Gate Codes: Small Habits That Matter

A keypad is the most useful access upgrade most households make. It is also the one people set up once and never think about again.

Change the code when people leave

Gardeners, cleaners, contractors and house sitters all end up with the code. That is the point of having one, but codes accumulate.

Changing it takes under a minute and is worth doing whenever somebody stops working for you.

Do not use the house number

It is the first thing anyone standing at your gate can see. The same applies to the year, and to any four digits already written on the property.

Somewhere in Calabasas there is a gate whose code is the number on the pillar beside it.

Use a separate code for contractors

Most keypads support more than one code. Give trades their own so it can be removed without disrupting the household.

On systems that log entries this also tells you when somebody actually arrived.

Watch the wear pattern

Four buttons that have visibly worn are four digits. That narrows a code to a handful of combinations for anybody paying attention.

Changing the code periodically evens the wear and removes the clue.

Keep a way in that does not need power

Codes are electronic. Know where your manual release is and keep the key somewhere you will find it in the dark with a car on the drive.

That is not a small point on the evening the power is out.