Sliding glass doors are a fantastic feature in any home to let in natural light and to enjoy the beauty of your back yard from the comfort of your home. Unfortunately, they are a favorite feature for burglars as well. They allow someone to not only see what items are up for the taking inside your house but also allow a relatively easy point of entrance into the home.
It is definitely recommended that anyone looking to gain the maximum security possible for their home look into a home alarm system, surveillance cameras, and a safe to protect their valuables. While all of these items will provide the highest amount of security possible, the prices for them can range into the thousands of dollars.
However, there many ways to proactively prevent break-ins through the sliding glass door with solutions that don’t break the bank. Throughout the rest of this article we will provide sliding glass door security ideas which can all be done for $50 or less. Let’s get started!
A Security Bar in the Slide Tracks
One of the most popular security options for a sliding glass door is the security bar. The point of this mechanism is to stop the door from sliding open by jamming the sliding tracks that the door slides back and forth on.
Many people just use a small dowel or wooden rod to jam the sliding tracks but it is very possible to wiggle the door against the rod to get it fall out of place.
A better solution would be the MasterLock Dual Function Security Bar. Largely because this device grips the door panel when it is put into position, making it much harder to wiggle it free.
These things may not be the most stylish things in the world but they can certainly do a good job when it comes to making sure your sliding glass door won’t slide open while you’re not home.
The main downside to this security option is having to remember to lay it into position every time you leave the house and if you have multiple sliding glass doors, this can become a whole ordeal.
An Additional Deadbolt Lock
The typical latch lock that is most commonly seen on sliding glass doors can easily be maneuvered to wiggle open with a little bit of force. In order to avoid this becoming the demise of your sliding glass door security, an additional deadbolt lock to compliment the latch lock is recommended.
An auxiliary deadbolt lock is usually installed in the upper corner of the sliding glass door and actually connects the door to the door frame, making it extremely difficult to open without completely breaking or removing the door.
(The lock I have on my door is made by Patio Garden and I found it on Amazon for about $15. Here is a link to the exact one I bought.
Patio Garden PDG01-W Patio Door Guardian Lock)
This lock will require a little bit of know-how as you will need to drill holes in your door frame to secure the base of the deadbolt, but all in all, shouldn’t take any longer than ten minutes to install and will dramatically increase the security of your sliding glass door.
Window Film
If a burglar is determined to break into your home using the sliding glass door and the locking mechanisms did their job, there is a good chance the next logical method of entrance would be to break through the sliding glass door itself.
The large amount of glass makes sliding glass doors a major weak point in the overall security of the home. One good toss of a brick and someone could be standing in your home.
However, an effective way to mitigate the risk of someone breaking the glass is with a protective glass film. This film is applied directly onto the glass very similar to the way a protective cover would be placed onto a smartphone with a glass screen.
This film is great for two reasons. If you select a tinted film, it will limit the visibility of someone trying to peer into the window and will drastically reduce damage to the glass upon any impact. The glass will remain held together by the film adhesive and will be unable to shatter.
The film is easy to install and a roll of it can be purchased on Amazon for less than $25.
Cover The View When Not at Home
As previously mentioned, one of the main points of weakness of a sliding glass door is the fact that they are completely transparent. All your items are on display for anyone that can get close enough to see through.
A great way to disincentivize a burglar from breaking into your home is to cover the sliding glass door while you’re gone. Not only, will they not be able to see what is in the house but they will not be able to gauge what other security measures you might have in place.
To do so, we recommend using some sliding glass door blinds or curtains. Now, depending on the look you are going for, sliding glass door blinds or curtains can definitely cost more than $50.
However, we have found some awesome ones for sale on Amazon for around $30. They are easily installed using a a long dowel hung over the door frame to drape the curtains. All you need is a drill to screw in the supports for the dowel.
Sliding glass door curtains are an awesome security measure that don’t have the unappealing look of a lot of other security items have and they are great for regulating the amount of light coming into the room as well.
Leave a light On
This last tip may not seem like a high-powered security tactic but is more useful than you might think. The main thing that a burglar wants to avoid when entering a home is accidentally entering an occupied home. This is why the vast majority of break-ins happen during the middle of the day when most people are at work.
Giving the illusion that you are home by leaving just one light on is often enough to give the appearance that someone is in the home.
This tactic should not be a substitute for any of the ideas outlined in this article but can be a powerful compliment to them.
Final Thoughts
While it may seem like a small issue in the grander scheme of home security, proactively securing your sliding glass door is a huge step in the right direction in terms of limiting break-in potential.
Lastly, regularly maintaining your sliding glass door and verifying that the all the locking mechanisms are working correctly is a essential to keeping your door working in optimal fashion and should be a regular part of your home maintenance.
Hopefully these tips have been helpful in showing effective ways you can lock down one of the most vulnerable points on a home without breaking the bank.