Properly adjusted rollers will go a long way to preventing the sliders removal.
Quality doors will have them both top and bottom or the ability foe them to be added.
There are also a variety of bronze anodized aluminum shapes which could be added to the bottom track which could the prevent the slider from being displaced.
Programable entry locks work reasonably well and the have a keyway bypass.

Thanks very much for your reply, snoonyb.

>There are also a variety of bronze anodized aluminum shapes which could be added to the bottom track which could the prevent the slider from being displaced.

I'm not sure how that can work when both doors slide. Like the bars, I can totally see how the inner door can be stabilized, but anything in the outside track would be right there for anyone to fiddle with or remove, wouldn't it?

"I'm not sure how that can work when both doors slide."
"but these open from either end, so those methods will only keep the inner door from being opened."

That being said. There has to be an overlap in these doors, so install pin locks top and bottom, in addition to the rollers which will prevent the doors from being deflected and removed without substantial damage, including breakage.

"but anything in the outside track would be right there for anyone to fiddle with or remove, wouldn't it?"

You use one way screws or blind rivets.

Thanks again, snoonyb.

We put in a programmable lock and it is great not having to give out a key.

"Properly adjusted rollers will go a long way to preventing the sliders removal."

Add some flat head screws om the upper track t prevent lifting and removal.

If you need to remove the door yourself, just run then in further to get clearance to lift the door.

A better lock than the one that cones on the doors is a good idea also.

A metal pin that passes through the track and the door itself to lock it in place is good.

I posted a similar question on another forum, and several people pointed out the obvious to me: thieves don't usually waste time with locks anyway, they just break the glass.

If someone wants to get in your house bad enough to lift out a sliding glass door, your little fixes are going to keep them out. I know. Last year someone broke into our house by smashing a basement window.

So..... now we have an alarm system. Our homeowners insurance gives discounts for that, so we netted out at about $10/month for total costs. If I had known how cheap it was going to be, I would have had a security system from the start.

Like billl, If somebody wants in your home, they will get in there.
The amount of damage they do entering is what I try to control.
Security warning decals on windows to deter the lazy burglars.
Locks that you can see to deter those with only minor "gumption".
An ALARM system that simply CHIMES when something is opened (like a front entry door in many stores). That is to hopefully spook the intruder, and MOSTLY to let anybody that is inside the house KNOW something isn't right.

Security Cameras? NO, that's a good way to get your house burned down.
"Cell Block Locks"? No, that causes a whole lot of damage upon forced entry...usually just enough to eat up a deductible, yet, no enough to get insurance involved.

HOWEVER, crooks are not the smartest lot. The last ones we had forceably removed jalousy windows. The successfully saved a $20 pane of glass, yet destroying the $500 frame work. (for a $10 Sony Play Station).

"they just break the glass."

Breaking a slider makes a decent amount of noise usually since they are tempered glass, and if it is a double pane unit even more noise.

"Breaking a slider makes a decent amount of noise usually since they are tempered glass, and if it is a double pane unit even more noise. "

So do car alarms, but people seem to be able to ignore those as well. Besides, if someone breaks into my house, I want the police alerted, not just the nice little, old, lady next door.

I tend to agree with brickeyee--in this area, unlike other places I've lived, crime is largely the purview of amateurs looking for opportunity, and yes, something as minor as not being able easily to pry open a window usually moves them on. The kind of serious armed robbery that was common when I lived in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area is pretty much unknown up here. The pros know the local constabulary don't have much to do except arrest people on minor drug charges, domestic violence, and traffic violations, and the whole county force would be free to concentrate on a major crime. In S Fl, I would get impact windows for sure, no question, and not just for hurricane protection.

As for ignoring the noise, yes everyone ignores car alarms because they go off all the time. Unusual noises get attention.

As someone who has recently had their home robbed with the crook just breaking a window, I can assure you that noise alone generally does NOT draw enough attention to keep someone out of your home.

BTW - I live in a nice historic neighborhood with fairly nosy neighbors. Almost all of them work during the day though- which is when my house was robbed.

Well, as for that, writersblock is a neighbor where I currently live. In the past 8 years (as long as I've been here), we had an incident where someone left a couple of fishing rods on his front porch for three days and they disappeared. That's it for crime (outside of family fights and such).

Where I'm looking to move, they've had two sneak burglaries (unoccupied properties) and one (unlocked) car theft in a 400 unit development in the past two years. There are usually people around at any time of the day or night, given that there's quite a mix of people living there--some retired, some younger working folks with families.

Incidentally, to lift an unsecured but locked slider off the tracks is not a big deal to do and only takes a minute or two. I've done it myself when the front door lock failed.