The Skinny on Sliding Glass Doors

Replacing sliding glass doors that are in older homes is a common home improvement project in Western Pennsylvania. Sliding glass doors are similar to picture windows that you can walk through. They are typically huge panes of glass mounted in a frame with rollers, and are manufactured from either vinyl, aluminum, wood, or some combination of two of these things. 

 Sliding glass doors are often one of the most inefficient areas in an older home, mostly because they were installed before technology allowed for improvements in available building materials and the high price of energy made efficiency a major priority. In fact, having an older sliding glass door that faces in the wrong direction is almost like having no barrier there at all!

Replacing your sliding glass door can not only enhance your home’s appearance, but increase its energy efficiency as well. Based on the old style aluminum frame, double-panel sliding door, sliding glass doors have received a bad reputation, but many improvements have been made to significantly increase energy efficiency. Most new sliding glass doors are made with the same energy efficiency standards and options that are available in today’s cutting edge windows, including low-emissivity coatings, and double-glazing glass panels with gas filling. Thanks to these innovations, the energy efficiency and air tightness of glass is now higher than ever and the outside noise you notice inside your home will be dramatically decreased as well!