Door burglar bars protect the glass and thin panels of a door that a full security gate would cover awkwardly: patio doors, kitchen doors with a glass pane, French doors and doors that open onto a garden. They are fixed bar frames, sometimes with a hinged section, that guard the opening while you keep your light and view. Send us the size of each door and where you are, and burglar bar fabricators and installers near you quote directly.
Fixed bars or an opening section
A door still has to be used, so the first decision is whether the bars stay put or open. On a glass door you never walk through, such as a half-glazed door beside the main entrance, a fixed frame bolted over the glass is the cheapest and neatest option. On a door you use daily, the bars need a hinged gate section with a lock, which makes it a security gate in all but name. For those openings compare security doors with bars, and decide which looks better with your window bars.
Bars for glass and sliding doors
Glass is the weak point of most patio doors, so bars here are usually fitted over the glass, spaced at about 100 to 120 mm, with a horizontal rail at mid height for stiffness. For a sliding door you have two choices: bars fixed over one fixed panel and a sliding or hinged gate over the other, or a full-width sliding gate on a track. See sliding door security gates for the track options. Clear bars are possible over glass if you want the view kept open, and clear burglar bars are worth a look where the garden view matters to you. Check that the bottom rail clears any raised track, so water can run off and the frame does not rust early.
- Fixed bar frame over glass: simple, lowest cost.
- Hinged bar gate: a daily-use door with a lock.
- Sliding gate: wide patio and stacker openings.
Fixing and fire safety
Bars are only as good as their fixing. They should be bolted into the brick or concrete around the frame with anchors every 400 to 500 mm, not screwed into a timber or aluminium door frame that can flex. Where a door is the only way out of a room, the bars must open from inside with a key kept nearby. Never fix bars across the only escape route, and keep one key on a hook near the door, out of reach from outside.
What the installer needs to know
Measure the opening width and height in millimetres and note whether the door opens inwards or outwards, where the handle sits and whether there is a drip mould or step in the way. Mention the wall type and if you are near the sea, where galvanised steel under the powder coat lasts far longer. For a guide to styles, see burglar bar designs.
What to include in your request
- Width and height of each door opening in mm
- Fixed bars or a hinged section with a lock
- Which way the door opens and where the handle sits
- Inside or outside the glass
- Wall type, colour and whether you are near the sea
Door Burglar Bars for different properties
- Houses: bars over the kitchen and patio doors, matched to the window bars
- Townhouses and complexes: bars on the rear patio door in the colour the body corporate allows
- Flats and apartments: a bar gate over a balcony door that still opens from inside
- Farms and smallholdings: heavy bars over back doors and the doors of outbuildings
- Shops and restaurants: bars over a glazed back door or a rear delivery door
- Offices and practices: neat bars over a ground-floor door onto a parking area
- Factories and warehouses: bars over the glass doors of offices inside a yard
- Schools, clinics and churches: bars on classroom and clinic doors, specified in the tender
Frequently asked questions
How much do door burglar bars cost?
Can I get burglar bars for a glass door that opens?
Do door bars go inside or outside the glass?
Will door bars spoil the look of my house?
Door Burglar Bars by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg