"Robert Bodling" <robertbodling@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:481db470$0$30241$4c368faf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> We have the same type of sliding glass doors in our bedroom, leading to
>> the outside deck along the back of the house. We choose to put in a cat
>> door that's mounted in a 8 inch wide by 7 foot high aluminum strip they
>> sell in Petsmart for around $175. Although it works fine, it is
>> expensive, and it does compromise the security of the home since it
>> prevents the sliding glass doors from closing all the way, and it is
kind
>> of flimsy. I do believe the hole through the wall is a more elegant
>> solution. You can always put in two identical cat doors....One
co-planer
>> with the inside wall, and one co-planer with the outside.....This would
>> give you better protection against air loss, so your heating bill
>> wouldn't be significantly higher. We didn't do this mainly because it
is
>> a lot of trouble, and we live in a low crime area. I put a large
>> eye-screw in the doorjamb, so we can chain the sliding glass door
across
>> the 8 inch gap, and make it relatively secure.......In most sliding
glass
>> doors, you can lay a dowel along the base, preventing the door from
being
>> opened any further than any given length......IOW, you can cut the
dowel
>> so the door can't be opened from the outside any further than the width
>> of the cat door aluminum section. We couldn't do this, because our
doors
>> were installed backwards by the builder such that the thief on the
>> outside could place the dowel, preventing our escape! I would try the
>> aluminum device if you are in a low crime area, and the hole in the
wall
>> if you are in a high crime area.
>
> Low crime area? What's that, only one out of 100 houses get broke in or
1
> out of 100 people get robbed or killed?
>
Ask your local police to define a "Low crime area". - I'm sure they can
give
you a better description than can I. Or, you can compare the crime
statistics of a gated community to those of a ghetto area.
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