For many Houston business owners, instilling reliable security is one of their biggest concerns, which makes finding a trusted glass company in Houston paramount. Oftentimes, the most prevalent vulnerabilities of these offices are the standardized sliding glass doors located at the front of your office. Research shows that a large number of annual commercial break-ins are targeted at sliding glass doors due to a slew of various reasons, including things such as weak locks, clear sight into the building, and their solid glass design. Because of this common predicament, our team at Buffalo Glass addresses this issue head-on with our implementation of several key factors of sliding glass door security.
Sliding glass doors’ primary vulnerability is their weak, often unused, locking mechanisms, as well as the single-pane design that makes shattering inevitable sometimes. Because of that, modern upgrades can make a major difference in two primary aspects of your commercial business’s storefront:
- Guest and employee safety
- Building security
If you’re looking to improve these two aspects of your Houston business, then use this blog as your guide to learning why upgrading your commercial sliding glass door is a non-negotiable.
Exposing the Four Key Sliding Door Failures
Just like any aspect of your Houston business, the biggest key is thoroughly analyzing and understanding the unique threat. The truth of the matter is that the majority of forced entries through standard sliding glass doors are reliant on one of these four common, simple tactics. Because they all focus on a specific weakness of the door, it is essential to understand the mechanism of each so that your trusted Houston glass company, Buffalo Glass, can accurately diagnose and prescribe the perfect glass door for your unique needs.
The Easily Bypassed Latch: Shimming and Basic Manipulation
Most standard sliding glass doors are made with simple spring-loaded latches that are merely a convenience lock. These are composed of a spring-loaded or gravity-controlled metal hook that is attached to the door handle. When the handle is engaged, typically by pushing a button or sliding a basic lever, the hook will extend and latch. The other common type of latch is called a keeper latch. This consists of a simple metal plate that is known as the keeper or a strike plate, which is attached to the fixed vertical frame of the door unit. The keeper’s precise design creates a perfectly-sized opening to smoothly receive the hook during engagement.
The problem with these basic mechanisms is that intruders easily pick them, making them neither very secure nor reliable. Many intruders will use something called a shim to bypass locks quickly. This device is a rigid, thin piece of metal that is able to slide in between the overlapping door panels to disengage the hook, gaining easy entry.
Derailment and Bypassing The Lock Entirely
Unfortunately, the lock makes up only a small portion of a sliding glass door’s overall security flaws. The most dramatic and most common type of forced sliding glass door entry is to completely bypass the lock entirely by using the door’s gravitational design. Many intruders use very uncomplicated methods to bypass the lock, including a simple pry tool or crowbar to lift the entire pane of the track – a technique known as derailment.
Glass Failure: The High-Speed “Smash and Grab” Threat
If intruders are looking to gain immediate access for quick smash-and-grab antics, then this is their usual method. This is especially prevalent for high-value stores or Houston businesses, where attacking the glass itself for fast entrance and exit is the most logical choice for intruders. Because of this, a “smash and grab” presents a much larger risk for standard annealed or tempered glass. This is because both of these glass pane categories will smash entirely upon impact. While tempered glass is stronger than annealed glass, its design gears it toward safety, including a blunt shattering pattern that requires a complete, shard-free break upon impact.
Frame Manipulation: The Structural Achilles’ Heel
Lastly, the final weakness of commercial sliding glass doors is the structural vulnerabilities. At its core, a sliding glass door is only as secure as its support system, meaning that many intruders will go after the weakness of many standard aluminum or vinyl frames. Often, simple tools bend and pry the frame away from the wall, rendering the locks ineffective and disengaging the bolt without even touching the glass.
How Your Glass Company Optimizes Your Sliding Door
Now that you understand the four most common failure points of commercial sliding glass doors, the next phase is understanding how your Houston glass company can help install active countermeasures to combat costly break-ins. The first thing your team at Buffalo Glass will suggest is reinforcing the physical support system through tried and tested methods that last. We prioritize essential, structural upgrades – instead of temporary fixes like glazing.
The first way we do this is by reinforcing the track with anti-lifting or derailing mechanisms. By using commercial-grade tracks and stronger rollers, we can help deter this form of break-in, even if intruders try to manipulate the frame. Additionally, our professional glass technicians can install internal vertical security bars that stretch from floor to frame. This effectively prevents the door from derailing and provides visible security, which plays a huge role in deterring theft attempts. Finally, when it comes to commercial installations, nothing is more essential than anchoring the door frame into your Houston building’s structural material to help further deter forced entry.
Lastly, using laminated glass is the gold standard for commercial sliding glass doors. Not only are these panes significantly stronger than annealed glass, but the layered design, paired with the sticky inner layer, makes it difficult for intruders to make a hole in the glass. Although it’s not a complete elimination of break-ins, in many cases, the difficulty of making an entry point can deter the thief.
Advantages Of Working With a Sliding Glass Door Company
For many Houston commercial properties, investing in your company’s security is not just an expense; it’s a serious upgrade that can yield significant return on investment. The three main improvements include:
- Insurance and liability mitigation: Upgraded security glass for sliding doors can possibly lower your insurance premiums and complex underwriting requirements.
- Business continuity and downtime reduction: Security investments can significantly lower your post-break-in downtime, including lost sales and repair costs.
- Aesthetic considerations for commercial spaces: Security glass improvements are fully invisible, yet yield impressive results in an instant – protecting you when you need it most.
Final Defense Strategy: Investing in Sliding Glass Door Security
Stop stressing over late-night security failures and the costly downtimes, repairs, and insurance premiums that come along with them. Work with Buffalo Glass – Houston’s most trusted commercial glass company. Not only can this improvement yield lower downtime and less stress on your end, but it can also offer clear financial advantages and marketability for your commercial building as a whole. Don’t wait for a break-in to show you how important a sliding glass door upgrade is. Contact us today for a free sliding glass door replacement estimate.