ᐅ New Construction Security Options for Windows and Front Doors

In my opinion, lockable door handles are at most protection against forced opening, but not against burglary. They only prevent the handle from turning, which is located on the inside anyway – there is no additional bolt extending into the frame or similar.

I meant a security fitting so that the window cannot be easily pried open.

A burglar is unlikely to go through the wall here—that would be far too loud in a densely populated new housing area.

Similarly, breaking the glass is probably too loud.

Nothing is 100% burglar-proof; you are basically buying time, effort, and noise that the burglar has to risk, and that can already act as a deterrent.

Tolentino schrieb:

In my opinion, lockable olives serve at most as protection against vandalism, but not as real burglary protection.

If you don’t have a lockable olive, a hole the diameter of a forearm or hand would be enough to get in. The lockable olive would force the intruder to make a hole large enough to fit the whole body through. However, I suspect that prying open windows or patio doors with a crowbar is faster than drilling a hole or breaking a large hole in a pane. Installing high-security standards on all windows would certainly cost several thousand euros.

I doubt that you can cut a hole in today’s double- or triple-glazed windows without safety glass, at least not with a glass cutter like in old movies. If anything, you would have to break the pane, and then it doesn’t really matter whether the hole is the size of your arm or 70cm (28 inches).

If I understand correctly what my husband keeps trying to explain to me, burglars don’t break the glass, but rather enter through a barely visible hole in the handle or frame, where a thin wire is enough to pry open the window handle or mechanism. That’s why locking handles provide more security than you might think—AS LONG AS you don’t leave the key in the lock or anywhere within half a meter (about 1.5 feet) of it.

We asked for a quote to retrofit our windows (replacing the hinges and installing locking handles with 100 Newton force): 10 windows for 6,000 euros.

Elokine schrieb:

The window installer’s advice here was actually to saw a wooden batten to size and wedge it inside the fixed part of the window from the inside when you’re away for an extended period, so the door can no longer be slid open. Additionally, we chose lockable handles on the ground floor.

You can also do this every evening if needed. A simple batten or a stronger stick will do. However, a truly secure method is not convenient and doesn’t generate sales, so it is rarely recommended. It’s always funny when people claim THAT burglar acts this way or that way.
You have to assess your own situation, personally and locally, and not be guided by general fears or decide exactly WHAT or WHOM you want to protect FROM WHAT. Security is often used as a general term, so many people want to protect everything or a lot of things. But if you repeatedly do something useless, it will still be useless.
Unfortunately, even at police advisory services, you mostly get generic, one-size-fits-all information.
Example: A front door is rarely or hardly ever forced open. But if it happens to be completely out of sight or if the intruder knows for other reasons that there is something very special behind it, it might be different. Then again, it could also be that the intruder already has you in a chokehold by the time you arrive...
At some point in recent decades, the police changed their terminology and now only speak of creating a feeling of security. That’s generally the point: to generate a better feeling; whether it matches reality is another matter.
@Tamstar There are so-called "window drilling" methods just like the brute force break-in with a crowbar or smashing with a stone. The by far most common and widely used method is prying open windows and sliding doors on the ground floor with an ordinary screwdriver.
But then again, there’s the common facade climber... or the roof intruder... 🤨