Keeping the house secure is one of the most common problems homeowners face. While interior sliding doors usually don’t need to be locked, the front or back doors require a bit more attention. Below we share the important tips that can keep your worries at bay and make your home as secure as a fortified castle.
- Check the Built-in Lock
Most sliding doors, even the interior ones, come with a lock. Usually, such lock or latch is located inside the handle. This lock keeps the door securely attached to the frame. Before going further to fortify your door, make sure that this lock is operational. Lock the door and try pulling as hard as you can to open it. If the door slides even a little bit, it means that the lock is not doing the job. You can address the issue by contacting the manufacturer for a replacement or hiring a professional to fix the problem.
- Apply Window Film
Glass doors are a great way to enjoy the daylight. While allowing the light to come in, they are also letting the burglars know what’s going on inside your house. If you don’t want them to give them a hand in finding a way to get in, keep their eyes out. If your sliding door is made out of transparent glass, apply a window film to make it a little harder to peek inside. Besides making it tougher to see through the glass, the film makes it shatter-proof. So even if your doors are made out of tinted glass, window film can still help keep the burglars out.
- Install Alarms
One of the best ways to make your sliding door, or any door for that matter, secure is to install alarms. There are special alarms that react to the sound of the glass breaking. If you also install a surveillance camera, the alarms can set it off so everything that goes on can be recorded.
Another type of alarms reacts to the windows or doors being opened. It won’t help if the glass is shattered but will call for help if someone forces the door open.
- Install a Locking Rod
Many sliding doors come with slide-locking rods. If your door doesn’t, you can install it on your own. A wooden dowel or a metal bar installed into the tracks can keep the door from being opened even if the burglars manage to open the lock.
- Don’t Forget About Regular Maintenance
Make sure to check your door on a regular basis. Sliding doors often have plastic rollers that can become damaged over time. If you see that the door is not sliding as smoothly as it used to, the tracks might be dirty. You need to pull the door from the track and clean whatever dirt settles there. If the problem persists, consider adjusting the rollers.
- Buy an Additional Lock
The locks and latches the door comes with might not be sturdy enough to withstand forceful pulling. Consider buying commercial locks to add security to your sliding doors. They can either be an addition to the built-in latch or come as a more secure replacement.
- Buy a New Door
If cleaning, adjusting, and adding locks doesn’t work, perhaps the time has come to replace your old sliding door. Unless your door and the frame are made out of high-quality materials, they can wear out over time.