Having sliding doors is an excellent way to open up your home to your patio and build the illusion of more space inside your home. If you're renovating your home or recently moved into a new home, you may be considering replacing your patio door with a glass sliding door. Your patio serves many purposes: aesthetics, energy efficiency, and security.
Every patio door should add to the home's visual appeal and complement the exterior design. In addition, the door acts as protection against natural and human elements. Furthermore, it should contain the temperature inside your home to prevent letting out your cool air from your air conditioner.
Is it Aesthetically Pleasing?
Depending on your existing home's exterior and interior design, you'll want to choose a sliding door that matches in appearance. Fortunately, there are many aspects you can customize with your sliding patio doors, such as the color choice, frame width, and style.
Each door frame material will offer different available color choices. Metal frames offer a wide variety of color finishes due to the powder coating. That said, aluminum doors typically offer more color variety than steel doors.
Wooden doors will have fewer color options because they are made from natural materials. However, wood adds a warmer tone and is best used for traditional styling. Furthermore, the wood has thicker sightlines on the frame compared to aluminum or steel. In terms of visual appeal, PVC or vinyl sliding doors aren't the best option. That's because they have chunkier sightlines and have limited color options.
The most versatile frame for visual appearance is fiberglass sliding doors. That's because they can resemble natural wood and are available in many wood grain textures. Additionally, the fiberglass doors can be given custom paint jobs to reflect your home's design.
Grid Options
A single pane appearance is best used to provide a modern appearance to your home. However, you may consider several grid options to add a more traditional appearance. Typically, the grids come in between the two panes of glass or on top of the glass. Adding the grids on top can feel more artistic for a more textured look and feel.
What Kind of Functionality Does it Have?
Functionality is important when it comes to sliding glass doors. This means choosing the right materials and features that suit your needs. For example, many sliding patio doors offer unique features such as insect screens, solar screens, and blinds.
Screens
Screens are a great way to allow air circulation in the house without letting pests enter. The standard mesh materials keep debris and pests out while allowing air to pass through. This means even while the door is open; you can enjoy the cool breeze without worrying about any annoying bugs crawling in your home.
Screens provide the same protection stand standard mesh does, except it allows more airflow and light in. That's because the screens are constructed from intricately woven thin yards that have smaller holes than mesh, thus providing a better experience to homeowners.
Noise Reducing Glass
For people who live in a high-traffic urban area, the last thing you want to hear is loud honks in the middle of the night. Or perhaps, you live next to the ocean, which has a tendency for severe weather and high winds. In either case, it's best to choose a glass type that has noise-reducing qualities. Consider choosing thicker glass types or using multiple glass panes to dissipate the sound waves. For example, laminate glass is made from three layers: two layers of glass panes and an additional PVC later in between. The inner layer helps to block and reflect the sound off the glass. In fact, a laminate glass type can yield 32 decibels of noise reduction.
Is it Energy-Efficient?
Although the look and functionality of the doors are incredibly important to consider, you may want to evaluate the type of glazing you need for the door. An efficient insulating door safeguards your home from the outdoor weather and prevents cool air from escaping out of your home. The most energy-efficient doors act as a seal to prevent the temperature inside and outside from exchanging.
Double vs. Triple Glazing
Glass doors usually come with double glazing or triple glazing. Double glazing means that it's made with two panes of glass, while triple glazing means that it's made up of three panes. Since triple glazing has an extra pane of glass, it does offer significantly better energy efficiency and noise reduction due to the thickness of the glass. In fact, having the additional pane of glass can reduce up to 25% of heat loss in homes. That's not all; triple glazing glass has an extra air gap between the three panes that are filled with viscous argon gas. Manufacturers add argon gas to trap the heat between the glass to keep your home warm during winter and cool during summer. Although triple glazing is more energy-efficient, you'll have to weigh the costs. Keep in mind triple glazing will save you money on energy bills, which makes up for the extra cost in the glass.
Frame Material
Depending on your frame material, that could affect the insulation of your sliding doors. Let's examine the different materials and their ability to insulate your home:
- Fiberglass is a poor conductor of electricity and heat. As a result, they offer almost four times the insulating R-value compared to wooden doors. Fiberglass is highly energy-efficient and weather-resistant, making the rate of heat loss extremely minimal.
- Vinyl like Fiberglass offers excellent thermal insulation to block out external cold or hot air into your home.
- Steel is a well-insulated material that keeps your utility costs low. One drawback is that it is a good conductor of heat, meaning you can feel the hot or cold temperatures when touching the door.
- Wooden is the least energy-efficient door material. That's because they are poor insulators of heat.
Low-E Coatings
Glass doors are known to lose more heat compared to other door types. Generally, glass is a poor insulator; however, many modern glass sliding patio doors are built with improved energy efficiency. Choose a sliding door with multiple layers of low-emissivity glass that offers a tight seal that can effectively block out the heat.
Look for glass doors that have low-emissivity coatings. These coatings offer a thin layer of metallic oxide that filters infrared radiation and UV light. This means it only allows solar light to pass through the glass while reflecting away scorching heat. Like metal frames, Low-E glass helps to prevent air from leaking outside as well.
Weatherstripping
Even a tiny gap along the edges of the sliding door can allow a hefty amount of air to enter or escape from your home. Weatherstripping is an effective way of improving insulation by sealing the openings of the sliding door. It helps to prevent harsh natural elements like wind, water, and rain from entering your home while keeping the interior air trapped. There are many materials used for weatherstripping; however, the most common is a form of reinforced foam, silicone, or vinyl. For sliding doors, it's vital to seal the edges of the stationary panel and the top and bottom tracks.
Does it Require a Lot of Maintenance?
Most homeowners will have their hands full when it comes to the maintenance of their homes. The maintenance required for glass sliding doors mostly depends on the material you choose. Composite and aluminum sliding patio require little maintenance. Usually, a wipe down using water and soap is all that's needed to keep the frame clean. When aluminum doors are properly finished and fabricated, they are an excellent, low-maintenance, fade-resistant choice.
Fiberglass frames are made from plastic, but it's been strengthened with glass fiber. Furthermore, the fiber has been treated with a heated resin to ensure that it's more durable and stronger against elements. They offer the same benefits as aluminum but won't compromise durability.
Unfortunately, wooden frame sliding doors require the most maintenance. That's because these all-natural materials can fade with UV rays directed against them over time. Additionally, humid environments like thunderstorms can lead to water damage.
Does it Provide the Home with Security?
Security is often overlooked when choosing the right sliding door for your patio. Unfortunately, sliding doors provide many security risks and are prone to break-ins. Although it's rarely thought about, having beautiful doors that give outsiders a view of your living room, kitchen or bedroom can be an easy target for thieves. There are a few reasons why sliding glass doors are prone to break-ins:
- Latches can be easily manipulated.
- Sliding doors are usually located towards the back or side of the house, which is obscure from neighbors.
- It gives potential intruders a clear view of your home.
Fortunately, some aspects make sliding doors more secure than others.
Using Safety Glass
There are many glass options a homeowner can choose from for their sliding door. The three most common glass types are annealed, tempered, and laminate glass. Annealed glass is the softer and standard glass type that has been treated using thermally internal stresses. Unfortunately, the annealed glass will break into big lines leading to significant injury. Furthermore, annealed glass isn't impact-resistant. This means that a burglar could use an object to bash the glass open.
Tempered glass is made by quickly heating and cooling the glass in extreme temperatures. This process helps strengthen the glass's outer layer to withstand more pressure. Unlike annealed glass, tempered glass shatters into tiny smooth pebble shapes. As a result, when broken, the glass will shatter into tiny pieces but won't cause injury.
Laminate glass is an extremely strong yet transparent glass that is perhaps the best for security purposes. It is made by sandwiching a PVC material between two layers of glass. The glass shards don't fall onto the ground when the glass breaks. Instead, the glass sticks onto the PVC material. This material has high impact resistance, making it nearly impossible to break in.
Built-in Curtains or Blinds
Unfortunately, glass sliding doors don't offer any concealment. This means you are advertising your valuables to thieves who may be peeping through. Ideally, you'll want to look for sliding glass doors that have built-in blinds or curtains. When the doors are closed and left unattended, the blinds should be veiled. At least burglars will think twice about coming in without knowing whether someone is home or not.
Sliding doors with built-in blinds give you complete control over your privacy and the amount of light you want to let in. Some even come with motorized technology to make lowering and raising the blinds easier.
Replace the latch with locks
Most sliding doors use a flippable latch system that makes them easy to lock and unlock. These latches are usually nothing more than an L-shaped latch that hooks onto a bracket in the frame. However, it can be easily broken into by criminals. Intruders can pry open the door using a screwdriver to disengage the latch. Another way that burglars can get inside is by simply prying or lifting the sliding door completely off the track using a crowbar.
Since sliding doors don't come with locks, you'll need to add additional security to the door. One easy and effective way to reinforce the sliding glass door is to use a security bar. Even if the lock is broken, the bar will keep the door shut. These are typically placed between the door and the window and act as a wedge to prevent opening.
Additionally, you may want to consider french sliding doors over standard glass sliding doors. French doors use wider stiles and rails, providing a more traditional architectural design than standard sliding doors. However, it's much easier to adapt any lock or security system to fit the door with french doors. You'll be able to add multiple deadbolts to the lock, which enhances the security.
Every installation is unique, and US Window and Door is happy to help you choose the right sliding door for your patio. Call us today to replace your patio doors with beautiful new sliding glass doors.
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