 | Bob Crager of Lewis Street Glass is a 26 year veteran in the glass business. Lewis Street Glass is a leading Wichita Glass company, serving the entire Wichita/Sedgwick County area since 1919. They do anything and everything having to do with glass, both residential and commercial. They also do Auto glass. They are located at 743 South Market, facing Kellogg on the South, and you can reach them by phone at (316) 263-8259. You can email Bob Crager at bcrager@lewisstreetglass.com |
Glass
2007-12-01 10:04:00
Patio door security…French or sliding!
Answer: Glass doors and windows are the design elements that make our homes and offices so bright, nice and comfortable. And with proper planning, they can also be made fairly secure to all but the boldest of intruders. In addition to installing a well designed home security system which would have contacts on all outside doors, and glass break devices on all areas where there are outside wall windows, plus motion sensors and possibly outside security cameras, you should know that if a thief wants to get into your home, and is willing to risk it all to do that, he’ll probably be able to find a way into your home. You can make yourself less of a target for thieves by making certain that your overhead garage door is kept in the down position anytime you’re not moving a vehicle in or out. In addition to that, most thieves are not interested in getting into a home or business where the element of time is not on their side. To deter a thief is to deny him/her immediate and quick access…any way to create a delay for them is desirable, and you need more than the usual standard window or patio door latch. An additional consideration is that you may, in an emergency, need to exit through a locked door or window yourself, so you should keep your door key near the lock, but hidden from outside sight. When you can, you should buy all latches from the same manufacturer so that your door keys are all interchangeable with one another. If the local fire code allows it, you can further enhance security by replacing all single glazed windows with polycarbonate or wire-embedded glass. Additionally there are also available security shutters, a window grill, or even a security gate to prevent intruders from entering.
Sliding windows pose a different kind of problem from casement windows, or double hung windows. The sliding window,many times can be lifted up out of its track and removed...not much security there. However, you can install a screw, or other device into the top of the upper track to keep this from happening. To keep the window from sliding at all, just put a screw through the track horizontally. On one type of device commercially available, a stop slips over the window track. Then you just turn the level one way to lock the window, and turn it the other way to allow it to slide. Other locks use a thumbscrew instead of a lever. A key track stop is a locking stop that you can attach anywhere on the track. You can position it to lock the window shut, or so that the window opens only a certain amount, to allow for ventilation and safety. On casements, you can install a door bolt like device that would operate with a key...you just screw the lock to the window, and then slide the bolt into a metal cup that you can mount into the sill of that set of casement windows.
Several companies make locks for sliding windows. On double-hung windows, you can install a locking pin that goes through one sash and into the next to keep intruders from lifting the sash. Some pins screw through a hole you drill, while others drive in and out with a special key that comes with them. Now, regarding patio doors, French or otherwise, the best thing you can do is to install a set of storm doors to cover the patio doors completely. This is a really good strategy, because it tells a potential thief or burglar that this house is not going to be a real quick pushover to gain access to. In addition, you can reinforce the lock on a patio door with a good well designed security bar. Screw the hinged side to the doorjamb and the locking saddle to the other jamb. Swing the bar into the saddle to lock the door. Then just lift it out to allow the door to open. You can also set the bar so that the door will open part of the way, but not all of the way open. A keyed patio door lock screws to the side or top of the door frame. When you want to lock the door, put the bolt into a hole you’ve drilled into the door frame. Unlock and lower or pull out the bolt to open the door. These ideas should help you in making your home less of a target for would-be thieves who wish to come into possession of your stuff...More next month...
