Posted on 08/30/2010 6:28:54 AM PDT by SMARTY
I wonder if any one has some input about security for patio doors.
I plan to put two in the kitchen. I am NOT putting sliding doors and I am favoring French doors.
One door is needed for access to the existing patio. The other door will be on another wall leading out…and where planned improvements will require access to the yard.
I would like to know what the most secure selection would be …. or else what kinds of modifications I can make in order to further secure the doors I do select. (For example: the Pella French door has a triple lock built-in.)
Also, the existing shallow bay window, which will be removed for access to the patio area, is 92” wide.
I know the standard height dimension is 82” and I think that is not a problem… but I don’t know what the standard French door width dimension is. Will I have a problem installing a patio door in this 92” opening?
Does any one know about this stuff?
French doors are good in that you can see through them well enough to shoot fairly accurately.
Nice.
I spent the bulk of my career in physical security design. Regret to inform that patio doors, French doors, etc. and security are mutually exclusive. You can have all manner of lock hardware installed, but what really protects you against forced entry is how the door is mounted in its frame, and what materials you’re using for the frame, and its supporting structure. Depending on the threat environment, I generally would recommend a motion sensing alarm covering those doors, coupled with a design to provide sufficient delay from forced entry, to mount an emergency response, or escape.
If an intruder wants in, they’ll find a way.
My son has glass french doors leading out to the pool, security is a huge black Lab.
go to
www.survivalblog.com
and put in a search
There are motion sensor lights out there now.
Lets light in and lets you aim out.
Seriously, hope you find what you need.
I use those as well. They’ve proven effective last winter when I discovered an intruder’s foot prints on our snow covered deck one morning. Had he gained entry, interior motion senors linked to a loud annunciator would have awakend me. Burglars these days are not very sophisticated. In our area, they simply throw your Bar-B-Q grill through the back doors and force their way in, kill the dog, and anybody standing in their way. Some have even employeed the old style car jack, to spread the door frame wide open. That’s why you need an alarm annunciator, delay, and a good 12 ga.
Thats racist
Sounds good!
We have a Pella triple pane slider. The lock and the foot stop/lock are well built. Anyone breaking the glass would get a face full from the resulting explosion because of the argon gas in between the panes. It would awaken us. Plus the two Great Pyrennes we have would tear them apart anyway.
I've had them for years with no problems, and I have a
good deadbolt for a lock.
The side without the doorknob has metal rods that slip into
a sleeve in the threshold (bottom) and the frame (top).
I think they are good and sturdy and secure.
Oh - by the way in regards to dimensions:
They had to make my doors a little smaller due to it had
a sliding door prior to that wheich was an odd size.
It did cost extra for that, but I think most manufacturers
will accomodate off-sizes.
That was going to be my recommendation.
Big dogs outside. Bigger dog inside. Signs indicating security monitoring (actual monitoring optional), trained armed occupants, the door doesn’t matter that much.
not for nothing but I have 2 sets of anderson frenchwood doors, and my Ex. put in a set as well. If your house expands or contracts with heat or humidity you’ll be constantly adjusting them. I have a friend that just put in sliders and she found a security film that can be applied to the glass so even though the glass is shattered getting through the glass is still a problem.
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