How to Buy Glass Patio Sliding Doors

One thing that many people never seem to realize about sliding glass patio doors is that they never stop to think about how much planning went into picking the right look and how that would fit into the decor of the whole room, lounge or family room. It's always easy to criticize but never to do the job yourself. Installing sliding glass patio doors isn't just about putting in the first pair of sliding doors you can find, it's about creating an atmosphere that compliments the intentions of the designer.

The designer or owner is the person responsible for the result of the outcome. Poorly placed patio sliding glass doors immediately look out of place when not installed in the appropriate setting. This could ruin the entire feel of a room if bad judgment has played its part. Prevent yourself or your home from succumbing to an easily preventable solution to this little designer issue.

Luckily there is an abundance of different brands and manufacturers out there that understand this important need and also sympathize with people's individual requirements. Patio sliding glass doors are built with various materials and are available in different finishes to suit. Aluminum is probably the most popular and superior material used due to its versatile nature. It's lighter than most metals and sometimes even stronger.

 What to look for when Buying Glass Patio Sliding Doors

To ensure that you get quality and value for money while maintaining integrity on your desired style have a look at some of the following points and use it as a guide for making difficult decisions:

• What is it made from? Choose sliding glass patio doors that are made from strong but lightweight materials. Vinyl is best suited for indoor sliding doors while aluminum products will always work best for outdoor sliding doors.

• Security - Make sure to get a sliding door that has a high quality locking mechanism built into the door frame. Basically you have two choices: Surface mounted locks or steel mortise locks. The surface mounted type is ideally suited for sliding doors that are installed in safe areas like the patio to the back garden or perhaps indoors. The steel mortise locks on the other hand are more durable due to being installed inside the door frame.

• Blinds vs. Curtains - The never-ending question for many homeowners. Horizontal blinds work best for offices while vertical blinds are ideal for patio sliding doors and basically any doors that have more traffic. Vertical blinds although very popular need to match the measurements of your sliding doorway exactly.

• Spare Parts - Since you're planning to have these doors installed for at least 10 years its best to buy from a reputable dealer or manufacturer because you want to have easy access to any spares that you might need.

The Patio Sliding Door Will Add Some Design to Your Backyard Entry

The patio is where many special occasions are held. Birthday parties, wedding anniversaries, special family dinners-these are just some of the important events that are celebrated in the patio. With its proximity to the yard or garden, the patio provides a soothing atmosphere that is indeed ideal for important occasions.

For many homeowners a swift access from the patio to the interior of the house is very essential during parties. A standard entry door in the patio may be disadvantageous in such occasions. It is arguably annoying to push and pull a door when you have stacks of heavy food and drinks in your hands.

Another snag with a standard entry patio door is that it takes a lot of space. And space does matter during parties with large numbers of guests. Sometimes, you wish that you can just wrench that door to end the tiresome pushing and pulling and free more space for your guests. If you are tired of going through such inconvenience, then you can just replace your standard entry door with a patio sliding door.

Patio sliding doors are specifically made for the patio. With the exception of the frames, these patio doors are entirely glazed. As such, they will allow a homeowner to relax and have an uninterrupted view of the garden or yard. Like all patio doors, this type will also helps in letting more natural light into the house during day time. And getting more natural light is wonderful for it would result in a more heightened elegance of the interior.

What makes these patio doors special is that they would give home owners flexibility. Unlike regular doors which you need to push and pull to open, patio sliding doors can just be slid sideways. In terms of convenience, patio sliding doors provide a lot.

During celebrations in your patio, you do not have to worry about swift access to your house's interior since you can just leave the patio sliding door fully open. And the great thing is that it would not eat needed space like a conventional door. Let us say that your party is packed and you need to seat one more guess but the remaining vacant spot is located near the doorway. That will be a huge problem if you have a conventional entry door that you have to push and pull to open. For one thing, the guest might get hit by the door when someone pulls or push at the door vigorously. In contrast, you do not have to worry about that dilemma if you have a patio sliding door.

Patio sliding doors are available in various types and designs. Traditional favorites have wood frames. However, patio sliding doors with metal frames like aluminum are also getting popular these days because of their reputation as sturdy doors. Another favorite of American homeowners is vinyl sliding patio doors. It is not as tough as aluminum nor can it match the elegance of a sliding door with a wooden frame, yet a sliding patio door with vinyl frame is valued for one important thing: affordability.

Folding Sliding Doors

The huge growth in demand for folding sliding doors over the last two or three years has led to a rapid increase in the choice of door systems available for the consumer. Also referred to as bi fold doors, bi folding doors, multi fold doors and concertina doors they are best known as folding sliding doors because of the opening action itself. This type of door can provide unobstructed openings of up to 6 metres and sometime more as the panels simply fold, slide and stack neatly to one side or both sides of the aperture.

Folding sliding doors are an ideal replacement for existing French or sliding patio doors where they can literally transform the existing opening and open up the room to the outside. This type of bi folding door is now becoming the most sought after door style for new build and home extensions whilst also proving a popular upgrade choice for homeowners adding a conservatory to their property due to their ability to seamlessly merge the new conservatory with the garden effectively bringing the outside inside.

Although the original concept of a folding sliding door dates back over 100 years where they were often used for closing off small storage areas today's folding sliding doors are designed to be high performance energy efficient patio doors using the latest innovative insulation features in both door and glazing construction.

Folding sliding doors not only allow wider unobstructed apertures but the increased glass area allows huge flows of natural light to enter the home from the outside which during the colder months will provide efficient use of solar gain to minimise heating costs. Doors are available in a choice of materials including timber, aluminium and PVC-u together with a choice of colours and finishes that will enhance any home.

TIMBER

You can choose from a number of engineered timber folding sliding doors including softwood or hardwoods such as Meranti and European Oak. Timber is normally engineered or laminated to ensure it is structurally resistant to warping or twisting and doors are normally available with either a factory applied translucent stain or RAL colour paint finish.

As timber is a natural insulator timber folding sliding doors offer the most energy efficient solution when combined with high performance double glazing offering U values as low as 1.4.

Timber folding doors usually provide slim sight lines as the individual door panels are normally hinged off each other without the use of additional mullions between each panel and therefore maximising visible glass areas.

Timber is a natural sustainable material that is very energy efficient but will require regular maintenance over the life time of the door to maintain their stain or paint finish.

ALUMINIUM

Aluminium folding sliding doors are normally manufactured from durable, strong thermally broken aluminium profiles that have specifically been designed for the purpose. These systems have been in use for several years in both domestic and commercial installations such as restaurants and hotels.

Most systems utilise bottom rolling gear so all the weight is carried at the bottom with guide rollers at the top and panels are often connected to sliding and floating mullions which help ensure the door operates smoothly and effortlessly.

Aluminum is a popular choice for this type of folding door as it is virtually maintenance free, hard wearing and good looking. Aluminum folding sliding doors are available in over 200 different RAL paint finishes which can usually be specified in your choice of matt, silk or gloss finish. It is also possible to specify dual colours with a different colour internally and externally.

UPVC

Also referred to as plastic or PVC-u folding sliding doors this type of door is relatively new in the market place when compared to aluminum or timber. Due to its comparative low cost uPVC door manufacturers have quickly adapted their existing uPVC door profiles to create bi folding doors in response to an increasingly growing market that required a more affordable folding door system. uPVC folding sliding doors can be substantially cheaper than their aluminum or timber counterparts but there is often a trade-off in design elements that can sometimes compromise the quality of the product.

Adapting bulky wide uPVC steel reinforced profiles that were originally designed for traditional hinged external doors meant glass sight lines were considerably reduced and the doors used ugly face fixed hinges and exposed gearing which also sometimes posed a security hazard.

However, some manufacturers have started to introduce the next generation of uPVC folding doors using slimmer profiles and concealed gearing that compare favourably with those of timber and aluminium. Heavy steel profile reinforcement is starting to be replaced by lighter yet stronger recycled composite material that is also much more energy efficient.