Choosing the Right Sliding Doors for Interior and Exterior Use
As a space saving concept sliding doors are perfect for interior and exterior use. Sliding doors, by the nature of their construction, slide across the wall and let you optimize spaces, especially in interiors. When used for exteriors such as patio doors, sliding doors serve a similar purpose with the added benefit of allowing a floor to ceiling opening and a wonderful view. Sliding doors work with the help of a channel and these doors are easy to operate and maintain for small houses and also for large industrial settings.
How would you go about choosing sliding doors for interior use?
- Sliding doors can replace all interior doors and free up as much as 8% space occupied by swing doors. Such doors can replace doors for bedrooms, hallways and bathrooms.
- For interiors, it is preferable to use lightweight double wall fiberglass or PVC with insulation, especially recommended for bathrooms and WC.
- For other areas you may consider hollow steel doors with honeycomb interior filling or fire resistant as well as sound and heat insulating fill.
- For use in patios the perfect choices are single and double pane glasses which can provide the required insulation and keep your room cool.
Bottom roller, or Top Hung Sliding Door?
- In bottom roller sliding doors, the entire weight is borne by the wheels. Wheels must have a runner or guide rail.
- In top hung sliding door the entire door assembly is hung on a guide rail fixed to the top frame. This can be more convenient since bottom guide rails can accumulate dust and can also serve as obstructions. However, one must consider if there is sufficient space available to hang the guide rail assembly at the top.
Knowing about the track and the channel system of the sliding door is very important:
- One of the issues with sliding mechanisms is that at some time they may jam. In this situation it is not possible to open the door or close it. Before buying sliding doors from a supplier it is important to examine the track system that comes with the door.
- The track should be fully extractable and without the use of tools or without having to break walls or inflict damage on the door or structure.
Choosing the right one for patio use:
- Interior door openings are relatively small and a single leaf sliding door is sufficient. However, when you think of installing such doors for patio use to cover a larger area then you are faced with choices.
- If your house is in the planning stage or if it is under construction you can have the builder collaborate with sliding door suppliers to design pocket inside the exterior wall into which the doors can slide and hide.
- The simplest choice is to have two equal sized panels or one sliding panel larger in size. This way it is possible to use the smaller opening when desired or the larger one to let in more light and air.
- It is also possible to have three or four sliding glass panels with suitable framing for greater convenience.
- As in interior use you can select a top hung or a bottom roller assembly type but if you have a beautiful floor that extends outwards, you may find a top hung one more aesthetic.
To take it a step further you can consider manual sliding type or a fully automatic motorized type with a remote control to let you control the opening while you relax. There are sliding panels and also fixed glass panels, but you must also consider the cost of materials when you start framing the customized options for the right sliding doors.
Author Bio: David Fenton is professional blogger and informative content writer. He loves to write about Automotive, home improvement, & Business topics. View the social networks of website at Google plus, Facebook and Twitter.