Useful Tips for French Door Security

French doors are ideal for homeowners who wish to bring a touch of class and beauty into their homes. However, some homeowners remain wary about installing French doors despite their aesthetic appeal, due to the fear that these may not provide them with the level of security that they require. Many fear that it would be easy for an intruder to breach these doors seeing as all they'd need would be to swiftly kick in the doors or simply smash open a pane of glass.

french doors with screens

The good news however is that there are certain measures that you can take to enhance the security provided by your French doors. These include arranging proper hinge placement, selecting a stronger kind of glass or a laminate, installation of glass panes from the inside, as well as adding deadbolt locks.

FRENCH DOORS

While installing your these doors as the entrance to your home, it may prove a little challenging in as far as hinges are concerned. Because these doors allow for installation such that they may swing either way, their hinges may be placed either on the inside or on the outside. In order to enhance the security that your French doors provide, you should consider placing your hinges such that they face inward. This way, a burglar will not be able to simply remove the outward facing hinge pins and gain entry into your home by easily removing your door.

Once you have the hinges taken care of, you may want to focus on the glass of your French doors. Because glass can get broken easily to enable the burglar to gain entry into a home, you may want to enhance the security of these doors by replacing the original glass panes with some laminated glass instead. This comprises of at least two pieces of glass which have been bonded together using a laminate sheet placed between them. As such, even if your French doors are shattered, the glass will be able to hold together just as a car windshield does. Another great tip for reinforcing the glass in your French doors would be to apply a plastic film to the inside of the panes.

During installation of your French door window panes, it is advisable to do the fitting from the inside, which would involve application of the putty to the inside of the glass panes. Remember that when the putty is applied on the outside, all the burglar needs to do is scrape off the putty which holds the glass in place and get in without even having to break the glass.

To further enhance the security provided by your French doors, you may fit some security door locks as well. You will find that in most cases, the locks that come with these doors are insufficient in keeping out burglars. It is recommended that you install a deadbolt that's horizontal and at least one inch in length. You may want to go for a double deadbolt lock which is a little more secure than the single deadbolts.

Useful Tips for French Door Security

For more information about French doors please visit the Savoy Timber website.

Joan One is a freelance journalist and creative writer who immensely enjoys writing and researching into any topic under the Sun. She specializes in writing "green" eco-friendly topics aimed at enabling environmentally conscious readers to find simple ways to reduce their carbon footprint and help save our planet.

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