Break-In By BREAKING sliding glass doors????

RHC: It has been my experience, in a large city, where neighbours are relatively close by, that a thief would much rather pry the door open sideways, or lift it up out of it's track, than he would break a large pane of glass with it's resultant loud noise. That's not to say it won't happen; however, thieves are generally wary of three things....too long to get it\\n, too noisy to get in, or causing themselves to be exposed by what they are doing. Breaking a large glass door pane results in a noise like a gunshot !! However, if you are in a rural area, the situation can be quite different.

As a minimum, the door should be on the alarm system, have a patio door swingdown bar installed, and screws above the door so it can't be lifted out of it's track. A single glass break pointed at the door within 15 feet or so, can't hurt either. Or use a door contact that is combined with a glassbreak device....I think Sentrol make one. And don't forget an alarm warning decal on the door either.....

You don't want them even to start attacking the door. If they break that glass, the average patio door in our area is about $1000 to replace. Your insurance deductible is likely $500 which means you are out of pocket that much whether they get in or not......

There is other information about the all important physical security aspects of your home on my website....www.homemetal.com

Through the years I've had a few forced entrys occur through patio doors by way of picnic benches, garden rocks, and shovel, among other similar objects. Not often mind you, but it does happen. Glass break detectors can be a problem by being set off by various sounds within the home, but the new ones are getting better and better with each generation. Nowdays, there are some detectors that require four (sound of window breaking related) events to take place before an alarm is tripped. On the other hand, not having a glass break detector when needed, would seem to be a bigger problem to me. It's not very often that a glass break detector is the cause of a reported false alarm with police response. It usually happens when someone is at home. Squaking birds, barking, jumping, running dogs seem to be the biggest problem followed by breaking dishes, dishes/silverware rattling in the sink and audio surround sound noises.

In the short term, I'd suggest that you put the seat down with greater care and go into a closet when you blow your nose. :-)

In the short term, I'd suggest that you put the seat down with greater care and go into a closet when you blow your nose. :-)

I bought me one of those seats that lowers slowly and quietly. Man that is the Ritz. Not expensive either. :)

... or one of these babies:

Hey Jim - I understand the newest version even comes *with* an MP-3 player built into the remote control. :-)

Networkable and GPS options too.

Sure... like you wanna track where all that stuff goes... :-)

Wow, you Norte Americanos sure are decadent.

ewwwww.

Actually, those puppies are from Japan.

Yeah, mine only plays one song when I lift up the seat

"You've got the whole world in your hands"

My wife tried to change it to "Little things mean a lot" but I locked her out of the player.

I was going by the .ca in the web address posted. Canada is in NA.

I'm not in the alarm business so I'm no expert, but wouldn't putting a motion detector next to the door accomplish roughly the same thing as a glass break sensor? Someone comes through the door and ALARM.

Shaun Eli

Brain Champagne: Clever Comedy for Smart Minds (sm)

On Dec 13, 1:42=EF=BF=BDpm, Shaun Eli wro= te:

Well at least your heart is mounted in the right spot.

However, by a door is probably the last place you'd want a motion detector.

( I know in this case it's a sliding glass door and probably not a primary entry/exit door, however some of the rules still apply)

A. Motion detectors shouldn't look directly at glass.

B. Since it's by a door. If it's an enty/exit door, the motion detector has to be programed with a delay, just like the door .... which means less secure. E/E Doors, obviously, have to have a delay. Why would you want to have to put a delay on a vital detector such as a motion detector too?

C. Since the keypad is usually .... also by the E/E door, everytime you walk to the keypad to arm it, the motion detector sees you. Since all zones need to be closed before you can arm the system, you have to wait for a period of time for the motion detector to quiet down before you can arm the system. Annoying when your're trying to rush out the door and usually, over a period of time, results in the motion detectory being routinely bypassed and never used.

D. Contrary to what the lick and stick alarm companys have (wrongly) propagated in the installation of alarm systems ..... motion detectors are NOT a primary detection device. They were designed and meant to be back up devices, detecting activity on the INTERIOR of a premises. They are not perimeter detection devices.

E. Glass break detectors can be armed while you're at home and moving around .... motion detectors can't.

Thanks for clarifying. But I was thinking that:

1. Sliding doors are rarely used as primary entrances/exits.

1. The motion detector wouldn't point at the door but across the door (in other words, in a corner on the same wall).

Most of the motion detectors I can think of (friends' houses, etc.) are near a door.

I can't speak for everyone but most people I know have shades or curtains on sliding glass doors.

It is good that a glass break detector works when you're home. But does that mean that every time you drop a glass or a plate, while you're thinking about cleaning up the mess and not stepping on broken glass, you also have to deal with the alarm?

Thanks. I meant that the curtains would help prevent motion detector false alarms, not block the sound of broken glass.

FYI-- nobody's ever broken any of my windows but I'd say that every couple of years somebody breaks a glass or a plate, although I don't know whether a wine glass is loud enough to trip the glass break detector.

I think that one advantage of having nearby neighbors is that a burglar is less likely to break a window to get in, because even once inside somebody could see that and call the police. If he jimmies a door, once he's inside he's probably safe if nobody's home (absent the alarm, etc.)

By 'lick and stick' companies you mean the ones that advertise free installation, etc. just to get the monitoring contract?

On Dec 14, 7:29=EF=BF=BDpm, Shaun Eli wro= te:

Actually, I place curtains in the category of being the cause of false alarms with motion detectors. Especially those that can blow around with heating or air conditioning. And by the way, it's the rapid change in temperature that the windows provide that also cause the false alarms. Curtains wont stop infra red trasnsmission. DON'T point a motion detector at windows!

That's not the point I was trying to make. Of course you'd break a glass more often than someone would break into your home. My point is that when you do that, it's only a local alarm and you'll be home to stop the call from going to police. If you have motion detectors, you're not going to use them when you're home. You've got to weight the importance of not having any glass break detection when you're home. Some people are willing to do that. Some are not. The best of all worlds is to have both motion and glass break. You can make your choice.

When ever someone says that to me I always ask them how often YOU have responded to any noises that you've heard coming from your neighbors house? How many have happened that you missed or where not home to hear? How often do YOU look at your neighbors house? How often do they?

Yes