Sliding Doors

Modern-day sliding or "gliding” doors have definitely improved over the years. In the past, aluminum sliders were infamous for their stark appearance, sweating frames, and cold glazing. Nowadays, a new generation of high-quality sliding doors offers energy efficiency, durability, safety, and style. Furthermore, some manufacturers have broken free from the traditional flat surface sliding door and have designed sliding doors with curved appeal and function.

Sliding doors are most commonly used as entry doors leading to a patio/sunroom, deck or backyard. These types of sliding doors consist of two full glass sections that slide open and closed in upper and/or lower tracks. Sliders are also made in single-opening and double-opening styles. To extend your design options, many manufacturers provide matching screened, rectangular and circle-head transom windows intended to fit above doors.

Conventional aluminum sliders still have a strong demand in the market, but other materials are also being used which include sliding doors made of wood and fiberglass which give the genre an entirely new identity. Right now, the most popular sliders offer the warmth of wood on the inside and the durable armor of vinyl on the outside.

Sliders made of wood require special durable finishes because wood is vulnerable to moisture and sunlight. If you don’t want to put your own finish on, you can buy all-wood sliders that are factory-primed or pre-painted in standard colors. Also, some manufacturers will custom paint sliding doors for a premium.

Fiberglass composites are an alternative to all wood because they resemble wood but they will not crack or warp. Additional alternatives include rugged steel sliders, which are usually less expensive and doors with a vinyl or aluminum skin. Some of these sliders also have a polyurethane foam insulation core which fills the shell and outshines the energy efficiency of wood.

Since the largest part of a sliding glass door is glass, a high performance glaze is absolutely necessary for energy efficient purposes. Fortunately, this is standard with most high-quality sliders. You have the option of getting your sliding doors with a dual glazing or with double-paned glass with low-emissivity (low-e) coating. In some cases, the glass will be filled with argon gas.

In addition, some manufacturers design sliding doors with decorative stained or beveled glass with true brass caming. In case you don’t already know, caming is the metal banding that joins panels of glass together in a design. Keep in mind, most manufacturers let you specify the glazing and design you want when you order.

Aside from materials and glazing options, sliding doors are available in several sizes. Of course they are made in the standard 6-feet, 8-inch height, but they are also made 6 feet, 11 inches or 8 feet tall. In addition, you have the option of buying 3 or 4-door-wide configurations that can extend to about 16 feet wide.

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