If you genuinely want to protect your home against intruders, you must first identify all the weak points in your defences. Naturally, those would be the entry points, which are outside of public view, have low reinforcement and are easily broken. While windows on the back of your home fit this description perfectly, there is one entry point that’s even more lucrative for burglars, and that’s your sliding door.
Sliding doors are awesome to have, as they provide you with easy access to your backyard, open the room to a lot of extra light and, in general, make the whole place a lot bigger. Still, when it comes to protecting your home, they would be the go-to entry point for any burglar with at least a bit of experience. Sliding doors are fragile, pretty easily unlocked from the outside, and practically, they are just a suggestion on your part that you’d prefer not to have anyone in your home. So naturally, you’d need to reinforce your sliding door, and we have just the tips to help you do that.
Block the door tracks
It’s not a secret that sliding doors use a rail to slide open and close. So, it comes to reason that if you block the door track whenever you’re not using it, it will add a layer of protection to this entry point. This will not only be one additional obstacle in front of an unwanted guest but will also work as a barrier to children or family members with memory issues, dementia or other illnesses that may make them prone to wander aimlessly.
Making a door blocker is relatively easy, and you can do one without needing to pay someone to install it. A wooden broom handle or any other long enough stick that fits the bottom track would do the trick. You may want to add a small cloth on both ends, as otherwise, it may leave marks on your door.
If you are not the type to do things yourself, you may buy a precisely designed metal blocker, which can be adjusted in length. They often have a rubber end, so they won’t damage your door and fit perfectly in all standard sliding door tracks.
Mount the door to the floor
Blocking your sliding door’s trail is a great start, but many burglars manage to pass through that by simply derailing the sliding door. All they need is a small lever to raise the door, which will open instantaneously. Naturally, this will make sliding it harder but not impossible. So, you must ensure your door can’t be lifted when it’s unnecessary. This can be done by simply mounting it to the floor. Of course, you need to be smart about that, as just mounting it will prevent you from opening the door at all, and you need a door, not a window. So, simply install a heavy-duty floor latch which can hook to the bottom of the door when it’s closed. To make it even more comfortable, you should make it easily detachable with your foot.
Reinforce the glass
Even if your sliding door can’t be lifted or easily opened, it is only as secure as its glass is strong. Usually, sliding doors have a bit harder breaking glass, but nothing that can withstand a rock or a forceful attempt to break it. So reinforcing your glass should be the next step in making your sliding door impenetrable.
You can go right ahead and buy some storm proof sliding doors. Of course, their primary purpose is to prevent flying objects from shattering the glass, so it would be pretty hard to break it even if you try. However, such sliding doors are quite expensive, and not everyone can afford one.
A far cheaper alternative is getting a roll of security films, ensuring your door doesn’t break. Just apply this film to the inside of the glass, and you will render your glass practically unbreakable. Well, not really, as if the burglars are determined to break it, they will manage to. But it will take them much longer time and force to succeed.
Add a one-way film to the glass –
The main reason people want a sliding door is all that natural light that comes inside. However, this comes with some serious downsides. The main concern should be your privacy. A massive glass door will allow anyone from the outside to see what’s going on in your home. It will also enable all burglars to see inside your home, which is not ideal. So, you can go with some curtains. That, however, will hinder the main reason you have a sliding door – the light. So, a better solution might be to apply a one-way film onto the glass. True, the light will get a bit dim, but you will still have the benefits of seeing the outside without the drawback of having everyone on the outside see you.
Install a secondary lock
Every sliding door has a lock mechanism. However, almost all of them use a small latch that attaches to the door. That’s extremely easy to unlock, even by an amateur burglar. What you need instead is a deadbolt. Of course, most sliding doors don’t have one out of the box, so you might want to consider installing one post-factum. A good idea is not to do this yourself if you are not a professional. Finding a trusted locksmith will give you a professional set of eyes who will place the lock and the deadbolt where they will do the best job and where they will look most esthetic.
Install alarms and sensors
Still, regardless of all precautions, the best way to protect your home is by installing some sensors, alarms and other high-end security measures. The market is flooded with excellent solutions when it comes to this, but we suggest going for a magnetic alarm system, which is inexpensive but highly efficient. In essence, these are two magnets that, when separated, activate the alarm.
A glass break sensor is the apparent compliment to this alarm, as the magnetic alarm won’t be activated if the burglars break the window. Once again, such sensors are pretty affordable and easily installed. Still, we suggest hiring a professional to install them for you.
Conclusion
Fear of getting your home burglarised is not a good enough reason to avoid sliding doors. All you need to do is to ensure they are secured. Following our tips, you will have no problem getting all the benefits and none of the drawbacks of having a sliding door.
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