door and window locks that will keep you safe

If you've just moved into a new home with sliding glass doors, you may be wondering about how you can best keep those doors secure. After all, while sliding glass doors can be great for allowing light and creating an open feeling in your room, they can also leave you feeling a bit uncomfortable about your general security. Here are a few things that you can consider to enhance your sliding door security.

Check The Installation Direction

One of the biggest mistakes that can be made with sliding glass doors is installing them in the wrong direction. The stationary portion of the sliding glass door should always go to the outside of the track. That way, the moving part is inside your house. This limits accessibility to the movable part of the door so that only people inside the house can actually get to it. If the movable part of the door is on the outside of the track, you should pull the locking screw from the track and remove the sliding portion of the door, then adjust the placement of the stationary door so that it is on the outside.

Consider Barrel Locks

Your local locksmith may recommend that you install a barrel lock on your sliding glass door for more security. These locks use a hardened bolt that you slide into the lower track of the door to keep the door from opening any further than the locking bolt's position. Just attach the barrel lock to the lower portion of the sliding door and drill a hole into the track. When you're ready to lock the door, put the bolt into the hole. The door won't be able to slide beyond the bolt, because it will be blocking the track just beyond the edge of the door.

Restrict Shifting With Track Screws

Since the basic design of sliding glass doors includes functionality to lift the sliding portion out of the track, you need to be sure that your doors cannot lift far enough to actually move them out of the track. To do this, open the door and put screws into the top door track. Leave them out of the track just enough so that they will strike the door if you try to lift it. This will keep the door from lifting high enough to clear the track, preventing would-be intruders from getting access to your home by lifting and removing the door.

Contact a business, such as The Lock Shop for more information.