I need to lock my garage door when I leave the house. How to install an outside key lock?

There are 3 different types of locks on a garage door

The first and most common way to lock a garage door is the opener unit. When the opener and the door are in the down position the door cannot be opened manually. The second type of lock is a T-handle lock. These locks use a T-handle on the outside of the door and need a key to unlock. When you turn the handle it pushes or pulls a bar thru the track of the door locking it down or releasing it to open door. The other type of lock is called a slide lock. This lock is a small metal box with a slide handle that is located inside on the left or right side of the door. A slide lock just slides a bar thru the track to lock it down. At the end of the bar is a hole so you can put a padlock on it if needed. Slide locks are the most simple design but also the most effective when used with a padlock. The door cannot be opened from the inside or outside of door without a key or combination. All the other locking systems can be easily unlocked from the inside of the garage with or without keys. Warning, if you have an opener installed in your garage you have to always make sure the door is not locked when you operate the opener. This is a common situation and it happens all the time.

top section of the garage door

The result is damage to the top section of the garage door. When I install garage door openers and the door has a manual locking mechanism I always ask the homeowner if they would like me to disable it to prevent any damage to the door. When you are installing at handle locking system for your garage door there are two different types of T handle lock one uses a flat bar on the inside of the garage door and when you turn the TV handle it slides the flat metal bar through the garage door track and locks the garage door in that way. The other type of T handle garage door lock does not use a flat metal bar that slides to the track it uses a cable system and either one or two flap locks that slide into a bracket when you close the garage door and prevents it from opening until you turn the T handle. The easiest way to tell which kind of locking system you have is the cable t-handle will have the actual key hole right in the handle of the garage door on the outside and if it uses a flat bar system then you will have at handle and then another round keyhole like you would have in your front door of  they both serve the same purpose but they work a little bit differently and therefore installing them is different.

replacing a broken lock

If you are replacing a lock because the one you have is broken or you have lost the key then it makes it a lot easier because you will not have to drill a new hole so you should just be able to replace the the new hardware with the old hardware. In my opinion as far as ease of installation the T handle lock that uses the cable system instead of a flat bar is the easier one to install if you can find one of these locks at a hardware store then I would suggest using them but if you are replacing a lock because the one you have is broken or you do not have the key then I would just replace the same type o you don’t have to drill any new holes new holes. First you will have to drill base efficient size hole to fit t handle linkage through the garage door you want to put it on the the second section from the bottom. Then you will have to install the deadbolt if this is the system that you are using and make sure it slides into the slot when the door is locked. Once you have the T handle and deadbolt locking system in place and you’ll catch the linkage to be flat bars that slide into the garage door track or if you are using a tienda with a cable system then you will need to measure out the cables going from the T handle to the outer edges of the track. Any of these situations that you are using you will need to read the instructions that come with the locking system because it is crucial that you understand what the manufacturer is trying to tell you when installing any locking system to make sure your safety is guaranteed.