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Is there something you can buy to make french doors more secure. I know for a patio door they have that fold down bar and it works great but what can you do to make french doors less accessable?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: perplexed,

There are several type locks that you can purchase. Some mortise on the door edge to the floor, some just face mount to the door to floor. Google "door hardware" and you should be able to locate some. The big box stores sell additionally as well.

What comes to mind is a double french door, which is what I think you are referring to.

Those I have installed use a drawbolt top and bottom of the door that usually stays closed and then you can use a deadbolt on the other door. Sorry, but I don't know of a better way to secure them.

If you are talking about an 8 or 10 pane glass door, it is next to impossible to secure them. All a criminal has to do is break one of the panes to reach inside to unlatch the door. From what I read, most places don't allow a double deadbolt, one that requires a key to open from the inside as well as the outside - because of the danger in a fire situation.

Double dead bolts are allowed here in NC. We tend to keep a key in ours unless we're heading out of town. Breaking a tempered piece of glass tends to make a lot of noise and something most burglars are going to avoid.

If I was going to break into a house with double hung windows or a glass door with a deadbolt I'd go for the double hung window. Most can be jimmied quite easily and more importantly quietly. A door without a working deadbolt is the easiest to break into, a credit card will usually do the trick in 3 seconds.

In my area, most break ins occur during the day when the homeowners aren't home. In a period of 2 years they broke into a dozen homes in my area. They came through the patio door when we weren't home years ago. Since then we have had a large dog or dogs. Of course nothing is foolproof, if they want to get in they will but why not try to protect yourself and your belongings.

paws,
A lot of the break ins also don't require any "breaking" the burglars find an open ground level window or door.

Probably one of the most important doors to protect with a deadbolt is an entrance door to the attached garage. If that just has a door latch with no deadbolt, they can be in the garage in 3 seconds with a credit card and then have access to the door between the house and the garage out of sight.

A visit with a local locksmith, may also offer some new ideas?

A friend had her two french doors removed and replaced with one door and a window, as the extreme wind occasionally kept blowing the doors a jar(even with a couple extra throw bolts). (mountain gusts up to 100 plus mph and bears).

For security you might also consider buying an ADT yard sign and stickers for your doors. Ebay often has them for 25-30 dollars. It might send the bad guys down the road, if they did not know if an alarm was going to alert someone.

I thank all of you for your help!

If you end up with a good solution...be sure to come back and share?

True story:
A guy in SoCA had a mountain cabin near Big Bear Lake and he liked to spend weekends there. Each Sunday night he would lock up and board up the doors and windows. One Friday when he went back he found someone had taken a chain saw and cut a new "door" in one wall and cleaned him out.

The joys of rural / remote housing.

Very true, that those type of burglars are thinking "outside the box" for sure. Where noise is not a problem, most can find an easy way in and out no matter how many locks.

We have had apartment complex burglaries in our city, where they come during the day, knock on a door, then cut through the drywall next to the door lock. Reach inside unlatch the dead bolt and they get the stuff they can carry, put it all in a laundry basket, throw a towel over it, leave and no one notices them.

It all boils down to " Locks are to keep an honest man honest". In this society of today there are some people that would rather steal than work. No fortification of your home is going to stop them if they are determined to gain entry. But just a small deterent such as locked doors and windows may make it more difficult for the average theive in that they do not want to draw attention to uneccessary noise and may just leave.

You might want to consider the deadbolt approach and in addition you can pick up some inexpensive decorative barrel locks which can be added with not much labor involved. By attaching one at the top and bottom of each door their entry will be delayed.

http://www.rockler.com/product...e=24478&site=ROCKLER

Or something like this

http://www.constantines.com/brassbolt.aspx

This message has been edited. Last edited by: redoverfarm,

redoverfarm,
I had thought of
Sliding Security Bolt, Solid Brass yep sure did and was about to ask about it when I saw your reply. What is the difference in that one and the second link you posted?

I thank all of you!

Basicly they operate the same. The second one is more decorative in that it is half radius bolt. These are just a couple I found on the net. I am sure that one of the big box stores has them in the hardware department. But just in case they do not here are some additional ones. They are more decorative. Good Luck



http://www.leevalley.com/en/ha...65&cat=3,41305,41295

http://www.leevalley.com/en/ha...54&cat=3,41305,41295

http://www.wwhardware.com/s-pa...surface-bolts-sp232/

http://www.vandykes.com/search...?query=surface+bolts

o.k. and thanks for the links too. the 3rd link did not work. I will try and look it up a different way.

Thanks!

Odd. I went to the post and it came up OK. Anyway it is Woodworkershardware.com Might have been a temporary glitch.

Works great now and thanks!