While each option has a unique set of pros and cons, one thing is common among these glass patio doors: they are extraordinary in the sense that they are the only building materials that are capable of facilitating better communication between the outdoors and indoors. This is because thresholds vanish as soon as you merge the panels or open the doors; therefore, the living room becomes completely merged with the patio. Choosing Glass Patio Doors Patio doors made of glass vary from sliding to hinged and telescoping to folding. With such varied choices, you will find something that will tailor fit your preferences. French doors are a classic in their elegance. They are stately architectural elements but they take up floor space because they are hinged, which means they swing. So if you choose to install French doors as portals to your patio, you would have to consider the furniture placement as well as the function of the adjacent room. In addition, the width of these doors are only limited to 6 feet; otherwise, they will become too large for proper functioning. There are two further subtypes of the French doors and these are the out-swing and the in-swing. The sliding glass doors are perhaps the most commonly seen glass patio doors. The best characteristic of these doors is that the opening can be very wide, with doors ranging from 5 to 10 feet. A consideration when choosing these doors includes the size of the frame. This is because the material that will be used will dictate how big the frame is going to be. If you are fond of French doors but don’t like the amount of space it occupies, you can opt for a sliding glass door called the French slider. This door looks like a French door but works like a sliding door. It has two fixed panels and two moveable panels. So when you close the door, the two moving panels will butt into each other to create an illusion of a hinged door. If you want a clear distinction between the indoors and the outdoors, the folding glass door is the type of door you need. This door allows for a big opening from corner to corner. In addition, it can be set in a way that only one panel is hinged – somewhat like a standard door – so when you need to pass through, you don’t have to open everything. Like a hinged door, a pivot door swings in and out. The only difference is that this door is supported by pivot boxes so the stress is closer to the centre. So a big opening can be achieved with just the use of a single panel only. The most important common feature of glass patio doors is that these doors let you connect your indoors to your outdoors. With these doors, you can make the patio a part of your indoor or make it separate from the rest.
The glass patio doors are still “infants” compared to the older and more established home improvement structures. It took immense time and modern manufacturing techniques to make them more affordable and more accessible for the average American families. Today, there are many forms of patio doors made of glass. There are French Doors, Sliding Glass Doors, Folding Glass Doors, and Pivot Doors.
