large glass doors makes me rethink about purchase

home2013

I've been viewing houses for past more than couple of weeks, almost all houses I've viewed has large double glazed door between garden and lounge/dining, which is very easy for a thief to break in !

Yes most gardens are fully fenced but it should be fairly easy for a young person to jump in, and break the glass door.

I know I can fit burglar alarms with camera, but even then if a intruder breaks in, I'm the one who is going to fix everything back and do it again if somebody else breaks in again. (Reading online about break ins/thiefs makes me think it happens so often)

Sorry if I'm being silly here, I'm new to UK and houses ( I'm live in a flat now which has couple of locked doors before my door). I would like to buy a house with garden and not a flat/apartment.

moromir

Look if a burgler wants to burgle your home, he's going to go for the least conspicuous point of entry, thats going to be jimmying a door open or breaking a small window. Not smashing a huge sheet of plate glass.

aliasojo

Large glass doors would be a positive thing for me, they would let in loads of light and almost bring the outside in.

As long as the door (or doors) have good locks then I personally wouldn't be put off by a 'what if' in this instance. If a thief is determined to enter your home, he will do so, glass door or no glass door.

martinsurrey

If someone is committed enough to kick a patio door in they WILL find a way in regardless.

What about a kitchen window? Unless you have no windows and a steel door, someone can get in if they want too, it’s about making your house look unappealing to a burglar, make it secure, put up a security light, keep valuables out of sight.

I’ve seen a high security composite door ripped from the brickwork because someone left their Aston Martin keys on a windowsill. (they did it by using a 4x4, a length of pipe and a chain through the letterbox)

Seabee42

I can understand your point of view and your not wrong my mother was burgled by someone throwing a brick through the patio doors.

If it is such an issue for you then I can suggest you change them but then they can also just throw a brick through a window to.

One of the reasons these doors are popular is people like to look out on their gardens and they also like the light inside as well.

mrsmchapman

Have to agree with above. If someone wants to burgle your home they will, whether you have alarms or cameras or anything else for that matter!

ado

As a PC I have seen lots of different ways to break into a house including subtle and not so subtle modes of entry. As other posters have said if a burglar really wants to get in to your house he will. For that reason large rear windows would not put me off buying a house.

You can however do a lot to reduce the opportunity for a burglar to get in by taking common sense precautions. Lock up ladders/tools, fit an outside light with a movement sensor, cut down trees/bushes at the front of the house, fit a good fence round your back garden, join a neighbourhood watch, security mark your high value property, keep doors/windows locked and hide the keys when you leave the house, fit good quality locks, fit good quality doors i.e. composite doors rather than UPVC or wood.

xyellowx

do what most people do put a conservatory on the back you will make it twice as hard for the burglar they will have to smash 2 pains of glass

Davesnave

home2013 wrote: »

(Reading online about break ins/thiefs makes me think it happens so often)

Sorry if I'm being silly here, I'm new to UK and houses ( I'm live in a flat now which has couple of locked doors before my door). I would like to buy a house with garden and not a flat/apartment.

It depends where you live rather than what kind of windows you have. Put your postcode into this site to see what kind of crimes happen most in your area:

http://www.police.uk/

Even if burglary is common, there are other things you can do to discourage thieves. For example, prickly bushes make it hard for younger criminals to nip over fences and walls. Carpet gripper on the top of gates etc. Most burglaries are opportunist thefts and thieves are generally lazy.

In all the time I lived in the city, (40 years) I had one attempted burglary, and that failed because the youngsters were drunk and too fat to slip through the small window I'd left ajar. :rotfl:

RupertTheCat

I had an attempted break in recently (bamboo stick, magnet on the end, through the cat flap trying to get the key out of the back door - the cats woke me up as it was at night), and the police officer who responded observed that burglars won't break in glass doors as a rule - too noisy.

Large doors bring in a lot of light so are lovely. As other people have observed, security lights, not leaving the key in the door and having a locked shed are more likely to help in keeping out intruders.

I have had someone break down a wooden door to get in in the past, and also remove the louvres from a window to climb in. Sliding glass doors can be lifted off their runners too I believe.

Stratus

You can get some very good locks these days. Try researching Avocet ABS. Encourages burglars to target easier to access properties.