So just why are our patio doors thicker than Chuck Norris’ Bicep? Truly they aren’t. Is anything better than Chuck Norris? Not according to humor it isn’t. But we will go over what you should look for in a sliding glass patio door. Why is the thickness of a door important? What exactly should you look for when shopping around for a new patio door? Those are great questions to ask.
I think we should start by saying that thickness is not standard in a “Standard Sliding Glass Door” in the industry. Each sliding glass door sold varies by manufacturer and has different dimensions. Thickness of a door is determined by several factors including;
- How many glass panels you prefer to have in your door (you can have as little as 2 or upwards of 4)?
- Are there layers of silver and coatings on the glass?
- How thick the spacers are which are placed in the door to hold the glass in place?
- Sash rails at bottom can add additional, yet small, amounts of width to the bottom rails of the door
It’s all these factors together which determine the thickness of a door. This thickness along with all the microscopic layers of thermal protection placed on the window, provide the protection from the elements, give the patio door its overall U-factor for energy efficiency and determine how the glass will perform over its life.
Overall it’s more important to have an energy efficient door rather than a thick sliding glass that is just thick. There are a ton of manufacturers that sell doors which may seem great, but if they are not filled with a gas which can lower thermal transference from the UV rays coming inside, it’s not really helping your home’s overall energy efficiency.
Make sure you check the specs before you buy a new patio door. This is a fairly large purchase and you want to make sure the door is durable and will stand up against the test of time. Some other good questions to ask are;
- What kind of locking mechanisms does this door have?
- How easy is it to slide?
- How much protection does it provide?
- What is the overall U-factor of the door (the lower the number the better. This will tell you how energy efficient the door is.)
- What type of weather seal does the door have? Will it be able to keep the water and “elements” out?
- Is the glass Low-Emissivity glass?
Glass is the most important factor in choosing a sliding glass door. I mean glass is literally in the title! Low E glass provides superior energy efficiency. It is coated in 4 layers to protect the glass. Ask about this if you are looking for a patio door.
Lastly advances in technology have opened the doors to a new technology called Easy Clean Coating. It’s pretty neat and here’s why. Easy Clean Glass Coating is a special coating placed on some sliding glass doors (the ones Conservation Construction sells have it). What is Easy Clean Coating exactly? It is a microscopic layer which reacts with the suns rays to decompose organic matter from the glass. It also uses a separate silicon dioxide layer to create a ultra smooth layer so the water literally “sheets off.” Watch the video at the end of this article to see for yourself.
So in conclusion, thickness of a sliding glass door doesn’t have an overall factor in whether you should choose that door or not. Look at the overall specs of the glass. The two most important things to look for are the the U-factor to see if it is going to be energy efficient and second that the door is going to be easy to use. If you’ve got these two things down I’d say you’ve already got a bigger head start when looking for a new door. Check out our website for your door if you’ve enjoyed this article. Have a great weekend.
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