Sliding Glass Door Security Techniques
Posted on September 25, 2009
Leave a Comment
As has been mentioned in other articles on this site, care must be taken to secure your sliding glass doors. They are often targeted by burglars because of the perceived weakness they provide in security. However, there are steps you can take to hinder such intruders from gaining entrance. We will look at some of these in this article.
(Note, the following 5 points are based on guidelines given for securing sliding glass doors on the City of Minneapolis website, police department, crime prevention resources)
1. Prevent forced sliding with pinning. This is to prevent movement on both tracks. The way to do this, is to get a screw long enough to penetrate the inner frame fully, and partially the outer. Drill the hole through both frames just for the length of the screw. Insert the screw to prevent movement on both tracks.
2. Prevent movement on inside track with window bar. The idea behind this is to place an obstacle between the end of the inside door and the inside of the track, which would then stop any movement on the inside track. What you need to do is measure the distance between the edge of the inner door and the end of the track, then cut a piece of wood to fit in the gap.
3. Prevent movent on outside track with slide bolt or anti-sliding block. Manufacturers provide specific instructions for installing these. You should refer to them for details.
4. Prevent prying with screws. Care should be taken to prevent any kind of prying of your sliding doors. You can address this by drilling 3 holes into the upper frame of each door (6 in all). Insert screws. Make sure that the doors are able to glide past them.
5. Prevent prying with keyed slide bolts. The keyed slide bolt should be installed at the top of the track. Again, the manufacturer will have specific instructions to do this. Refer to them for details.
So those are 5 steps recommended by the police department of the city of Minneapolis which you can take to secure your sliding glass doors. Other points for consideration are:
1. The sliding glass door lock might need occasional maintenance. Be careful not to neglect doing so, if indeed your lock does require it.
2. Some locks are more secure than others. You can consider upgrading to more secure types.
3. Install a grill. This adds an extra layer of security, so in the event the glass is shattered or cut, will prove another obstacle for an intruder to overcome.
Comments
Leave a Reply