Burglars love sliding glass doors for a number of reasons — their locks are usually easier to pick or force open, they allow full visibility of what’s inside your property, and, if all else fails, they’re made of huge glass panels that are easy to break and step right through.

Not only that, but most sliding glass doors are made of tempered safety glass, so criminals don’t have to worry about getting cut on their way in.

One way to prevent burglars from gaining entry to your property through a sliding door is to install burglar bars over the glass. These can be a good burglar deterrent and can help delay forced entry, but they’re definitely not an ideal glass door security solution. 

How Do Burglar Bars for Sliding Glass Doors Work?

Burglar bars are a type of security bar system that can be fixed outside or inside windows and doors to make it more difficult to break and enter through a glass door or window.

There are many different types of burglar bars on the market, including permanent, retractable, and removable models.

While burglar bars can be an affordable solution for some types of businesses, they aren’t practical for certain types of businesses and commercial facilities, especially when it comes to fortifying sliding glass doors.

Issues with using burglar bars for sliding glass doors

The first major problem with using burglar bars for sliding doors is that they basically defeat the purpose of having sliding glass doors in the first place.

If you have sliding doors, you probably love them because they allow large amounts of natural light in and provide large picturesque views of the outdoors, right?

Well, if you install a bunch of bars over the sliding doors, you’re significantly reducing visibility and the amount of natural light that filters in.

Another reason that burglar bars are not ideal for most businesses and commercial facilities is that they hurt their curb appeal — bars make a property look fortified and uninviting, a bit like a jail.

Although this may be fine for places like liquor stores and convenience stores, security bars simply aren’t an option for something like a luxury retail store or an office building.

Yet another reason why burglar bars are not the best choice for sliding glass doors security is that they don’t completely protect the glass. In other words, an intruder may still be able to break the glass and reach in to grab valuable items in close proximity to the glass.

Why you need an alternative to burglar bars for sliding glass door security:

In summary, you should consider an alternative to burglar bars because bars…

• Block natural light
• Reduce visibility
• Hurt curb appeal
• Don’t fully protect glass

The Best Alternative To Burglar Bars for Sliding Doors

For all commercial applications, the best alternative to burglar bars is ArmorPlast® AP25.

ArmorPlast is our proprietary line of polycarbonate security glazing, and AP25 is our flagship product. It’s a direct result of years of access denial and fenestration security experience.

AP25 consists of a single-layer, quarter-inch polycarbonate sheet that can be retrofitted into or onto most existing framing systems, protecting the existing glass behind and eliminating the need for expensive glass replacement.

These polycarbonate glazing shields look and feel like traditional window glass, but have the virtually unbreakable strength of polycarbonate.

Combined with our patented ArmorPlast security framing, AP25 will ensure that the bad guys can’t gain access to your business through vulnerable doors and windows, including your sliding glass doors.

The best part is that AP25 provides this high level of protection without any of the drawbacks of traditional forced entry prevention solutions, such as bars and grates.

Since it’s crystal clear, AP25 doesn’t block out natural light, inhibit views, prevent window shopping, or hurt the curb appeal of your business in any way. Plus, it fully protects your existing glass against a full range of security threats — 24/7.

In addition to forced entry and burglary prevention, AP25 is perfect for protecting your property’s doors and windows against vandalism, rioting and looting, flying storm debris, blast damage, and all other manner of impacts, whether intentional or accidental.

ArmorPlast AP25 is ideal for:

• Retail smash-and-grab theft and burglary prevention
• Active threat access denial
• Rioting and looting protection
• Storm damage mitigation
• Blast damage reduction
• Protecting glass against all other types of impacts

A Word on ArmorPlast Gen II Series security framing

ArmorPlast AP25 is now available with our new Gen II Series security framing, which uses the latest technology to provide exceptional durability and impact resistance that you won’t find anywhere else.

This Gen II security framing is both incredibly strong and lightweight, and was designed with retail storefront security in mind. 

The framing uses a system of shock gaskets to absorb and disperse the kinetic energy from high-force impacts, allowing the infilled security glazing a free range of movement and minimizing the weakening effects of prolonged attacks using heavy forced entry tools.

ArmorPlast Gen II framing is optimized for 1/4” security glazing infills, specifically AP25, but it’s also compatible with up to 1-1/4” security glazing, including ballistic-grade ArmorPlast glazing. 

The sleek profile and various finish options ensure that the retrofit framing system won’t significantly change the outward appearance of your building. 

In short, an ArmorPlast polycarbonate security glazing retrofit isn’t just virtually unbreakable, it’s virtually invisible, too. If you don’t know it’s there, you won’t know the difference.

Combine ArmorPlast Gen II with AP25 to provide maximum protection for:

• High-end/specialty retail stores
• Schools
• Government buildings
• Offices
• Hospitals
• Religious facilities
• All other commercial and high-security properties

Contact Riot Glass Today

Riot Glass, LLC is committed to providing the absolute best in fenestration security. 

When it comes to securing sliding glass doors and all other types of glass doors and windows, you won’t find better solutions than the ones we offer. 

Unlike unsightly burglar bars and grates, we fortify your property, without making it look fortified.

Contact us today for your free consultation.