Sliding glass doors are a common choice for homes with a deck, patio, or backyard. They provide a nice view, make the room seem bigger, and provide plenty of natural light to the room.

Although sliding glass doors significantly enhance the aesthetics of your space, you might be concerned if such doors are resistant to break-ins and burglaries. By all appearances, a glass door seems vulnerable compared to traditional wooden doors. Hence, opting for tempered glass with an aluminium frame is an ideal solution as it offers comparable protection.

To further improve the safety and Security of your aluminium sliding doors, you might want to try the following options:

1. Obstruct The Tracks

To open or close, sliding doors move horizontally along its upper and lower tracks. Putting an obstacle along these tracks would increase the security of these doors as motion would be prevented. The blocker would ensure that a burglar cannot slide the door open from the outside.

A security bar can be a good choice for a blocker. A security bar is a rod positioned on the track of a sliding door to keep it from opening. Even if a burglar can unbolt the lock, the sliding doors still wouldn’t budge.

A Charlie bar is another blocker but one placed at waist level. This is more convenient since you don’t have to bend each time you need to open the door.

2. Invest In A Security System

Investing in a security system is a wise option if you want to beef up security in your home. Once the system is activated, opening a door or window will trigger an alarm and contact your security company. To open your doors or windows without triggering the sensors, you just need to deactivate the security system.

Adding a shatter alarm to your security system can further enhance the security of your sliding glass door. As the name suggests, a shatter alarm can detect breaking glass and even vibrations. The sensor would promptly notify you if someone is messing with your sliding door or window.

3. Install Heavy-Duty Locks

Simple latches or spring-loaded locks don’t provide adequate protection against break-ins. Consider replacing your locks with heavy-duty security locks specifically made for sliding doors. Equipped with double bolts, these locks are exceedingly difficult to disengage, even for an experienced burglar.

4. Lock It Tight

Sliding doors typically have a simple latch that is attached to the doorframe to prevent the door from opening. However, this latch is no match for a determined burglar armed with a simple tool like a screwdriver.

If replacing the latch with a heavy-duty lock is not feasible at this time, another option is to supplement your simple latch with a secondary lock such as a loop lock which is relatively cheap yet reliable and also fairly easy to install. The locking mechanism consists of a metal casing with a metal pin that drops down and lifts to lock and unlock, respectively.

Additionally, a security pin would prevent burglars from removing your door from the track. With a security pin, you drill a hole through the frame of the sliding door and into the frame of the stationary door. This security pin is a hardened steel pin that’s inserted in the drilled hole that holds the two doors together, ensuring your home is free from break-ins.

5. Maintain The Track Regularly

Most sliding doors have plastic rollers that enable smooth door sliding. Regularly inspecting the tracks if they’re free of debris and ensuring the sliding doors can open and shut smoothly are additional safety precautions you can take. Anything that hinders the door from working properly can be a weakness, rendering it vulnerable to potential intruders.

Frequent cleaning of the rollers and tracks can help enhance the door security. If you’re busy and in need of expert cleaning services, you may hire professionals.

6. Cover Your Doors

The view and natural light that sliding doors offer are quite nice. Unfortunately, this can be disadvantageous as they allow a wide-ranging look into your home, displaying your valuables to potential burglars.

Covering your glass sliding doors with vertical blinds, sliding panels, or shutters could prevent thieves from having a peek inside your home.

7. Reinforce With Security Film

You can maintain your cherished views while improving security by affixing a security film onto the inside of your sliding doors, which gives them added strength. Although extremely thin, these films made of vinyl reinforce the glass, making it difficult to break using a rock or brick. Aside from preventing the entry of burglars, security films also provide additional protection from strong winds or a stray ball from playing kids.

Aside from protective film, you can also opt for impact-resistant glass doors, making them shatterproof.

Depending on your preference, you can go for transparent, mirrored, or opaque security film. The opaque type hinders intruders from peeking inside but allows some light to filter through. The mirrored type is a bit tricky as it reflects on the side that is better illuminated. This means that during the daytime, someone on the outside would see his reflection, while you can see clearly through the door. At night, however, you would see your reflection on the glass doors if the lights are on, while anyone on the outside would be able to see clearly through the glass doors.

8. Light Up The Area

There is a higher risk for burglar visits if your house is in complete darkness at night. Installing motion detectors that react to someone’s presence right outside your sliding glass doors then immediately illuminate the patio would enhance the security of your home.

When installing these devices, however, you need to determine how long the light will stay on, the light sensitivity, and the radius to be covered by the sensors.

Take Away

Many homeowners opt for sliding glass doors for their back yard, patio, or deck and for good reason. These doors give your house a stylish look, letting in natural light and providing a great view of the outside. However, certain measures should be taken to make your sliding glass doors formidable, allowing you to rest easy and just enjoy the view.