Did you know that around 2.6 million households experienced housebreaking/burglary between 2019 and 2024? This staggering figure was published in the 2023/2024 Victims of Crime Survey published by Stats SA in August 2024. But the real surprise is that just over 20% of people said they had installed physical protection measures at home. What are the other 80% doing to keep themselves safe? If you are one of those with no physical security at home, read on to see how high quality sliding trellis doors can help you avoid becoming a victim of this growing problem.
What are Trellis Doors?
‘Trellis door’ is a term often used to describe sliding ‘trellidor’ gates. Trellidor is actually the name of the company that has been manufacturing these doors for over 45 years. It is the most recognised trellis door brand in South Africa. It is also trusted by millions of people to keep them safe at home.
Trellis doors are a type of steel or aluminium gate. They slide open and closed by moving from left to right on a track that is fitted to the floor. This bottom track can be recessed into the floor so that it doesn’t become a tripping hazard.
There are many similar trellis gate designs on the South African market. This because they are recognised as one of the most effective ways of keeping criminals out of your home. The quality of these gates, however, varies considerably. Trellis door prices vary too, and this is usually linked to quality.
The essential features of a good quality trellis door are:
- Custom made and professionally installed for a secure fit
- Fully framed for stability and strength under attack
- Fitted with strong, purpose-designed locks
- Strengthening features in their construction to make them strong
- Corrosion resistant – especially important at the coast
- Available in several models to suit the crime risk and budget
Why Install Burglar Doors?
It is important to remember that trellis doors are burglar doors, designed to keep burglars out of your home. If they are not built with resisting an attack in mind and tested to make sure they are strong when assaulted, they may let you down in a crisis.
Trellidor outlets around the country have many stories to share about how high quality trellis doors have stood up in an emergency. One in particular stands out. It happened in KwaZulu-Natal at the home of two women.
With limited funds, the sisters couldn’t install security barriers on every door and window in their home. On the advice of their Trellidor sales consultant, they opted to create a safe zone in their bedroom area. This consisted of a trellis gate in the passage and burglar proofing on all the windows in the bedrooms and bathroom. The safe haven gave them peace of mind at night when they went to bed.
One night they woke up to the sounds of burglars in their living area, which wasn’t protected by any barriers. The burglars were trying to get into the bedroom area, presumably to get to cell phones, laptops, and other items. They hammered away at the security gate, which buckled but didn’t break. This gave the women time to call for help.
Fortunately, this was a story with a happy ending. The women saw the true value of a high quality trellis door in the passage because it held up under attack. Their sliding gate required repairs afterwards, which is how their sales consultant found out about their close call with criminals.
Trellis Door Prices
The prices people are willing to pay for their physical protection measures at home are dependent on two main issues:
- The budget they have to work with.
- What the purpose is in installing their security doors.
Let’s explore both of these topics in more detail.
The Purpose of Physical Protection
In terms of the purpose of the security barriers, some just want to have any barrier on their doors and windows as long as it’s cheap. What they are looking for is a deterrent to potential home robbers. Their thinking is that barriers send a message that this home is protected, so rather move on to an easier target.
What these homeowners haven’t factored in is that sometimes a home is targeted in spite of the fact that there is barrier protection. Home invaders that have made this decision stop at nothing to get inside the home. If doors are locked and protected by security barriers, they will attack windows.
In this situation, quality matters. A sliding security door built to be strong under attack will absorb the blows far longer than one that is merely installed as a deterrent. Like the women in the story above, a family under threat and secured by high quality barriers has more time to call for help or to escape their home.
This is where Trellidor gets its reputation for being a market leader. There is no recognised security barrier testing organisation in South Africa. So Trellidor went overseas and found the best testing system, used by companies worldwide. This testing system was developed by the London-based Loss Prevention Certification Board, and it has set the global standard for high quality sliding security gates.
Trellidor has had several sliding trellis doors certified according to these testing standards. One of the gates has reached the highest level of certification achieved by sliding gates globally. These certified sliding gates are used to protect critical key points such as international transport hubs.
The average home does not need a sliding gate of this strength. Where the international testing benefits the homeowner is that the same principles used to test certified sliding gates are applied to every product in the Trellidor range. Trellidor ensures that every sliding door model is as strong as possible and can do the job it is purchased for.
The Budget Available for Physical Protection at Home
Even though ‘the experience of housebreaking has increased by 12% from the previous year’ according to the Victims of Crime Survey, physical home security is still a grudge purpose. Perhaps this is why 80% of those surveyed do not have physical security at home.
Lack of budget is often the reason. People don’t want to spend their hard earned money on something as boring as security, especially if they’ve never experienced a break-in at home. Turning this around, if you absolutely have to have physical protection, it makes sense to purchase the best you can afford. High quality last longer and is stronger.
Not everyone has the budget to get all the security they need. To make it easier for people to purchase their barriers, Trellidor has several financing options. These are:
- A 6-month interest-free loan
- A 24 month interest bearing loan
- 6 months Layby
The first two plans mean that you can lock out the worry now and pay over time. They also help you to upgrade to stronger versions of the products you choose, if you need extra protection.
Another way that Trellidor helps people improve their home safety is by offering a range of sliding doors at different prices. All the Trellidor burglar door designs are strong, but some have additional strengthening features and are more expensive than others.
Your Trellidor security consultant can design a package of different products for you to spread the cost. Stronger, higher price trellis doors can be specified for the areas that are more likely to be attacked by home invaders. Then lower priced trellis doors can be fitted to less exposed doorways and windows.
To end off, it is recommended that you schedule a home security assessment with your nearest Trellidor outlet. You’ll be able to explore all the options available to create a safer home using high quality trellis doors and other burglar proofing designs.
