Should I leave my garage door cracked open in summer for airflow or does that create security risks?

Leaving your garage door cracked open in summer is one of those habits that feels practical but creates more problems than it solves — both for security and for the garage itself. The short answer is that there are better ways to ventilate a garage in Ottawa's summer heat without compromising the security of your home.

The security concern is real and worth taking seriously. A cracked garage door — even just 6 to 12 inches — is an open invitation. Someone can slide under it, reach in to pull the emergency release cord, and have your door fully open in seconds. That cord is designed to be accessible from inside for emergencies, but it becomes a vulnerability the moment there's any gap at the bottom. For an attached garage especially, this is essentially an unlocked side door into your house. Ottawa neighbourhoods vary, but garage break-ins are consistently one of the more common property crimes in the region, and a cracked door is low-hanging fruit.

Beyond security, a cracked door in Ottawa's humid summer creates its own problems. July and August humidity levels in Ottawa regularly hit 70 to 80 percent, and pulling that moist air into a garage — particularly one with a coated floor, metal shelving, or power tools — accelerates rust and corrosion. If you have a heated or insulated garage, you're also undermining the thermal envelope you paid to build.

The better approach is purpose-built ventilation. A through-wall exhaust fan (roughly $150 to $400 for the unit, plus installation) paired with a louvred intake vent on the opposite wall creates genuine cross-ventilation without any security gap. For garages with finished ceilings, a roof vent or gable vent accomplishes the same thing. If you want to work in the garage with the door open, that's completely reasonable — just stay present and close it when you leave. A side entry door with a deadbolt and a screen door insert gives you ventilation and security simultaneously, and it's a much smarter long-term solution than propping the main door.

If your garage is getting uncomfortably hot in summer, it's also worth looking at insulation and whether a mini-split heat pump might be worth the investment — they provide cooling in summer and heating in winter, and Ottawa summers have gotten noticeably hotter over the past decade. That's a bigger project, but it solves the comfort problem permanently rather than working around it.