Sliding glass doors have become a popular upgrade for many homeowners when they remodel or renovate their homes. It’s an investment but one that often yields a multitude of benefits for years to come. It’s also one of the reasons why this feature should be part of your custom home design. They’re more than just an exterior door. Not only do they complement the overall aesthetic of both the interior and the exterior of your home, but without one, it could become much more challenging to sell your home later down the line.
But it isn’t just resale; sliding glass doors can be a smart addition to your home design for many other reasons, including:
Natural Light
It shouldn’t be surprising that natural light is one of the main reasons for including sliding glass doors in your design. The sun exposure alone can be worth the investment.
Improved Flow
Sliding glass doors bring the outdoors into the home, which is a real benefit for those homes situated in the woods, on a bluff, overlooking the water, and so on. Think of it as an optical illusion, expanding a room beyond its four walls. Besides, the size can improve traffic flow from inside to outside and outside to in.
Space Maximization
Thanks in no small part to that handy sliding glass door track, sliding glass doors slide — hence the name. And unlike traditional hinged doors, they take up no room when open. You never lose square footage when letting the fresh air into your home.
Aesthetics
Sliding glass doors can enhance the beauty of a room, especially with all the options now available. You can replace an entire wall with sliding glass doors, creating a different aesthetic for the room and the exterior of your home. Modern, minimal, classic, and so on. You can find a sliding door that fits your particular design aesthetic.
Energy Efficiency
Though you’ll inevitably experience some energy loss with a sliding glass door, as the average size of sliding glass door systems is traditionally 80 inches tall by 60 to 72 inches wide, advancements in technology, have made the feature much more energy efficient. Just make sure you choose a model with a good Energy Star certification.
Ease Of Upkeep
Sliding glass door maintenance is minimal. Sometimes, you’ll need to replace worn-out rollers or weatherstripping. Otherwise, it’s just a matter of lubricating the sliding glass door tracks (a non-stick, silicone lubricant often works best) and checking the alignment of the panels from time to time. As far as cleaning glass sliding doors go, standard glass cleaners can do the trick — or a few drops of mild dish soap mixed with water. For the frame, a damp cloth is all you’ll need.
However, heavy-duty cleaning will be more time- and labor-intensive, as you’ll want to remove the sliding door from the casing. Not a task to go it alone. Some doors will lift out, while others require a screwdriver to get them off the track. Then, vacuum, clean the grime, and grease the tracks before fitting the door back in.
Pro-tip: during heavy-duty cleanings, it’s the ideal time for you to replace those worn-out rollers and weatherstripping — and vice versa.
Value
Of all the ways to increase the value of a property, designing a custom home with sliding glass doors is probably one of the easiest. They add visual appeal to a room, as well as the exterior of the house. And if you install a door with shatterproof glass, even better. There’s an enhanced security element to the feature, which is something homebuyers will pay for.
Sliding glass doors can be an excellent investment in the home, even more so when the feature is an essential design element. It can let so much light in, improve the aesthetics of a room, and add value to the home should you decide to sell.
If you’re in the market for a custom home, contact us at Lancia Homes. We’d be more than happy to sit down with you to discuss the process and work up a design ideally suited to your aesthetic, lifestyle, and budget.
