Sliding Glass Doors: A Homeowner’s Guide
6 minute read
Are you thinking about adding sliding glass doors to your home as an entrance or exit for a patio, the back yard, a deck, or a screened porch? Sliding glass doors make an excellent addition to any home. They are attractive and utilitarian at the same time. They can make your house more cheerful by letting in more light, and can even increase the value of your home if you decide to sell it. Here is everything you need to know about installing and using sliding glass doors at your house.
Measuring for the Correct Size of Sliding Glass Door
You will probably be installing your sliding glass doors in a pre-existing opening. This is the easiest way to do it. You can also cut out a custom hole in your wall or extend an existing doorway if that works best for your situation.
- First–Determine the opening dimensions you will need to fit your doors. Do this before purchasing any doors. You may have to special order custom doors to fit the type of opening or space for an opening that is available to you.
- Second–Measure horizontally across the top and bottom of the opening or space for an opening. You also must measure vertically on the sides. If you’re using a pre-existing opening, it might not be totally square or rectangular, and will need adjusting.
- Third–Choose a set of doors that are approximately 1/4″ smaller than your measurements on all sides.
Sliding Glass Doors Frame Materials
Sliding glass doors move along a frame. The frame has tracks that the rollers on the doors can move across so the doors slide with ease. The two frame materials that are the most common with sliding glass doors are wood and vinyl.
Whether you use wood or vinyl is largely a personal decorating choice. You will also want to consider the ease with which the doors you select will move along the frame you choose. Vinyl is more durable. Wood is more environmentally friendly, and can be adjusted to go with rustic, vintage, and shabby chic decors.
The Glass in Your Sliding Door
When you are shopping for your sliding glass doors, take the type of glass you will be using into consideration. Believe it or not, not all glass is created equally. There is Low-E glass, for example, which is an energy efficient type of glass that will keep your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer, even when your blinds are open. It also protects the interior contents of your home from UV damage.
Single pane glass is the basic type of glass and is the cheapest. However, it won’t give you any of the special protections of other types of glass. If you are considering using single pane glass due to budget reasons, you should upgrade at the very least to double pane glass. This will give you extra protection from wind damage in storms and will keep direct sunlight from being too hot when it shines into the house. It is also more resistant to shattering in case of break-ins or freezing conditions.
Choice of Screens
You have a wide variety of screens available to you if you want to use screens. Some people choose to not use screens and have their doors open up to the outside directly. If you would like to open your sliding glass doors and allow some natural coolness in while you turn off your air conditioner, or would like to keep the doors open while keeping pets inside then you will want to use a screen.
Solar screens that protect from UV rays are popular. Pet resistant screens that your pet cannot scratch through are good for pet owners. Retractable screens are an excellent choice if you only want to use your screen sometimes, while going without it at other times. Just look for a screen with a very fine mesh, as this will keep out even the smallest of insects. This will allow you to enjoy your sliding glass doors to the fullest extent possible, any time of year.
Features of Sliding Glass Doors
The best sliding glass doors are strong and weather-resistant. You should also consider getting doors with hollow-core multi-thermal extrusion. This features increased the structural integrity of the doors, as well as their energy efficiency.
Benefits of Sliding Glass Doors
Not only are they attractive and useful, sliding glass doors have many other benefits, as well. Depending on the type you get, they may be energy efficient, which will reduce your heating and cooling costs (sometimes significantly). Saving money is always a good thing!
Sliding glass doors are also resistant to outside sounds. They will make the room or rooms where you keep them very quiet and peaceful, as you will not easily be able to hear all the traffic, barking dogs, screaming kids, arguing adults, loud music from nearby parties, or any other noises in your neighborhood. Your sliding glass door room or rooms will be an oasis of tranquility.
Further, sliding glass doors are resistant to most types of bad weather. With modern technology built into the glass, these doors will keep your home safe in case of nearly any undesirable outdoor weather situation. By making your house cheaper to run, plus quieter and safer, why wouldn’t you want sliding glass doors in all the rooms you can put them in?
Advanced Window Products and You
When you are looking for sliding glass doors for your home, you should never look farther than Advanced Window Products. We offer zero percent financing on doors and installation. Our products are environmentally friendly, as we maintain a commitment to providing earth-safe goods to the area. We are a locally owned and operated business here in Utah, so shopping with us will help improve the local economy. Plus, all of our products are handmade in the United States in our very own warehouse….no outsourcing to other nations! You will get the sliding glass doors you want at a price you can afford, and with a company you can feel good about using. It doesn’t get any better than that, so shop with us today!
