Research shows that over 76% of domestic burglaries in England and Wales occurred as a result of an intruder gaining access to a home through a door or window. When you’re looking for new patio doors for your home, security will be one of your top priorities. Sliding glass doors have large expanses of glazing, so it’s important to choose the best quality frame material to protect your home.
Traditionally, sliding doors, or any glass patio doors, have been seen as a vulnerable point for break-ins, however, modern sliding doors are much more durable with a number of security features to keep your home safe.
In this guide:
A lot has changed from early sliding door designs, so find out more in this section about modern locking mechanisms.
Find out more about the factors to consider when buying sliding doors to make sure they’re as secure as possible.
Learn more about high quality sliding patio doors and what makes them reassuringly secure.
Learn more about different types of patio door and their security features.
How Secure are Modern Patio Doors?
Early sliding doors featured designs that could have contributed to a security vulnerability. The combination of generic locks and the doors losing alignment, made it easier to remove the sashes from the tracks. However, designs have evolved significantly, modern options such as those manufactured by Origin now offer exceptional security features.
As Origin, we wanted to ensure that our sliding door systems were going to be able to support and protect your home today, tomorrow and for decades to come. Therefore, with our in-house research and development team, we have engineered and optimised security in our sliding door systems. This includes the highest quality materials for frames, locks, hardware and fixings, extensive testing on hardware usage, fully calibrated machinery to minimise tolerance and the likes of concealed tracks all combine to offer long-term reliability, safety and security.
How Can You Make Your Sliding Door More Secure?
Find your local installer today to bring your vision to life
When looking to install glazing for your home, there are a number of factors that can enhance the security of your doors.
Material of the Door Frame
The sliding glass door frame material will have a huge impact on security. Comparing sliding door materials will help to understand which is best option.
Wood and uPVC both offer a strong and durable door frame, however, both materials can be broken or bent if they are forced. Aluminium is a popular option for sliding doors and is one of the strongest on the market for sliding door frames. Aluminium can withstand huge amounts of pressure so, even if a potential intruder did try to force entry, they would not be able to easily damage the frame of the door.
At Origin, all of our Sliding Doors are manufactured using premium-grade aluminium. This not only provides the most flawless finish for your home, but also ensures exceptional structural integrity. The innate strength of the aluminium ensures a physically secure sliding door, even with elegantly slim sightlines as slim as 29 millimetres.
Glazing
As sliding doors are made up of large panes of glass, choosing the best glazing can not only have an impact on the security of your doors, but it can also affect the thermal efficiency too. ingle pane of glass is easy for an intruder to break and gain access to your home. However, double glazing is much harder to break, with triple glazing harder still. On top of whether you choose double or triple glazing, there are different types of glass available, including laminated glass or solar reflective glass which help enhance privacy and deter burglars.
Origin Sliding Doors can be specified with any glass type as long as it fits in the glazing unit (options include 28mm, 32mm or 36mm). A triple-glazed 44mm glazing chamber is also available on the OS-29+.
Contact your local installer to learn about the glazing options available.
Multi-Point Door Lock
To secure your sliding doors further, you will need a strong lock that has been tested against a wide range of break-in methods. Origin's Sliding Doors use a minimum of a six-point door lock because they are harder to tamper with, reducing the chance of a forced entry. Additionally, the OS-29+ and OS-77 conform to PAS 24 standards.
Privacy
Beyond the quality of the sliding glass door you choose, there are also other aspects to consider too. Privacy can be a challenge with large glazing panels. Intruders can look into your home and see your valuables, potentially tempting them to break in, so things like solar reflective glass could be helpful customisations an option. Specifying solar-reflective glass can deter intruders from attempting a burglary. Your installer will be able to discuss the glazing options available.
Bonus Security Measures for Sliding Doors
While Origin is committed to high quality, there are optional accessories and measures that can make you feel more comfortable, especially if your neighbourhood is targeted by burglars.
Enhancing sliding door security with smart technology
Motion sensing cameras and burglar alarms are a must if you're worried about someone attempting to break in. Having a camera installed outside your property can deter intruders from attempting a robbery.
Security screens for sliding doors
While you can specify solar-reflective glass which reduces the visibility into your home, security films are a good alternative. These can be applied after your doors are installed and give you more privacy without sacrificing natural light. These are great for windows facing onto a busy street.
Is the Origin Slider a Secure Patio Door?
Our bespoke range of patio sliding doors provides a modern twist on the traditional patio door, and are perfect for enhancing your home’s functionality. There are three sightline options to choose from: OS-29+ (29mm), OS-44 and OS-77 (77mm), depending on whether you prefer a striking look or a minimal profile.
The OS-29+ boasts the slimmest sightlines and is the most thermally efficient aluminium sliding door available in the UK. This choice has offers the largest expanses of glass, flooding your home with mood-boosting natural light.
For a modern finish, our OS-44 provides excellent sightlines of 44mm. The wider sightlines of the OS-77 contribute to a more traditional look, highlighting the aluminium frames. After all, we have over 150 RAL colours to choose from, so why not create a colourful focal point in your home.
How Secure are Origin Sliding Doors?
There are numerous ways that Origin maximises patio door security from a multi-locking mechanism, an anti-lift block, a concealed track, premium aluminium frames and a 3-star diamond cylinder lock. Moreover, you can work with your installer to choose from a range of secure glazing options for added peace of mind and privacy.
Origin Sliding Doors are engineered to achieve the highest level of security without compromising on functionality and elegance. Homeowners can be confident choosing Origin Patio Doors.
Which is the Most Secure Patio Door?
Opting for a glass patio door helps maximise natural light, but also gives you better access to the garden. However, with large patio doors, you'll want to ensure excellent security too.
You can choose from French Doors, Bifold Doors or Sliding Patio Doors, each offering their own benefits and charms. This section explores the security features of each type of patio door to help you keep your home safe.
Explore this Soho French Door case study
French Doors
French doors are usually the first that come to mind when considering glass doors for your patio. They can be great for smaller openings, and the style choices are diverse. Origin offer a sleek Gallery French Door aesthetic or an industrial-inspired Soho French Door. These doors feature an 8-point locking system and are fitted with a 3-star Diamond cylinder, which is highly resilient against drilling, jimmying, picking and bumping. The French Door exceeds PAS 24 security standards, so it's an extremely safe option.
Read our guide to find out more about how sliding doors and French doors compare.
Explore the bi-fold door case study
Bi-fold Doors
Bi-fold doors have become incredibly popular over recent years due to their ability to completely fold away to open up your space. Origin Bi-fold Doors boast durable aluminium frames and like the French Doors, they exceed the latest security standards (including PAS 24:2016 and Secured By Design). Each door is supplied with an 8-point locking system and is equipped with heavy-duty zinc hinges and a cylinder lock offering the highest level of security.
Click here to find out more about how sliding doors and bi-fold doors compare.
“We could not be happier with the finished project, and we cannot thank Freedom Bespoke and Origin enough for their hard work and attention to detail!”
Explore this sliding door case study
Sliding Doors
Despite featuring large panes of glass, sliding patio doors are incredibly secure against forced entry. At Origin, our sliding doors can be installed with double glazed or triple glazed glass to make the glass harder to break. We also provide a multi-locking system for optimal security.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which door frame material is the most secure?
Metal sliding door frames will undoubtedly be the most secure compared to uPVC, timber or composite. However, steel sliding doors can be heavy to operate and expensive. Aluminium is a great alternative that offers extraordinary strength and durability.
What type of glass is the most secure?
Origin Sliding doors can be specified with a choice of glass types. Glass can be either double or triple glazed. However, you can level up your security one step further with laminated glass or solar-reflective glass. Ultimately, triple glazing balances energy efficiency and security; meanwhile, laminated glass is the hardest to break.
