Phone Number: 0161 943 6875

Mobile Number: 07775 193 000

How Secure Are Roller Shutter Doors

  • Posted by:
  • Admin
  • Tags:
  • Roller, Shutter, Garage, Locks, Manual
  • Posted date:
  • 07-09-2022
How Secure Are Roller Shutter Doors

This article asks: how secure are roller shutter doors? We look at modern security solutions to keep your roller garage doors secure.

Roller door security features

Due to the way that roller doors have been designed, they have zero handles or locks. This is a very simple but very effective feature that is applied to almost all roller doors that you will find. The fact that the doors have no visible locks or handles means that if a potential thief wants to enter the space, then they will see no clear entry points.

In past times, roller doors would be highly susceptible to forced attacks that come from below. However, these days due to advances in technology, many varieties of electric shutters are fitted with patented anti-lift locking systems installed.

This is a very simple but incredibly effective form of protection. Anti-lift locking systems will stop the door from being forced open from below. If a very determined thief manages to break their way through the systems and manages to open the roller shutter door anyway, then they will be met with an alarm that boasts a decibel level of around one hundred.

One other area of a roller door that is commonly targeted by thieves is the guide channel. These are the channels that sit on either side of the door that allows the shutters to roll both up and down. Modern roller doors are designed to have extruded guide channels. The extra amount of material ensures that the guide channel is less prone to be attacked. Any potential thieves will be unable to use their tools in order to attack the shutter curtain and force their way into this part of the shutter door.

Are Roller Shutters Good For Security?

Modern security solutions

How Secure Are Roller Shutter Doors?

As the security features of roller shutter doors become more sophisticated and advanced, so do the criminals who are looking to break into properties. This means that it is of the utmost importance that you keep up with the times and when it comes to security, always use modern solutions.

It is not uncommon for potential thieves to use types of code stealing technology in order to gain access to garage doors. To combat this, modern roller shutter doors are equipped with special systems that can remotely transmit completely different signals each time that the door is opened. This means that code stealing technology is made completely useless.

Are Roller Garage Doors Secure?

With the most basic roller shutter garage doors, there is extremely little security, and in most cases, they can very easily just be lifted up from the bottom of the unit. In the UK, the majority of roller garage doors are operated electrically. 

An electric motor lifts and lowers the door curtain, and the whole operation is carried out through gravity. When the shutter is completely closed, what is actually happening is the roller curtain is just hanging from the interior barrel. 

Some models of roller shutter doors will claim they have special security straps that attach the curtain to the barrel as a security function. In reality, this method is pretty much completely ineffective and can easily be broken by a trespasser.

In order for the barrel to hold down the curtain more effectively, the curtain is held using very thick, strong, and extruding solid attachments that are installed along the width of the curtain. The same is applied to particular models where the curtain is directly fixed to the barrel. Unfortunately, this does not make for an effective position when the door closes and can sometimes leave a large space at the top of the door behind the lintel. 

Manual Locking

Some roller door models have mechanical locking methods, such as a thick steel bar in the upper section of the curtain. The bar is then placed under a heavy block on either side when closed. This makes the curtain virtually impossible to lift up. When looking at domestic electric roller shutter doors, this is the best kind of protection that you can expect.

roller door models have mechanical locking methods

If you want to fit various manual locks to an electric roller garage door, then this is possible. This can be done by locking down the door when it is closed by either locking the bottom slat to the floor with a ground lock or by inserting a bullet lock pin into the guides that are located on both sides in order to hold the curtain at a mid-height. 

Although, if you use this method, then isolating the electric motor drive is essential in order to make sure that there is no accidental use of the motor while the locks are in place. Due to this, the method is only suitable for when the door is planning to go unused for a long period of time.

There are other factors that play a role in the door's overall security level as well. For example, the actual strength of the curtain lath sections that have been used in the door's construction. Some very lightweight slabs that are used in relatively lower quality roller doors can be much too easy to break and bend. They can also very easily be cut through without too much noise being made or even without requiring that much effort.

Radio Controls

Moving on now to the electric motor using radio controls. How secure is this?? There are some roller doors that use coded technology along with remote control handsets and other control systems that send encrypted signals in order to control the door. 

Using this system means that it is almost impossible to replicate the signal for the door, and the only systems that would be vulnerable are low-priced transmitters that use older technology. Cheaper transmitters will have a small number of variables in their coding. This means they can be copied with only a small amount of effort.

Manual Override

All electric roller garage doors will have a manual emergency override system as a standard. This system is usually located within the garage in case a power failure or a different type of issue takes place.

In some cases, it is possible to make the override system completely inaccessible to anyone by using a lockable cover plate. This gives the security of the system a boost and will reduce the chances that someone will manually operate the door in order to gain access.


Are you looking for security shutters and doors in Manchester? We offer commercial and domestic doors and shutters offering security for your home or business.