Glass balcony door: how to install

Modern residential buildings are very pleased with the variety of layouts. They do not resemble typical apartments, where the door leading to the balcony was so unpresentable that it had to be hidden behind curtains.

Yes, and loggias in such houses, frankly, are not at all the same as in the presented photo. It is clear that if there is a certain scope, you can always think of something original and more convenient, for example: sliding glass doors on the balcony.

You will learn about the door constructions offered by manufacturers today, and how they look in the interiors of apartments, from the video offered to your attention in this article.

What are the balcony doors

By and large, the doors leading to the balcony or loggia are always glass - or to be more precise, glazed. The difference between these two concepts consists only in the amount of this glazing itself. Most people living in apartments, accustomed to the option: a deaf bottom and a glazed top.

• The dimensions of standard balcony doors are 2.2 * 0.75 m and 2.2 * 0.87, dictated by the size of the openings in the walls of houses built according to standard designs. The design and dimensions of the doors are regulated by the state standard, which was developed in the late 80s and is still in effect.

But now there are many alternatives. Take at least the construction of metal, which gradually replace the balcony doors of fiberboard.

Doors with swing construction

Despite the use of a fundamentally different material, the swing door, or as it is also called, the door with a vestibule, was and remains the most popular. The reason is simple: it is the most compact and easy-to-use design, with a good price / quality ratio. In addition, the canvas is adjacent to the frame without gaps, perfectly protecting the room from street infiltration of cold air and noise.

So:

• To achieve such operational comfort has become possible, thanks to double-glazed windows. In the traditional doors of hardboard put single glass, and the glass consists of at least two glasses. Between them, an airtight space is formed, which saves heat and absorbs noise. This is important: if the balcony is not glazed, then the door leading to it is the only barrier to cold and dust.

• In this case, it can be equipped with a two-chamber glass package consisting of three glasses. The thickness of the glass as well as the type of glass in it (impact resistant, energy saving, etc.) is selected based on the actual conditions of use of the door, and, of course, taking into account the wishes of the owner of the room.
• PVC doors with double-glazed windows can have very different shapes and be made not only according to standard sizes, but also individually. Options for balcony doors, the lower part of which is tightly sewn with sandwich panel, are not very relevant now. Double-glazed windows in the entire height of the door leaf and look much more interesting, and the light passes much more.

• At the same time the color of the plastic does not have to be white - it can match any shade of the wood scale, as well as imitate the natural pattern of the tree. This door can be entered into any interior - even decorated in the style of Provence. Thanks to the decorative layout, an example of which you see in the picture above, the door to the loggia can look very unusual and stylish.
• The convenience of PVC swing doors also lies in the fact that the canvas can not only rotate, but also recline. This makes it possible to fix it in a certain position and to ventilate the room without creating drafts. In houses with a typical layout, a balcony door is installed complete with a window.

Note! When replacing old carpentry, many apartment owners prefer to make a small redevelopment, removing the high threshold and part of the wall under the window to put a double door. Since the wall is carrying, permission will be required for such redevelopment, but in case of individual construction of the door to the balcony with two doors, it can be provided initially.

If desired, the balcony door may not be devoid of decoration. You can put tinted glass, frosted or patterned (see Decorative glass for doors: how to choose the right one). But since any drawing reduces the transparency of the glass, such a design of the glass unit can be seen quite rarely.

Coupe and accordion doors

For a small opening leading to a small balcony, a swing door can be considered the best option, and it is much easier to install it yourself. For spacious rooms with a large opening and walls with panoramic windows, there are also alternatives. For example: sliding systems (see. Do-it-yourself installation of sliding doors: installation secrets).

• There are many design solutions for doors that can be selected for a balcony of any type. They also use double-glazed windows, but the ways of opening the canvas are fundamentally different. There are cold options, and there are double-glazed windows with termovtavkami, providing maximum protection from the cold.

What is sliding

Mechanisms for opening sliding doors can be very different. First of all, this is the so-called “sliding” system.

Its essence lies in the fact that the sash, whatever the number of them, can be rolled back and folded in parallel, so that they do not take up much space in the room.

So:

• Door leafs in slide systems are all-glass, without additional insulation - they belong to the category of "cold" doors. And, nevertheless, they are put quite often. And why not, if the balcony is glazed, well insulated or even heated?
• There are some more constructive versions of the sliding doors with different variations of opening. Here is how, for example, doors with a lifting and sliding mechanism function. Their flaps are supported on rollers, and when opened, they are lifted and rolled back along a special rail to the side - or they can move to the center, opening two entrances.

• The principle of operation of inclined-sliding doors is similar to the opening of the doors of modern buses: first, it moves forward, and then rolls back over the static part of the structure. Well, as the door-accordion opens, we think everyone understands it without further ado, and no instruction is needed here.
• In small rooms, such doors cannot be installed simply because they need a certain space. Sliding designs are usually made to order, as they are used not only for arranging access to the balcony in apartments.
• In private houses there are even more possibilities for their use, for example: glazing of a gazebo-living room located in the courtyard; the entrance to the greenhouse or winter garden, attached to the house; arrangement of access to the veranda or terrace.

By the way, the terrace can surround the house around the perimeter and there may be several exits to its territory. In addition to its direct function: the organization of entrance-exit, glass doors, decorate the interior, providing the room with high-quality natural lighting.