Patio Door Basics
Whether you’re replacing old sliding patio doors or choosing patio doors for your new home, understanding the basics can be the key to choosing the right patio door that makes the most sense for your space and needs.
Patio doors are an integral part of your home, serving as both a barrier and a connector to the outdoors and the rest of your house. The wide-ranging selection of sliding, swinging, French, and French sliding patio doors gives homeowners the flexibility to create a custom-looking design that complements your home’s interior style while helping to define your outdoor living space. The type of patio door you choose will depend on several factors, including your home’s design, your lifestyle, and your personal aesthetic.
Here’s some basic information to consider when you’re trying to find the right patio doors for your home.
Patio Doors 101
What is a patio door? Is there a difference between a patio door and a slider door? The simple answer is, a patio door is any door leading to your patio. This can be a French door, a sliding door, or even a standard exterior door. While a sliding door or French door can be a patio door, they can also be used in places that do not lead to the patio, such as garden doors, pool deck doors, veranda doors, or balcony doors. Frankly, even if a sliding door leads to somewhere other than a patio (like a balcony), most people still call it a patio door.
Patio Door Style Choices
Homeowners have lots of options when shopping for patio doors. When you’re trying to decide what kind of patio door is right for your home, consider the architectural design of your house, your lifestyle, and the overall appearance and aesthetic of your home. Three popular choices of patio door styles to consider are: classic French doors, traditional sliding doors, or modern French sliding doors.
Classic French Doors
French patio doors can provide a traditional elegance to your space. The timeless beauty of these swinging doors makes this style a perfect choice for a historic home, a classic home, or an elegantly styled contemporary home.
French patio doors can create larger openings than traditional sliding doors, making it easier to move between indoor and outdoor living spaces and providing ample airflow. Double hinged French doors can open up to 6 feet wide, giving you plenty of room to carry furniture through the doorway. The extra-wide opening is also useful during gatherings as guests can flow freely between your kitchen or living room and your patio space.
Modern Sliding Glass Doors
Sliding patio doors open by sliding along horizontal tracks at the head and sill. They can be designed for either a right-hand or left-hand operation. Replacing an old, worn-out standard sliding glass door is an affordable option that can give your space a bright and fresh new look. Milgard® sliding patio doors are crafted for smooth operation and beautiful design and are available in standard or multi-panel configurations.
Contemporary French Sliding Glass Doors
French style sliding glass patio doors combine space-saving convenience with the elegance of a French door. A French sliding door looks like traditional swinging French doors, with wider stiles and rails, while functioning as a sliding glass door. If you’re looking for a design option that adds a sense of luxury to your home, sliding French doors could be the best patio door option for you.
Milgard® C700 Ultra™Series Fiberglass French-Style Sliding Patio Doors are available in four frame colors to match your home beautifully and can be customized to ensure that the glass door perfectly matches your room space. C700 Ultra Series hardware is easy to operate, durable, and attractive. These French sliding glass doors allow you to enjoy a beautiful view of the outdoors while admiring the elegance of the door itself.
Think About Your Available Space
When choosing between a sliding patio door type or a swinging type French door for your patio, you’ll need to consider the amount of space available in the area surrounding the doorway. Sliding doors have panels that slide along rails, so they only require the space of the door opening, while French doors have panels that open wide. Swinging doors require more space to open and close.
Unlike sliding doors, French doors can typically open the entire width of the door opening, while sliding doors can only open to the left or right of the frame. Since swinging French doors need room to open, consider factors such as furniture and wall placement before deciding which opening method works best for a space. If you’re a bit tied up for floor space, you may wish to consider a sliding door, or a French style door with a stationary panel paired with a single swinging door, or a sliding French door.
Consider Your View
If your patio door opening faces a beautiful view, then you may want to consider sliding glass doors that feature a slim frame profile that delivers an expansive viewable glass area perfect for capturing outdoor vistas. Milgard V300Trinsic™ series vinyl patio doors feature a narrow frame profile that provides crisp, even sight-lines, allowing your view to take center stage, and are available in 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-panel configurations.
Door Frame Materials and Maintenance
Patio door frames come in a variety of materials such as vinyl, fiberglass, wood, or aluminum. First, you will want to choose a frame material that performs well in your area. Here in Sacramento, that means choosing doors that can handle the wind, rain, and scorching hot summer sun. The type of frame material will determine the amount of maintenance the door frame will require. For instance, wood patio doors typically need to be sanded and repainted regularly. In comparison, vinyl and fiberglass patio doors require very little maintenance. Aluminum is fairly low-maintenance, but it may not insulate as well unless they are the thermally improved variety.
Patio doors have come a long way in material performance and energy efficiency. At Dick’s Rancho Glass, we offer an extensive selection of beautiful Milgard® patio doors featuring vinyl, fiberglass, and aluminum frames. Whether it’s durability, strength, or energy efficiency, Milgard® has high-performing material options to suit any home, with styles ranging from traditional to contemporary.
Understanding patio door basics is important because when it comes to choosing the right glass patio home doors, you don’t want just any doors. You want stylish patio doors that operate easily for years of trouble-free use. That’s why we proudly carry Milgard patio doors; they offer a wide spectrum of patio home doors in vinyl, fiberglass, and aluminum-framed glass, and each is designed to make a statement in virtually any home. What’s more, since all Milgard glass patio doors are custom-made to your order, we give you the freedom to think outside the box. Tweak a size here, add a distinctive grid configuration to the glass, or combine doors with a transom window or side-lite windows for a one-of-a-kind patio entrance.
Want to learn more about patio door options? Call Dick’s Rancho Glass to schedule a consultation.
At Dick’s Rancho Glass, we have many years of experience in door and window installation, and we are happy to serve homeowners throughout the Sacramento Area. Give us a call, click Dick’s Rancho Glass to contact us, or visit one of our two glass showrooms in the Sacramento region:
Dick’s Rancho Glass Sacramento at 2900 ROUTIER ROAD, or call us at (916)363-6554
Dick’s Rancho Glass Fair Oaks at 5349 SAN JUAN AVE. Or call us at (916)863-2500
At Dick’s Rancho Glass, our versatility and pride in craftsmanship are keys to our success. Our excellent reputation has been built on the foundation of quality, reliability, and a dedicated staff.