Patio door security

[Mark A]

The falling glass will make some noise, but they will be in and out before Agnes next door has peered through the blinds to see what the noise was .

This video shows how much tougher it is to get through laminated glass. The second one is toughened glass, which is what most patio doors in the UK use. Obviously this example is a lot louder as hes using a baseball bat, but there are quieter methods of breaking it. The main thing is that it breaks the glass into tiny safe pieces so they can quickly break the glass and be in and out with whatever valuables are lying around.

All I was trying to say is that I wouldn't go spending loads on fancy bars and things that hold the handles together etc as they wont help much. And that if you really dont want someone to break in the get laminated glass next time you have a door installed .

 

[Freefaller]

Fair comment. Think we just interpreted the comments differently. It's a balance between toughness and how much it puts off a thief. Most are opportunists so if they can't break the glass or if there's a deterrent they usually walk away unless they're desperate.

 

[Showboat]

I would take a look at your locks, if they have no rating i would consider replacing them.

Take a look at this video to see how easy it is to break into a PVC unit if it has a poor lock. (Don't be looking down her top!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqhhXyROxQM

And here explains it in detail:
http://www.locksmiths.co.uk/about/public/cylinder-snapping/


If the lock protrudes from the door at all it makes it easy to get in (Badly fitted in the first place!)

I took some of mine out and measured them and got replacements from a place online (lockandkey.co.uk). Can be fitted in 30secs by taking out one screw.
They will make my house harder to get into and hopefully they will move on next door!
Although if someone wants in they will break a window!

 

[Laurie]

Apparently someone tried to get into a neighbour's house early one evening last week but scarpered after chancing it and finding the patio door was locked. We have a rear light (always on rather than PIR), burglar alarm and CCTV but I'm also wondering if there are any easy steps we can take to make our french doors more secure.

It's a wee bit paranoid but at the same time you can never be too careful about these things. We are end terrace and next to a public path (have a relatively high fence in between) so keen to take any precautions necessary.

Get an angry dog?

Other than this, if somebody really wants to get into your property I think that will find a way in, even with various security measures put into place.

Absolutely!

To One More Solo: Doesn't even have to be an 'angry dog;' so long as it's an alert dog. I'm currently down to two dogs, and they let me know if the wind blows the trees in the night. Well, it's not that bad, but trust me, no self respecting intruder is gonna risk an unlawful entry if he sees or hears dogs. But more importantly they will alert you instantly.

I don't allow my dogs upstairs, ever, but if you have one, or two or more, allow them free roam downstairs. If trained correctly, they won't go where they're not permitted to go, unless there's an emergency, in which case they will not be thinking about boundaries, but more about whom is trying to access your place.

Patio doors do have self locking set in, however, as others have indicated, there's always the possibility of the intruder breaking the glass. If you have an alert dog, the intruder is not gonna get within feet of the glass before they will let you know (and him) that they're there.

Even if an intruder has cut the telephone wires (and trust me it's been known) you will still have time to get to a cell and call for help. Of course, if you live out in the sticks, better to have more than one dog. But interior CCTV is an absolute necessity because you're not always gonna be home, nor your dogs.

PIR flood lights are a deterrent in my view, tho anything can set them off, such as wind chimes if too near to one of the lights, or tree branches blowing in a strong wind can set them off as well. If they're highly sensitive in long distance, even a cat jumping from a fence can set them off. You can get PIR flood lights with a sensor distance of 20 meters or more.

I know someone suggested having an all night flood light, but I would never install them at my place. It might be OK for a family, but for me personally, I'd feel kinda exposed and vulnerable. I have farmlands all around my property and if I had all night lights the place would be seen for miles around.

Good luck with whichever security measure you go with...

 

[s452]

some maybe outside of the box ideas
install steel roller shutters (like in shops) in front of the doors? it will make it a LOT harder to break in (especially if they can only be locked/unlocked from the inside - if possible) it will look ugly when down, but you're not looking at it, when you're asleep in bed

- replace the glass with the stuff they use to bulletproof important people's cars with?

 

[Quartz]

No point going too overboard with security on a patio door as they will just break the glass if it is toughened.

Actually, they won't. When I was burgled the officer who came round said that burglars dislike breaking glass as it could cut them and thus leave their DNA. They broke into my shed and used a spade to force the door open.

 

[LeeUK]

Winning

 

[Street]

Actually, they won't. When I was burgled the officer who came round said that burglars dislike breaking glass as it could cut them and thus leave their DNA. They broke into my shed and used a spade to force the door open.

That's exactly what happened to me the second time I was broken in to and the police said the same thing. I even had jammers on the inside of the door and once they'd prised it off the locks with the spade they kicked it to break those.

There were plenty of bricks and things laying about they could have used to break the windows but they put more effort in to pulling the bottom of the shed door open and hooking a spade out with a branch from a nearby tree then used that on my door.

 

[Semple]

The falling glass will make some noise, but they will be in and out before Agnes next door has peered through the blinds to see what the noise was .

This video shows how much tougher it is to get through laminated glass. The second one is toughened glass, which is what most patio doors in the UK use. Obviously this example is a lot louder as hes using a baseball bat, but there are quieter methods of breaking it. The main thing is that it breaks the glass into tiny safe pieces so they can quickly break the glass and be in and out with whatever valuables are lying around.

All I was trying to say is that I wouldn't go spending loads on fancy bars and things that hold the handles together etc as they wont help much. And that if you really dont want someone to break in the get laminated glass next time you have a door installed .

Haha you can tell that guy was having the time of his life when filming that!

 

[Akagi]

Electrify it.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I would have thought a light, alarm and cctv would be enough. Especially if you make it obvious you have cctv. Install one next to the light if need be.

If the patio door is alarmed then you dont need to do anything more imo.

Also imo getting a dog purely to secure a patio door is completely the wrong reason to get one never mind the guy who suggested getting 2 or more

 

[Quartz]

And that if you really dont want someone to break in the get laminated glass next time you have a door installed .

The flip side is that laminated glass can trap people inside if they can't find the key to open the door. A fire, for example.

 

[LeeUK]

The flip side is that laminated glass can trap people inside if they can't find the key to open the door. A fire, for example.

Thumb-turn lock on the inside, or do what I do and hang a spare key on the curtain tie-back hook.

 

[Luke]

There has been a spate of burglaries in my area where patio doors have been opened using a spade as a crowbar. I've since fitted sash jammers which it has been reported to have prevented one other person having their doors opened this way.

Easy to fit and seemingly effective.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/381139449506

 

[One More Solo]

There has been a spate of burglaries in my area where patio doors have been opened using a spade as a crowbar. I've since fitted sash jammers which it has been reported to have prevented one other person having their doors opened this way.

Easy to fit and seemingly effective.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/381139449506

Picked these up and installed them over the weekend, like you say seems like an extra deterrent and they were very easy to fit. Thanks.