Defender Security S 4154 48-Inch Sliding Door Security Bar Lock - Heavy Duty Extruded Aluminum, Bronze Finish for Patio, Balcony & Home Safety Protection

Not the easiest to install but works well.As with most of my Amazon purchases, this was a bargain compared to my local home improvement stores. I bought two of these for my sliding doors after I realized how unsafe the locks on them were. Yes someone could still break the glass, but with this bar down and locked they aren't getting the door open.Installation is a bit in depth for your non-handy types. It requires you to cut the metal bar to fit your door, so you'll need a hacksaw or some kind of metal cutting device. Sawzall would be overkill here but would do it. Not sure if a Dremel would do a good job but it would probably get it done. No matter what, measure at LEAST twice and cut once- if you cut it too short you'll waste the whole kit so be careful.My doors had a recess channel on the vertical edge that the bar receiver was to mount to. The width of the channel was exactly the same width as the bar. Since I was cutting a few inches off the bar I cut a two inch piece and drilled holes through it, screwed it to the door, then mounted the receiver to the bar. I think I might have sprayed it with some white paint to cover the bare metal too. But it was an easy fix fortunately since the kit didn't accommodate for anything than a flat surface on the door.In any event these are fantastic. I feel much safer knowing that when these bars are locked those doors aren't opening, either for a thief coming in or my kids trying to get out by the pool when I'm not looking.I have metal brackets as door stops on my sliding glass door along with an alarm system. While purchasing this may seem like overkill, my reasoning is more on the side of a deterrent. Someone seeking to burglarize my home, will certainly encounter the brackets/alarm and will be unable to open the door, but the security bar can we seen and acts as a deterrent because the burgular will "see" the bar and realize breaking in will be more difficult if not impossible.I have a doggie door too, so I was concerned about being able to cut the bar to fit a 12" space. To my surprise it was easily cut to fit and a breeze to install. As a bonus the pressure of the bar, when it is down, helps close the small gap between my doggie door and sliding door.This security bar takes the old broomstick security device and raises it 2 IQ points. Total no-brainer security bar for sliding glass doors. The vertical hinged bar swings down horizontally into the bracket on the opposite side to brace against intruders trying to slide the door open from the outside. 100% secure. It fit perfectly in my Andersen slider.2 screws go into the door jamb to secure the hinged bar part. 2 screws go into the sliding panel part to secure the plastic bracket. There really isn't any pressure or weight on the plastic bracket part.The hinged bar part is 3/4 inch wide. The plastic bracket is 1-inch in width.The aluminum bar cuts easily with any cheapo hacksaw. Even a $5 mini-hacksaw will cut through it. Just brace the bar against a chair with your foot and saw away. Really no big deal. A little rubber end cap finishes the raw edge after cutting. The longest part of installation is the measuring. The OCD side of me measured 8 times before any drilling or cutting. You DO NOT want to screw up with your new $2000 sliding door. MEASURE MEASURE MEASURE. And then measure one last time after a dry fit ;)I read several reviews on the white version of this product and surprised to find none here. The bronze matched my bronze door quite well. I actually installed 6 of these and I got a lot better with each one. The first probably took an hour, the last took about 15 minutes. You will need a drill, a hacksaw, a level, and a measuring tape.There is a little piece of metal on a chain that is designed to slip into a slot to keep it extra locked. Stupidly, this key is stainless in color. Really stands out against the bronze. In fact, I may remove them. Also, one of the chains didn't have the little piece that allows it to be connected to the door to keep it handy. They lost a star for that.I recommend the product.I used to install these (or by a similar manufacturer) by the dozens years ago in apartment complexes and villas, their visual presence would deter even an accomplished thief. While at a friend's house recently, I noticed a wood dowel she was using to lock her slider (the original latch would easily trip open while locked) and surprised her days later with this product. She loves it and it's much easier to lock the door now. It installs with relative ease and the white model matched her vinyl door. The only reason I didn't rate it 5 stars is because the black catch doesn't match the white bar. Obviously it's a universal catch for the other color model they sell, but why not spend the few extra pennies and manufacture one that matches. I highly recommend this product even if you think your slider lock is secure, most doors will lift up and defeat the locking mechanism.I have to say this is perfect for our needs, just do not do what we did, both go into the yard together and get locked out of the house!Our fault, for not securing the bar in the upright placement! Hot day, OMG! Our bug man helped and found our granddaughter, our son out of town, we got the keys, oh yeah we had had one of the door locks changed and didn’t give the extra key to our son! “did not fit”.... two hours later the mobile key guy came, did I tell you it was humid too! READ INSTRUCTIONS AND YOU’LL BE FINEThe defender bar was easy enough to install. I like that fact that the bar can be lifted up out of the way on its hinge in the door jam when not in use and conveniently moved down to lock the back of the sliding door. If there is one thing that can make the defender more secure is to use a heavier gage hinge bracket and have someway to lock the bar to its bar holder when in the down position.