Glazed Door and Cat Flap

[hellymedic]

It looks like some of our guests are here to stay or will return after being 'done'.
Our kitchen door was replaced a few years ago, when our double glazing was replaced; there's a larger upper glazed panel and a lower smaller glazed panel, both clear.
David would like a cat flap.
This looks like being a fairly costly installation as it would require replacement of the whole glazed unit. Cat Protection chap who came today said it would be cheaper to replace glazing with plastic panel, into which a cat flap could be easily fitted.

I am concerned that this would be considerably less secure and possibly poorer in terms of insulation.

What do yacfers think?
Could this adversely affect my home insurance?

CP didn't appear to be the sharpest tools in the box...

[Basil]

Didn't Phil Chadwick have the same query thread a few years back?  Can't remember what forum name he was using at the time.

[hellymedic]

Sorry, didn't search. Will do!

[Aunt Maud]

I would imagine that it would be extremely insecure, my advice FWIW is to speak to your insurance company before taking any action.

[hellymedic]

I would imagine that it would be extremely insecure, my advice FWIW is to speak to your insurance company before taking any action.

We think the same! As I said, I didn't think the CP folk were too sharp...

[Gattopardo]

I would imagine that it would be extremely insecure, my advice FWIW is to speak to your insurance company before taking any action.

We think the same! As I said, I didn't think the CP folk were too sharp...

Can give you the number of a glazing place, near wood green that is good.

[Ham]

In a very similar situation, I installed our catflap (chip enabled) in a side wall, taking care not to do anything nasty to the dampcourse and providing a brick step access from the outside. I also lined the hole with steel (ok, I chopped the top off an old PC case)

[canny colin]

 Helly you can get a lower panel made out of plastic coated MDF or plastic coated alloy stuck to ply wood . On newer doors  the panel is about 25mm thick . I used to fit them in dodgy areas   fitted properly it is more secure than glass.

[ian]

In our last place we had a cat flap put into a glazed french door. That involved getting new sealed unit built to spec. It wasn't cheap but wasn't massively expensive (I think about £250 about a decade ago, and this was a full door-sized unit). I was very happy with it, no problems in the six years we lived there. It has to be cut properly though.

I'm not sure really why any approach would affect insurance or security, it's not like any pane of glass can't be very easily smashed and burglars are unlikely to fit through a cat-flap shaped hole (unless they are quite literally cat burglars, of course), as I learned recently (gardener with strimmer vs. patio door, one small stone made short work of a pane of toughened glass).

[Aunt Maud]

https://www.smashingwindows.com/dog-and-cat-flaps/

It seems like it's a thing.

Mums old cat just used the services of the doorman when it wanted access in either direction.

[Kim]

Mums old cat just used the services of the doorman when it wanted access in either direction.

This is particularly entertaining with a deaf doorman.  Postman Piers's black & white cat used to repeatedly jump on the wheeliebin and then fling itself at the kitchen window (which didn't have any real external sill) to attract visual attention.

[MikeFromLFE]

Hopefully attached is a (crap) photo of the cat flap in the estate's north portal.
This flap is the sort that will only open to our cat's chip.
The lower panel was taken out and the need panel fitted, hole drilled, cat flap inserted. We've still got the glazed panel of we want to replace it.
No less secure than a letter box according to the local plod apparently. (Although we do know someone with a non-chip flap who had their keys 'fished' through the flap using a hook)

Sent from my P01W using Tapatalk

[MikeFromLFE]

Hopefully attached is a (crap) photo of the cat flap in the estate's north portal.
This flap is the sort that will only open to our cat's chip.
The lower panel was taken out and the need panel fitted, hole drilled, cat flap inserted. We've still got the glazed panel of we want to replace it.
No less secure than a letter box according to the local plod apparently. (Although we do know someone with a non-chip flap who had their keys 'fished' through the flap using a hook)

Sent from my P01W using Tapatalk

Tapatalk is refusing to process photos tonight!

Sent from my P01W using Tapatalk

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Host the photo elsewhere and link to it.

[hellymedic]

It seems I misunderstood the situation. CP don't think we're suitable folk to host these cats long-term, so won't be returning them.

We'll still be feeding two male cats but can let them in as the need arises.

[MikeFromLFE]

   Ah well! CP are odd, they refused to let my son have a cat a few years ago despite coming from a home where we'd always had cats. He now has had several.
Photo anyway


Tapatalk puts this signature here, not me!

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

..
This looks like being a fairly costly installation as it would require replacement of the whole glazed unit. Cat Protection chap who came today said it would be cheaper to replace glazing with plastic panel, into which a cat flap could be easily fitted.

I am concerned that this would be considerably less secure and possibly poorer in terms of insulation.

What do yacfers think?
Could this adversely affect my home insurance?

CP didn't appear to be the sharpest tools in the box...

I'd be surprised if a good quality polycarbonate panel wasn't as secure as glass. Not sure about the insulation aspect.

Some information here:

https://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/door-security-window-security-glazing-grilles-and-shutters/481/glazing-for-domestic-security/

[Jaded]

I'm disappointed, I thought this might be a new Ben Elton sitcom.