While sliding glass doors are the ideal option for allowing natural light into your home and they offer architectural appeal to a structure, they can also present serious security risks. These risks are extremely different than the ones present with traditional steel or wood doors.

There are some homeowners who are well-aware of the risks related to these sliders, and as a result, they do not install them at all. However, there are a number of simple steps that can be taken to help ensure a sliding glass door is safe and secure.

There are three primary ways that a potential burglar gains entry through a sliding glass door, including:

• By forcing or breaking the lock
• Lifting the door from its track
• Smashing the glass

Now that you know the potential weak spots, it is important to know what you can do to prevent a break in.
Some of the most common tools used for preventing sliding glass door break ins include:

• Safety bars: These extend from the rear edge of the slider to the frame’s edge. This prevents the door from sliding even a little, so there is no possibility of the intruder reaching or accessing the door’s locking mechanism.

• Jimmy plates: These are long, flat plates that are installed over the frame of the door. This prevents the door from being lifted or rotated out of its proper position.

Some other security tips that you can add to your sliding glass door to make it more secure include adding a special film to the glass to make it harder to break, keep shrubs and other foliage at a minimum around the door, install motion lights and add an alarm that will go off if the sliding glass door is tampered with.

Implementing the safety and security tips here can help you prevent a break in through a sliding glass door in your home.