How to Pick the Best, Most Beautiful Patio Door for Your Home

A door that leads to a deck or a beautiful garden or patio adds luxury and function to a home. The right door frames the beauty of what lies outside without taking up too much valuable floor space. With the many choices of patio doors available, how do you know which style is best?

The ideal choice for a patio door is one with glass that invites guests out to the patio or deck. Glass doors let the light in, make the room look bigger because the eye expands out into the patio and are fairly low maintenance.

The Best Glass Patio Doors

When choosing glass, double- or triple-pane construction are the most energy efficient and worth the investment. Low-E glass, which features a coating that reduces heat loss during the winter and keeps your home cooler during the summer is also smart if the weather in your area is extreme or the sun that shines in is intense. Another glass-related feature worth considering is one where blinds are fitted between glass panes. This adds privacy to a glass patio door and minimizes damage to the blinds as well as the need to constantly dust the blinds.

Patio Door Materials

When picking the best door, it’s important to know a bit about materials and how sunlight, rain, wind and other elements can affect your patio doors over time. Patio door frames are available in wood, steel, weather-resistant vinyl and fiberglass. Wood is the hardest to maintain but may be the most appropriate for the look of your home. Fortunately, there are now weather-resistant vinyl window frames with a wood look that give your door a rich, classic style that doesn’t require a lot of maintenance.

Doors made of a combination of materials are also available. A vinyl exterior that can stand up against the harsh elements can be paired with the elegance of wood on the interior of the door where foul weather won’t damage the wood.

Types of Patio Doors

Patio doors come in more variations than a simple door with a knob. Three of the most popular are:

Sliding Doors

Sliders are the most popular option because the wide area of glass allows light in and a better view of the yard outside. A range of standard sizes makes sliding patio doors affordable. Sliding patio doors are also functional. A fixed pane on one side paired with a second pane that slides on a track means furniture can be placed close to the door without any clearance space needed for the door to open.

Swinging Patio Doors

Swinging patio doors are mounted on hinges to open in either direction. This is a good choice if there is a lot of traffic heading in and out of the patio and there’s plenty of space for the door to swing freely. For larger door frames there are two options: one fixed door paired with one swinging door or a version where both panels swing open.

Folding Patio Doors

Folding patio doors open and close like an accordion. The benefit of this folding style is that the hinged panels fold back to allow the largest expanse when open of all patio door styles.

Choosing the right patio door shouldn’t be as overwhelming when you know what your options are. Fortunately, there are many quality options for every design style and budget. Should you still be unsure of what style is best for your home, don’t be afraid to ask the manufacturer and window and door company of your choice for help and advice.