You’ve got a few options to protect your exterior sliding door. You can let your deck or patio fall into such complete disrepair that it becomes a death trap for any would-be intruder. Or you can take more a socially acceptable action by using one of our tips below, such as adding an alarm sensor, window film, or a security bar to your sliding glass door; changing the lock for a deadbolt, or installing a security camera. Most alarm systems come with door/window sensors (also commonly called entry sensors). When attached to a door frame, these sensors monitor open/close motions. If someone forces the door, the alarm sounds and calls for help. Some alarm systems also include glass break sensors. These sensors detect the sound glass makes when breaking. When the system senses breaking glass, it will send an alert to either you or your monitoring center, depending on your provider and settings. Just to be clear, burglars aren’t our main concern with sliding glass doors. We’ve read multiple interviews with former thieves, and most say they liked to enter a home in the least obtrusive way possible. So thieves aren’t likely to smash your sliding door, but vandals and other types of intruders might. If you keep an obvious camera trained on your sliding glass door, burglars and other intruders are less likely to mess with it. They don’t want their mischief caught on film. Or, if you’re interested in any of the home security systems we mentioned earlier, here are individual reviews for our top brands with DIY motion sensors:
Frontpoint review Link Interactive review Abode review
A word of caution, though: if an intrusion attempt damaged your door, that tells you that your sliding door looks vulnerable to burglars. You should increase the existing security on the door as further deterrence.
