Burglar Doors in SA: Types, Prices, Checks

October 2026, by Mikael Harris, Sales & Commercial Manager.

A burglar door is a steel or aluminium security barrier fitted in front of an entrance door. In South Africa the name covers three products: a hinged burglar door that swings open, a retractable trellis door that folds to one side, and a sliding security gate. Trellis doors start from R3,500; hinged doors and sliding gates are quoted to the opening.

The three kinds of burglar door

	How it opens	Best for	Price
Hinged burglar door	Swings on hinges, like a second front door	A single doorway used all day, with room for the door to swing	Quoted to the opening
Trellis door (retractable)	Folds into a stack at one side	Wide openings and patio sliders you want fully clear when open	From R3,500; Deluxe from R4,500
Sliding security gate	Slides sideways on a track	Doorways with side space but no room to swing	Quoted to the opening

Start with the doorway, not the design. Measure the opening and look at what sits beside it. A doorway with a wall or a cupboard on one side and nothing on the other usually decides the answer for you.

Which one for which doorway

Front door you open many times a day: a hinged burglar door. One movement to open, one to lock, nothing to fold.
Kitchen or back door left open for air: a hinged door or a trellis door. The trellis door folds fully clear when it is open.
Patio slider or stacking door: a trellis door. A hinged door across a wide opening is heavy and swings into living space.
Doorway with side space but a step or furniture in the swing: a sliding security gate.

What separates a good burglar door from a weak one

Two doors can look the same in a photograph and be very different products. These are the five points to check on any quote:

Fixing. The door is only as strong as what holds it to the wall. Ask what it is fixed into and how.
Locking. How many locking points, which lock type (slam lock, deadlock or both) and whether the cylinder can be reached through the bars. Robo Door retractables take up to three locks per door.
Hinges or track. On a hinged door, how the hinges are protected. On a trellis door, the track: the Deluxe runs on an aluminium top and bottom track with stainless roller bearings.
Finish. Powder coat alone, or primer, electroplating or hot-dip galvanising under it. The finish tier sets the paint warranty, which runs from six months to five years depending on the tier and the exposure.
The written warranty, by product line. A warranty that does not name the product is not a warranty you can check.

Warranty and lead time by product

	Manufacturing warranty	Lead time
Deluxe Trellis Door	10 years, plus the 5-year Break-In Repair Guarantee	5 to 7 working days
Alu-Deluxe Trellis Door	10 years	5 to 7 working days
Econo Trellis Door	5 years	5 to 7 working days
DuPlus Trellis Door	5 years	10 to 14 working days

Hinged burglar doors and sliding security gates are made to the measured opening; the quotation states their lead time. The Robo Door Swing Trellis Door (Hinged Burglar Door) carries a 5-year manufacturing warranty and the Sliding Security Gate a 2-year manufacturing warranty. Add a week for hot-dip galvanising or a colour outside the standard Bronze, Charcoal, White and Sand.

Price: what moves it

The size of the opening, the product line, the number of locks, the finish tier and whether we install or supply only. That is why we quote after measuring rather than from a price list. The site visit and the quotation are free, and paying in full upfront takes 7% off.

Keep one way out

A locked burglar door on every exit can trap a family during a fire. Decide which door is the escape route, keep its key in the same place every night and tell everyone in the house where it is.

For a deeper comparison of the three mechanisms, read trellis door vs hinged burglar door vs sliding gate.