Securing Glass Doors

Atavar said:
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.
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How did they finally get caught?

Also curious to know where in AZ that was.
 
shafter said:
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.
Click to expand...
The good part about the 3M film is that they have to keep banging on the glass a long time, and that DOES make a lot of noise. Here's an actual security video of an attempt to break in where it was installed:
www.youtube.com

3M Attempted Breakin Video - Amazing!

Watch this actual attempted break in video to see how 3M window films can protect your home or office against break in and burglary.
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
epags said:
This thread is stuck on sliders.....most homes I have lived in and visited have something called windows.....they are not normally tempered glass and even easier to break, cut or open.:rofl::rofl::rofl:
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I have the 3M film on all my windows as well as my slider.
 
kje54 said:
If someone hasn't already pointed this out:

https://www.safewise.com/best-security-window-film/
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Those are all DIY films. I'd be willing to bet $$$ they don't hold a candle to the 3M IRL. The 3M you have to get INSTALLED. They wash the windows three times, then apply the film, then come back a few weeks later after the film has set to apply the border that secures the film to the frame.
 
old lady new shooter said:
How did they finally get caught?

Also curious to know where in AZ that was.
Click to expand...
It was in Mesa. The Police figured it out. It’s really not the sort of thing you could do too often.
The other thing they would do is gain access through the carport. Most of the ranch style homes had a carport and the carports all had attic access panels. All the bad guys had to do was set up a stepladder and get in to the attic, then just drop through the ceiling in to the house and they were in.
 
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Tilos said:
OK, nevermind...

3m window film - Search Shopping

www.bing.com www.bing.com
:uhoh:
.
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The updated forum software has a section at the bottom of every thread for threads it thinks are related. I see there one I started back in 2018, "Fox 5 DC major security fail" where the incident described in my opening post demonstrates exactly what happens when the film isn't applied by a certified professional. Here it is, and I have added emphasis:

We often talk here about securing our environment as the first step in self-defense. Here is a textbook case.​
​
A couple of hours ago a guy broke into the Fox 5 building in DC. The surveillance video shows him kicking in both the exterior and second glass security doors, which are described as "bullet-resistant glass". He was an average-sized guy wearing sneakers and didn't even have to kick very hard, used what I guess you could call a mule kick, i.e. he was facing away from each door as he kicked the glass in. After he got into the lobby per se the security guard first attempted to defuse the situation but that didn't work so she shot him once in the chest. (He was alert when put into the ambulance. So much for Hollywood fantasies of one shot instantly killing the BG, but I digress.) Thanks to her quick action, no employees were hurt and there was no other property damage.​
​
Here's why I'm calling this a security fail: The "bullet-resistant glass" (presumably glass to which 3M security film or a similar product had been applied) didn't break, rather fell inside in one piece. Why? Because installing this film is a two-step process, first (after careful cleaning of the glass) the film is applied, and then after it has cured, a border is applied that secures the film-covered glass to the frame. The first step is useless without the second step and it sure looks like that's what happened here. Outfits that sell the security film install it properly, but I believe it's possible to buy the film directly and install it oneself, after watching the video I'm betting that the maintenance department decided it couldn't be difficult to install window film and would save a lot of money to do it themselves, then didn't bother educating themselves as to the proper methodology.​
​
Will be interesting to see whether this is even discussed in later news reports.​
 
Didn't realize until I saw the various comments about "hurricane rated windows" that most aren't familiar with them. Each window is rated to survive a two by four impact - with the projectile at 100mph... The sliding glass door that I now have (that replaced the standard, flimsy patio door that was there for many years) - is roughly ten times heavier and feels like a bank vault when closing it. One heckuva difference from standard windows and doors... Pretty sure they're standard now on new construction down here in south Florida -where our building codes have been really toughened up over years and years of hurricane force winds (our roofs are rated to survive a 140mph wind...) - the Southern building code only specifies a roof withstand 90mph winds by comparison - and that is what's actually in effect in most Gulf states, from what I've read...

Upgrading older houses down here to bring them up to current requirements is necessary - if you want a good sale on the market so we have quite a few different outfits to choose from. We could have installed much cheaper (at around $20k instead of the $30k we went for) and gotten the same level of protection - but probably not the same longevity... Like always you get what you can afford.

These windows and doors (you need to do the whole package) will force our local burglars to get creative (my best guess) and this from a guy who handled his share of residential burglaries years ago while a patrolman, locally...
 
.308 Norma said:
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!!:mad:
Oh well - the 1X2 in the track is more secure, and our sliding glass door is 30 some odd years old anyway. :cool:
Click to expand...

Yep.

A 2x2 (ripped 2x4), cut to wedge length and beveled on one end, works great.

With the wedge end (maybe 2 inches higher) away from the slider, it can't be pried up with a slim-jim from the outside.

They have to break the glass to get in.
 
Gun-Reck said:
Yep.

A 2x2 (ripped 2x4), cut to wedge length and beveled on one end, works great.

With the wedge end (maybe 2 inches higher) away from the slider, it can't be pried up with a slim-jim from the outside.

They have to break the glass to get in.
Click to expand...
That sounds like a great idea, Gun-Reck! How about including a picture? I can't exactly picture what you're talking about in my head, and the "guy" is coming to install our new sliding glass door this afternoon. I'd like to start right off with the most secure way possible of blocking it closed.
BTW, I have a radial arm saw, and I'm pretty handy with it. I have a few 2X4s too. :thumbup:
 
.308 Norma said:
That sounds like a great idea, Gun-Reck! How about including a picture? I can't exactly picture what you're talking about in my head, and the "guy" is coming to install our new sliding glass door this afternoon. I'd like to start right off with the most secure way possible of blocking it closed.
BTW, I have a radial arm saw, and I'm pretty handy with it. I have a few 2X4s too. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

First, make sure that a 2x (1-1/2") will fit in the track (mine are dual-pane, so there is just enough room.)

You can also use, as mentioned, 1-1/8" closet rod, 3/4" plywood, or even PVC sprinkler line.

Cut it a few inches longer than the firmly closed door track length, inside jamb to back of door.

Plumb cut one end, as if it was laying in the track, with one end propped up a few inches.

Then, put the plumb cut end against the door, and figure out how much to plumb cut the other end so that when you drop it into the track, gravity, and a little push, will wedge it with one end a couple of inches higher than the other, like an over-center link.

Nibbling at it until you get it right is ok.

Then, you just drop it into the track, high end to the wall, and it will wedge tight, get tighter if they try to pry up the low end at the door joint, but will come right out by lifting the high end up first.

Just leave it on the floor in front of the track.
 
Gun-Reck said:
Nibbling at it until you get it right is ok.

Then, you just drop it into the track, high end to the wall, and it will wedge tight, get tighter if they try to pry up the low end at the door joint, but will come right out by lifting the high end up first.

Just leave it on the floor in front of the track.
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Got it. Thanks, Gun-Reck! :)
 
I use a window track lock on the upper track.

I also keep ferocious guard Corgis. :)
 

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If you can do without the sliding glass door ( I had one for years and it was a PITA) they make a replacement insert consisting of a standard door and a small window. You can easily upgrade locks and other hardware. They are easy to install, and look pretty nice. Alternatively, upgrade your security system with a motion detector on the door linked to an alarm and light. Have a comprehensive home security plan in place just incase an intruder breaches your perimeter and enters your house.
 
ANYWAY...because the horse isn't dead enough, I thought I'd post a bit more on "glass cutting".

For those who have never cut glass, it's not really "cut" at all. It's scored using a hardened steel roller or a diamond tipped tool.

"Scored" meaning "scratched a groove into". It is not a cut that goes all the way through the glass at all.

That score mark then becomes the focal point for the stresses which are applied to the glass when the worker "flexes" the glass. Meaning, that's where the glass will "snap" or "break" at.

This is the same way glass bottles and such are "cut". They're scored along the place where you want the glass "cut", then the stress required to complete the fracturing of the glass at that point is accomplished by tapping along the inside of the glass at that location.

Plexiglass (acrylic) can be cut largely the same way, because it is a hard "plastic". Score it along where you want it cut, then "snap" it at that location. However, you can also cut it with a saw. Care has to be taken using a saw, however, because acrylic is hard enough to crack when doing this.

Polycarbonate (Lexan, for one trademark) cannot readily be cut by using scoring and snapping. You CAN, but it's a lot of work to do it this way. It's much too tough for that and generally needs to be cut using a saw.

Glass and plexiglass will crack/shatter when hit with a hammer. Polycarbonate will not...at least not very easily, and certainly not with any appreciable thickness of polycarbonate.

So there you have it...a few more strokes on the dead horse!
 
old lady new shooter said:
The good part about the 3M film is that they have to keep banging on the glass a long time, and that DOES make a lot of noise. Here's an actual security video of an attempt to break in where it was installed:
www.youtube.com

3M Attempted Breakin Video - Amazing!

Watch this actual attempted break in video to see how 3M window films can protect your home or office against break in and burglary.
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
Click to expand...
That worked because the film was adhered to the frame of the window? i was looking into that a couple years ago and they didn't mention putting it on the frame. Makes sense.
It looked to me the window was double pane, which is why the outside shattered but the film was adhered to the inside pane. Interesting.
 
plainsdrifter said:
That worked because the film was adhered to the frame of the window? i was looking into that a couple years ago and they didn't mention putting it on the frame. Makes sense.
It looked to me the window was double pane, which is why the outside shattered but the film was adhered to the inside pane. Interesting.
Click to expand...
The film is adhered to the inner surface of the glass. After it cures for a couple of weeks they come back and apply a border around the inside edge of the window, it attaches to both the film-adhered glass and the window frame. I just tried to take a photo but it doesn't show up clearly, I guess it's too bright outside. I'll try to remember late in the day.
 
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