All about sliding doors to the balcony and loggia

Sliding doors are a great design solution for a balcony that will help expand the space and make it more interesting. This is an ideal choice if the balcony is not just a storage room, but also a full-fledged room, a continuation of the apartment.

Sliding doors keep the room space from dust, cold and debris. Also, thanks to this design, additional noise insulation in the room is achieved. Sliding doors without a threshold are a practical, modern option that is very popular. Manufacturers produce many types of designs created from different materials. The models also differ in the type of opening.

In addition to easy opening, sliding doors have many other advantages. They look very beautiful in the interior, are ergonomic, and a huge selection of options suggests the ability to choose doors to your liking. Many doors are available with glass elements. Glass allows sunlight to pass through and provides natural light in the home. For example, many French doors are made entirely of glass.

Another distinctive feature of sliding models is the ability to create a wide aisle on the balcony. Doors of this configuration can open wide, it is more convenient to enter through a large passage, you can easily bring large furniture onto the balcony. Many models have locks that cannot be opened from the outside. Such a door block is completely safe for babies: children will not be able to pinch their hand or get any other injury.

The only drawback of sliding models is the need to free up space near the walls. Therefore, sometimes, in order to install sliding structures, you have to abandon the window sills on the walls on which the windows are located. However, the doors do not open wide open, so the space in front and behind the doors can be used functionally. Sliding doors are a great solution for a small room adjacent to the loggia.

Consider the types of sliding doors for balcony rooms.

Panoramic sliding doors can be either warm or cold. These structures protect the space from the cold in different ways. The differences depend on the type of profile from which the doors are created. The cool look does a great job of keeping the room safe from snow or rain, wind, dust, and dirt. However, this category of doors cannot boast of good thermal insulation qualities. The doors are made from a simple profile, there are no special thermal insulating inserts on them.

Warm configuration doors cope better with extreme cold. Such structures not only keep warm, but also protect the balcony from precipitation, street dust and strong winds. The balcony will be warm even in winter, the cold will not penetrate into the living space. The doors will maintain a high temperature in the house, even if the balcony space is not glazed.

The design provides for a double-glazed window for one or two chambers. Glasses keep warm during frosts, but do not allow direct sunlight to pass through during hot summers. Thanks to the sliding doors, the rooms will have a pleasant microclimate both in winter and in summer.

Most often, polyvinyl chloride becomes the main material from which sliding doors are created. This is due to the fact that the material belongs to the category of inexpensive but practical options. The second most popular is aluminum, which is durable, but not so practical. Some people install wooden sliding doors. Such doors are quite reliable, but they are distinguished by their high cost.

Door frames are often made of plastic, since this material is lightweight, but quite reliable and safe. Plastic frames do an excellent job of their "duties": in the heat they help to slightly lower the temperature in the room, and in the winter they keep the heat and prevent it from seeping into the street. Plastic is durable, does not deform during severe frosts or heat. Weather factors practically do not affect the functionality and appearance of plastic doors. In addition, plastic does not rot or deform for natural reasons, like other materials of natural origin.

Aluminum can be considered an environmentally friendly material, while it is inexpensive. Metal frames are used in doors of all sizes and configurations. Aluminum complies with fire safety regulations and will not rust even after decades of use. By design, the material is universal: aluminum frames can be repainted at any time.

The advantage of aluminum door frames is lightness, and this factor is extremely important for balcony slabs. This is a durable and very reliable material, but it also has one drawback. Aluminum, like any other metal, perfectly transmits cold, so such frames are necessarily insulated. Without additional insulation, it will always be cold on the balcony, and the coolness can penetrate into the apartment itself.

Glass sliding doors with stained-glass windows are especially popular when decorating balconies. Most often, the main material of such structures is glass composite, which is 70% glass. The remaining 30% are fabric elements impregnated with special resins (epoxy resin and polyester). This material is much more reliable and stronger than ordinary glass, it is very difficult to break it, and at the same time it weighs less.

Sliding doors are sometimes called French doors. The second name for such structures is portal doors. If the balcony space is free and not too filled with things, then a beautiful view will open from such doors.

This is one of the most requested options. Sliding door is somewhat like an ordinary wardrobe: the doors open in one or two directions. You can open only one door or both at the same time. The model is equipped with special rollers, which makes the opening almost silent. The doors are very lightweight, but often the range is limited to a specific design.

Sloped designs are great for any balcony. They can be opened to the maximum or ventilated by opening a small window. If you press the door handle, it will slightly lower and form a flap. Fresh air will flow through this flap. If you turn the handle to the side and pull, then the structure will open slightly to the side, parallel to the second sash.

When the lift doors are opened, they first rise and then move in different directions. One sash seems to hang over the other a little. This design is well suited for balconies with wide door openings.

The doors have several doors at once. If you open them, the flaps will fold, forming a kind of "accordion". If you open the door, both parts move in the same direction. The leaves do not hang over each other, but are folded into a single assembly. Accordion doors take up slightly more space than other models, but are perfect for wide doorways.

To choose the perfect sliding door, you should pay attention to the parameters of the apartment. An important factor is the size of the balcony space. The overall design of the apartment and the level of insulation on the balcony are also important.

For a small room, doors from the sliding category are perfect. The structure does not take up much space when opening or closing doors.

If there is a lot of free space in the room adjacent to the balcony, then the accordion doors will create a unique design. But the balcony should also be very spacious, because otherwise the design will look strange and inappropriate.

Fans of the classics should pay attention to the beautiful wooden doors. Profiles can be made from oak or pine wood. The details of sliding structures made of wood are made of glued beams. This material perfectly tolerates humidity or dry air in the room.

Installation of such doors has a lot of nuances that only a professional knows. Therefore, it is better to entrust the installation to specialists. However, if you have some experience, you can try to do everything yourself. To do this, you need to observe the following sequence of actions.

1. The first step is to measure all surfaces. It is important to determine the correct parameters of the doorway. When measuring the height of the door, add about 1.5 cm to the resulting figure (this figure is equal to the distance to the floor).
2. It is also necessary to measure the height of the guides, after which you can start attaching them. It is necessary to provide a small gap between the wall and the groove - so the door will not damage the wall surfaces. The length of the guide should be twice the width of the openings. Also, a few centimeters are added to the allowance.
3. After assembling the roller mechanism, you can start connecting them to the guides. Clips must be attached on top (the number of clips depends on the number of rollers).
4. The doors are inserted into the guides, after which they need to be fixed. For this, special bolts are suitable. It is also necessary to install a kind of "leash" by inserting it into the slot in the end face at the bottom of the door. The "leash" ensures the correct positioning of the structure when opening or closing and does not allow the doors to move.
5. To hide the mechanisms, you can use beautiful decorative strips.

There is no doubt that portal doors are a winning solution for any balcony. The doors will not only look stylish, but also open much faster and have a wide opening. Sliding doors are indispensable in the event of guests arriving or renovation. If guests come, you can open the doors and combine the space of the balcony and the room.

For the intricacies of installing a sliding door to the balcony, see below.