlock hasps and floor bolts on roll-up doors at a shop's storeroom or yard
- Landlords and letting agents: garage locks changed between tenants along with the house locks
- Factories, warehouses and workshops: heavy floor bolts and padlocks on roll-up doors of warehouses and workshops
- Farms and smallholdings: padlocked roll-up doors on the implement shed and side-hinged doors with bolts on the store
- Schools, clinics, churches and hostels: keyed handle locks on school and church garages for buses and equipment
- Builders, shopfitters and contractors: garage door installers fitting locks and bolts as they hang new doors
Frequently asked questions
How much do garage door locks cost?
How do I lock a garage door with a motor?
Can I put a padlock on a garage door?
Who fits garage door locks?
Garage Door Locks by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg