A pane of glass is often the only thing standing between you and those illustrious window shoppers at your store. But, it can also be the only thing standing between you and someone looking to cause damage or, unfortunately, rob you of product. While it isn’t the most uplifting topic to think about, keeping your business safe—with a focus on storefront doors—is imperative.
Upgrading the security of your store glass is a great place to start—and there are a variety of additional technology options to consider, too.
Choose Your Glass Type
The first step is selecting the right type of glass for your storefront doors. Steer clear of unsecured or “floating” glass—while common for home windows, it can be easily broken with blunt force. Additionally, be wary of plate glass, which offers protection from environmental elements but provides little physical security.
One step above float glass is tempered glass. Often referred to as safety glass, tempered glass is more resistant to breakage. However, if broken, the pieces are usually smaller and less likely to cause serious injury.
Finally, to stay protected against burglary, laminated glass may be your best bet. Popularly used for entrance doors, glass floors, aquariums and display cases, laminated glass is made of two or more panes of glass bonded together by a durable plastic interlayer. The interlayer enables the glass to resist breakage or penetration by impacting objects. In the event it does break, the glass will probably remain in its frame, minimizing the risk of injury from sharp edges or any falling shards. Why is laminated glass preferred for storefront doors? Three important qualities:
- Hurricane and earthquake resistance
- Protection against forced entry and smash-and-grab thefts
- Bullet resistance
Although more expensive than other types of glass, laminated glass adds a protective layer of security that will deter and often prevent the average burglary. If your store sells jewelry or firearms, laminated glass is a truly great option. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, breaking into laminated glass isn’t easy because gaining entrance involves a lot of effort, noise and time. As a special bonus, laminated glass provides a good amount of sound proofing in high vehicle traffic and noisy areas.
Storefront Door Technology
Beyond choosing the right glass for your storefront doors, you’ll also want to ensure you have external loss prevention controls in place as a second layer of defense. Often, if a potential burglar sees one of these in your store prior to a planned robbery, it will be enough to deter them. If you don’t have these already, think about:
- Alarm system
- Video surveillance with motion detection (and accompanying signage with “premises under video surveillance”)
- Concrete balusters in front of store
- Pull-down gates
- Proper hook-latch or paddle-style locks (depending on swinging or sliding doors)
Want to take your storefront doors up a notch in the safety department? Jack’s Glass can help.
Call Us Today
Jack’s Glass has excelled in glass repair, replacement and design for more than 75 years. Jack’s Glass provides repair and replacement for auto glass and custom solutions for shower and tub enclosures and many other residential glass items. We also do custom glasswork for businesses, and proudly serve Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky with locations in Elsmere, Covington and Dry Ridge.
