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Sometimes it might be nice to bring the outdoors in.
Whether you’re looking to increase your home’s value or enjoy a better view of the great outdoors, a sliding glass door could be a good solution to your problem.
What Are Sliding Glass Doors?
A typical door swings open on a hinge or hinges. In contrast, exterior sliding glass doors open by gliding along a secure track. Although they can be used as a home’s main entrance, it’s more common for them to open onto a deck or patio.
Sliding glass door frames can come in a variety of styles made from a variety of materials:
- Fiberglass looks and feels like real wood but without the maintenance. They are weather-resistant and shouldn’t warp or bend in rain and snow.
- Aluminum is lightweight but durable, as well as corrosion-resistant. It’s also one of the most recycled materials on the planet, making it an environmentally-friendly choice.
- Steel is heavier than aluminum but offers more durability and strength. Another of the world’s most recycled materials, steel is rust-resistant and generally requires little maintenance.
- Wood is a beautiful, classic frame with an elegant style. Each wood door has unique knots, grain, and colour, and your choice of wood is almost limitless: you can find fir, mahogany, alder, and more.
- Clad-wood is a layer of metal that covers wood. This protects the underlying wood from warping and reduces maintenance cost and time.
With such a wide range, finding the perfect sliding glass door that fits your home’s current style and décor should be simple and fun.
Why Should You Install a Sliding Glass Door?
There are so many benefits to sliding glass doors that a comprehensive list is difficult, but here’s a compilation of the top five:
1. Increased Energy Efficiency
If your home is losing cool air during the summer and hot air during the winter, doors and windows are the likely culprits. Air-leaking doors and windows can account for up to 25% of your energy bill spent recovering the lost energy.
Most sliding glass doors improve energy efficiency with excellent insulation, which decreases air leaks—it keeps cold air in during the summer, and hot air in during the winter. Thick glass and correct installation ensures that your sliding glass door saves energy and energy costs.
2. More Natural Light
A regular door might be equipped with a small window to let some light in, but with sliding glass doors, the glass itself is the door—which means you’re letting in a flood of natural light each day. This saves on energy costs as well, since it means you can spend less time with the lights on.
It’s also helpful during the winter, when Vancouver is drenched in rain and Seasonal Affective Disorder is likely to set in. The more natural light your window can filter through, the lighter your home will feel, which can alleviate some of winter’s oppressive gloom.
3. Sense of More Space
It can be easy to feel like your home’s walls are closing in around you, especially during winter when it’s harder to spend time outside. With sliding glass doors, the barrier between your home and the outdoors is a little thinner, which can make any room feel larger and more spacious than it actually is.
4. Easier Moving
When you first moved in, did you have a hard time maneuvering the couch, mattress frame, fridge, or washer through the narrow front door? Since sliding glass doors open wide, you have a lot more space to get those bulky objects inside when you’re rearranging rooms or ordering new appliances.
5. Better Indoor/Outdoor Flow
Do your kids like to play in the backyard all summer long? Do you wish your stuffy living room had more airflow? With a sliding glass door, you can keep an eye on the outdoors all day long. When you slide your doors open you increase air flow through the room, keeping things cool without turning on the air. Hot summers at home can be much more enjoyable with a cool breeze wafting through your open doors.
Sliding glass doors can benefit your family all year long. For safe, energy-efficient doors that beautify your home, there’s nothing better than a quality sliding glass door. Find your sliding glass doors in Vancouver at RetroTeck today!