Handyman Discusses A Variety Of Sliding Glass Door Locks
Many of us have sliding glass doors, and maybe the handle lock has stopped working. Many homeowners will wedge a broomstick or some other piece of wood behind the slider to prohibit it from opening. Well if you are tired of looking at the broomstick, read on. There are many mechanisms to lock your sliding glass door.
Aside from repairing or replacing your handle lock, you can install a locking mechanism at the base of your sliding door. There are many choices here, but it seems the two most popular are a pin lock or a charley-bar type lock.
A pin lock looks like a long nail that you install in a hole you will have to drill through the frame and track. Basically you will close the door and drill a hole large enough for the pin to slide into. If someone tries to open the door, the pin will stop the door from moving.
A charley bar works the same as a broomstick, but it looks a little nicer. It is a hinged metal bar that telescopes out to snug against the back of the sliding glass door. Here you mount the mechanism to the opposite inside jamb. The bar will swing downward and rest in a bracket you will secure to the back of the sliding door.
Either style of lock works fine and you probably won't need a handyman to install them for you.
There are many styles of sliding glass door locks and they are actually very similar. Each will secure to either the door or the track and have a means to stop the door from traveling.