Sliding Glass Door Security – 5+ Solutions

Sliding glass doors give a modernistic touch to a house. However, as much as we love sliding doors, they are very vulnerable to break-ins.

Putting an efficient sliding door security system in place is extremely important if you want to ensure the safety of your family.

Here are a few steps to take to secure and lock sliding glass doors in your home. 

Quick Summary:

• Install a security system on the sliding door panel
• Add locks
• Install a Glass Break Sensor for doors
• Add shatterproof window film

Sliding Glass Doors: The Problems

Here are the reasons why they are prone to break-ins.

Latches instead of locks

Sliding doors do not naturally have locks, they have latches, that can be easily manipulated. Unlike locks, they can be opened up quite easily.

Door tracks

Under the sliding door are the tracks that are prone to malfunction, or manipulation, a drawback absent in traditional doors. 

All that glass

Needless to say, glass is highly susceptible to breakage. Anyone can break the glass if it hasn’t been reinforced.

Sliding Door Security: The Solutions

Install a Security System

In this day and age, an alarm and camera system are crucial. The alarm system alerts you if any unauthorized person breaches the sliding door and gets access to your home.

Burglars are considerably less likely to intrude on a house and door that is equipped with an alarm system since their visibility may scare them away and causes an additional barrier of entry to getting into the house.

Add a New Locking System

Sliding door locks are crucial to protecting your home’s patio door from break-ins or intruders.

Typically, you’d have to purchase the sliding door lock separately.

Depending upon the design and operation of the door lock, there could be two options of locking the door, either completely, or partially to keep the sliding glass door open a little for ventilation.

There are plenty of sliding door locks to choose from. If need be, you could also browse through an array of locks from a local hardware store. 

Slip in a Security Bar 

A security bar can be used to prevent a glass door from being opened. These are commonly placed between the window and the door and prevent the door from being open through pressure on the bar acting as a wedge.

Close the Curtains

We recommend covering the sliding panel door with curtains or blinds, to prevent anyone from seeing inside and noticing any valuables you may have left out. 

Get a security door brace

If you have the resources, barricade your french doors for the extra bit of security, and install a three-point locking system.

Security Pin

When trying to install sliding glass doors, people also use security pins to enhance safety. You could purchase the pin from your local hardware store if need be.

Glass Break Sensor

You don’t necessarily have to go for a sophisticated alarm system, but if you can afford it, you should splurge on a comprehensive technology, which also comes with a glass break detector.

The detector will alert you with a loud alarm if there is a crack on the doors due to an impact. In case the breakage was caused by a burglar, you could contact the police before any more damage is done.

Security Bar

Installing a security bar can make the security tighter. These metal bars can fold and brace, to lock the sliding glass door. This lock is pretty simple to install. 

Auxiliary Locks

Another way to reinforce the first lock and secure sliding glass doors is to install a secondary lock. The auxiliary sliding door locks are usually installed across the top frame.

Although the design may differ from manufacturer to manufacturer, all of them would add some level of additional patio door security. 

Reinforce the Glass

Another option is impact-resistant sliding glass doors, which pretty much works the same way, and protect your house from burglary, and natural disasters.

Security Gate

You can also barricade the doors using a security gate. The process of installing the sliding door gate varies tremendously, from gate to gate. Therefore, it is recommended to hire a professional for this job. 

Get a Deadbolt Lock

A deadbolt lock is also an option. You can consult the seller directly regarding the installation of the deadbolt lock if you bought it from a physical store.

If you have the extra cash to splurge, you could also consider installing a digital lock. These kinds of sliding door locks are accessed via a card and automatically lock sliding glass doors. 

Add a Rod in the Tracks

You can add a rod in the door tracks to prevent it from opening. 

Add Window Film

A Shatterproof film can protect the glass door from a number of factors, including burglars, break-ins, and vandalism, and solidify the door security.  Some even apply it to their sliding patio door to protect themselves from a natural disaster like a hurricane. It can defend your home from debris being flung at it during stormy weather conditions and provide added security. (1) 

Reinforcing the sliding glass door lock or sliding panel door:

While sliding panel door locks can render a fair level of security, there is no harm in providing it with some additional reinforcement. (2)

FAQs

Will door reinforcements work for my sliding glass door?

Yes, reinforcements like auxiliary locks, security cameras, and bars would certainly work.

Can I install shatterproof glass in my sliding glass door?

Yes, you can either apply a transparent or a tinted shatterproof film to the sliding patio door, but we’d suggest you go for a tinted one.

By doing so, you could safeguard your privacy from any lurking potential intruder. The good news is, the shatterproof film can be applied to the door at quite a cost-effective price if you choose the right seller.

References:
(1) natural disaster – https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/natural-disaster
(2) reinforcement – https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Two-types-of-reinforcement-and-their-examples-in-operant-conditioning-22_fig1_273134980