Sliding doors offer space, convenience and security. If your living space is cramped, it may be time to slide.
One of the main advantages of sliding doors is space. A hinged door 80 cms wide and 3 cms thick that swings out 90 degrees will require half a square metre of clearance space. If it slides to one side, it will only need 0.024 square metres – one twentieth of the space a hinged door needs.
This is especially valuable in smaller living spaces, and a sliding door installed in a bathroom or kitchen can really open up possibilities. However, don’t forget that the clearance space offered by hinged doors offers room to manoeuvre, which should never be forgotten.
Indoors, sliding doors tend to be lighter and usually only require an overhead rail to hang them from. But when those doors face onto the exterior, you’ll be looking at glass and metal.
Sliding doors are the only real option when you’re considering heavy patio doors made of glass and metal. Not only does the sliding mechanism take the hard work out of opening and closing them, but the sheer weight of the door and the ease of securing them means they’re surprisingly secure against burglary. On these outdoor facing fixtures, sliding doors also offer the chance to control the amount of air and breeze that enters your home.
Glass is attractive, safe and irreplaceable for certain fixtures, but there’s a reason why greenhouses are made of it, and that heating property can be a real problem on Lanzarote unless you take into account ways of reducing it. This will usually involves curtains and blinds – often a lighter, diaphanous one that provides privacy, and a heavier, light-blocking curtain for when things start to heat up.
If you have elderly patio doors that are cracked or stiff, it’s also worth looking into replacing them. The materials and construction techniques that have recently come onto the market mean that modern doors could be a worthwhile investment, both for your own personal convenience and the value of your home.
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