Securing Glass Doors

[Bill_in_TR]

Most of the home invasion threads focus on the intruder coming through the front door. Making sure that door is as difficult to break through as possible is a big defensive step. But what steps if any do people take with glass doors in other parts of the house. Like patio doors with 6 feet or more of glass. I know the statistics seem to say that front door break ins are the norm. But isn't there the occasional clever invader that checks out other options? Do people rely on the noise factor of a glass door break in? What about the glass cutter approaches you see on television? I know the absolute obvious answer is don't have glass doors, particularly large ones. What, if any, steps do people take in this regard?

 

[Jeff White]

3M makes a film that you can apply that makes the glass very hard to break. I don’t know about resistance to cutting it with a glass cutter.

I took a lot of burglary reports in my career and I don’t recall any entry being made with a glass cutter. While I’m sure that it happened somewhere I’ve never seen it. I think glass cutters are pretty much the tool of the script writers of high end heist and spy movies.

 

[.38 Special]

I consider the lower level of my home essentially indefensible for that reason.

 

[Bill_in_TR]

I consider the lower level of my home essentially indefensible for that reason.

Unfortunately we only have one level. Us olde phartes prefer not doing flights of stairs.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Layered defense. I would look to secure the master bedroom or a wing of the house more. If they bang 2-3 times onto the sliding door before it shatters then I have enough time to be ready for them if they continue.

I'm a bit done living in fear. Bad things happen, but not that often. Yes, I'll carry and lock the doors but getting a bit too old to worry about much more.

Make things harder for them but don't live in a cage of your own making.

 

[lemaymiami]

For anyone worried about widows or glass patio door entries by possible attackers…

All of that is resolved if you install hurricane rated windows the way so many folks have down here in south Florida… We just completed the process at my own home and it isn’t cheap (our cost was nearly $30,000)…

As long as our patio door is latched now, I don’t think you could force access with an axe. They’re a huge safety and security upgrade for any dwelling.

 

[Tilos]

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[.308 Norma]

If it's a sliding glass door (like the one we have for a door out to our rear deck), lay a 3/4' or 1" dowel (about 30" long) in the track. Or if you don't have a dowel handy, a 1X2 board will work. Even if the home invader(s) has the best glass cutter in the world, they are not going to get that dowel or board out of the track, and unless they do, they'll never be able to slide that door open more than an inch or two - depending on how long the dowel or board is.
Our sliding glass door is worn out, and we're getting a new one later on this month, but that 1X2 board laying in the track is the only lock we've had on that door for about a year now. That's because about a year ago, my wife told me the door wasn't latching right. So, I with my gifted mechanical knowhow (and fumble fingers) tried to take the latch apart to see what was wrong with it. I dropped the danged thing down in the bottom of the door and can't fish it out even with a strong magnet!!
Oh well - the 1X2 in the track is more secure, and our sliding glass door is 30 some odd years old anyway.

 

[hso]

glass cutter approaches you see on television?

TV fantasy.

 

[Double_J]

I have a friend who works for a glass company back in my home town. I asked him about the "glass cutter" circle trick from Hollywood. He told me the cutter just scores the glass, and it still takes a bit of effort to break it and it is far from silent. I say put some 3M security film on the door with a dowel or something else in the track. That will be a solid defense against intrusion, especially if it is a hurricane rated door.

 

[Hunter 08]

In the two houses I grew up in, both had patio doors. Both locked, but we also dropped in hard wood stops that partly wedge between the door and the frame.

 

[JTHunter]

Like .308Norma, I put a 1x2" board in the track of my slider. One difference - this door has a "ventilation setting" that locks the door open with 2-3" gap so I modded the 1x2 and put a double triangle hinge (3 screws) on it so I can fold back a short piece to allow for that opening.
If somebody tries to break in through that door, they are 3 turns and 75' from the master bedroom, the room where I would be waiting for them with these from the wall-mounted rack.

 

[Atavar]

When I lived in Arizona there was a burglary crew that didn’t bother with doors or windows at all. They parked out front in full daylight with a tree service van, went through the gate to the back yard and used a chain saw to cut an entry through a back wall. If neighbors wondered they saw the service van and went about their business. Workers in coveralls loading totes in to the service van didn’t even raise eyebrows.

 

[WheelGunGuy]

Glass in sliding doors is tempered. It will not cut but will shatter into a million pieces. This should make a lot of noise.

 

[shafter]

Breaking glass like car windows or tempered glass like sliding doors doesn't make much noise. A glass breaker or even broken porcelain from a spark plug will shatter it with little effort and because it shatters into a million tiny pieces it doesn't make that much noise. If you were awake it would get your attention but perhaps not if you are a deep sleeper.

 

[Bill_in_TR]

A lot of interesting comments. I will definitely look into the window films. The $30,000 solution is definitely not in our budget and never will be. I like the notion of working out an internal defense relying on the noise as an alarm. The sliding door solutions won't work because our patio door doesn't slide, it opens on one side like a normal door and the other side is stationary. I am going to look into alarm/security systems that I can install. Being retired I figure I can do my own monitoring of the system.

 

[jmorris]

I consider the lower level of my home essentially indefensible for that reason.

Why I aways considered knowing if and what is outside before it can even come in contact with the home, pretty important.

Even if you live in a vault, there are still people out there that could get in.

 

[driz]

When I finally got rid of my rental I decided rip out the old circa 1980s sliding class door. They had lost their gas and clouded so I just had to break them. I found that they are very thick glass with a fairly decent gap Around 1/2”. I doubt a crack head is going to have the ability to cut then remove the piece and cut again without making way too much racket. Those sorts aren’t The Pink Panther.
Around here those sorts of things were unheard of . Most tend to be some dude owes on his dope or has dope someone else he know wants to steal. It’s the same old tale as usual one dirtbag to another.
What I have noticed is that folks around here in Northern NewYorkistan are still leaving their door unlocked all night!! There’s your big problem. Worse the ever obliging news doesn’t pick up on the story for the obvious reasons! Thats why no one seems to learn about what’s really going on.
In the most recent incident right up my road the guy walked up and checked out my buddies Ring setup and immediately backed off. This was at 5 AM in full daylight and he was walking. He had come from the new house next door where I’m told he just walked in grabbing a few small things as no one was home. Then he went over to the next house around the corner and straight in through the open door being sure to leave his knife in the garage by the doorway. Unbeknownst to him the owner was up at the other end of the house cooking breakfast. She saw him and screamed as the 12 gauge equalizer came down the hall in a hurry. He dashes into the cornfield and hides until the state troopers rousted him out afterwards. No surprise he had a list of priors. No doubt he knew to leave the knife outside in case he met the Equalizer so knew what he was doing.
The lesson here, first handle the basics like lighting and locking up. Then something as simple as a 1” wooden dowel or piece of 2x2 across the track of the door will keep them from easy and as importantly QUIET entry. Make it a little hard for them and they will go rob you lazy neighbor instead

 

[Atavar]

Virtually every alarm system out there offers glass break sensors. They are basically microphones that you stick to the glass. A sharp rap on the glass will set them off.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

If you don't want to live in a prison, your home is probably not hard to break into.
Security cameras are cheap and there are still many places to live with very low crime rates.

 

[Bill_in_TR]

If you don't want to live in a prison, your home is probably not hard to break into.
Security cameras are cheap and there are still many places to live with very low crime rates.

I agree about not wanting to live in a prison. But I do want to take some reasonable precautions for my wife and I as we unfortunately continue to age. We are 77 and so far are probably more physically capable than a lot of folks our age. Our home location is probably fairly low risk but there have been reports of break ins not real far away. I want to make sure we are as prepared as possible for anything. I am evaluating as many options as possible and trying to learn how others approach these problems.

So far security systems have me scratching my head. So far it seems that most of them want some sort of subscription just to be able to use their app to control the system and self monitor. I just want to purchase a package and set it up, run it and monitor it on my own. You can run these systems through their keyboard but monitoring and notifications on an app gets you into subscription territory.

 

[Bcwitt]

Cutting glass is much more difficult then it sounds. The security issue is prying up on the door & lifting it up off the latch. 1/2" of vertical movement will easily open most of them. A bar in the track, as mentioned works. Works better secured somehow, as it can be seen from outside. Use a curtain also. A veiw in make it that much more inviting.

 

[Bill_in_TR]

Cutting glass is much more difficult then it sounds. The security issue is prying up on the door & lifting it up off the latch. 1/2" of vertical movement will easily open most of them. A bar in the track, as mentioned works. Works better secured somehow, as it can be seen from outside. Use a curtain also. A veiw in make it that much more inviting.

I had always believed all that television glass cutting was not really anything that a home invader would use. My kind of door doesn't allow for a lift it off the track or latch entry. It is not a slider and the latch is a bolt although probably not as sturdy as a serious bolt. I expect if somebody comes in that way there will be broken glass.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I agree about not wanting to live in a prison. But I do want to take some reasonable precautions for my wife and I as we unfortunately continue to age. We are 77 and so far are probably more physically capable than a lot of folks our age. Our home location is probably fairly low risk but there have been reports of break ins not real far away. I want to make sure we are as prepared as possible for anything. I am evaluating as many options as possible and trying to learn how others approach these problems.

So far security systems have me scratching my head. So far it seems that most of them want some sort of subscription just to be able to use their app to control the system and self monitor. I just want to purchase a package and set it up, run it and monitor it on my own. You can run these systems through their keyboard but monitoring and notifications on an app gets you into subscription territory.

Ring

Ring

Ring Alarm Flood and Freeze Sensor

www.amazon.com

 

[plainsdrifter]

Besides the stick there are child proof locks you stick on the window that keeps the slider from opening. My 3 year old grandson already figured out the lock and stick. But he cant reach the child proof lock, until he figures out using a chair.