Patio Door Break-Ins – How to Prevent Them
Patio doors are notoriously favored break-in points for any burglar. Although by all means, they are not the only place that a thief can and will enter. The problem with them it that they don’t have a strong security since the actual piece is mostly made of glass which can be easily broken.
Patio doors are actually one of the best placed in the house since they give easy access to the family outside to the patio or backyard, to the veranda with a sea view in front, still they are the dream of any would-be burglar if we are honest. The door panels of glass on rollers are not a very strong point of any door. They can be easily opened when locked and the glass itself is quite easy to break particularly when noise is not a problem, like when the owners are not at home.
So what are you option in preventing patio door break-ins? There are actually quite a lot that you can do to prevent a burglar from opening your sliding doors and entering the home. This will definitely make it quite a strong point when it comes to enhanced security at home. Many of the ways explained below will actually be quite easy to implement without the help of any professional, as they are easy DIY projects that can be done within a weekend or some even in a few hours.
Patio Door Rollers
They can be quite easily lifted up and taken out by thieves. All they need is jiggle them a bit and the door simply comes lose in a jiffy from its frame. Basically they are mounted on rollers which are not really secured in their tracks either. So what you need to do is first check that your rollers are in very good shape. The door should not be moving in the frame and it’s quite snug in it, moving smoothing from one direction to another. Should you find any of these problems with your door you need to get it repaired ASAP if you value what’s in your home.
Patio Door Locks
Usually these backyard doors have no proper locks to keep them safely locked in. What they have instead is latches, which can be easily forced open from anyone who is outside of the door. All they need is simply give a good shove to the door and the latch goes free right away. So one way you could defend yourself from burglars is by adding wooden rods or blocks in the door track to prevent the door from simply opening during a good shake from outside.