North and South Carolina homeowners desiring
to bring more of the outdoors into their home are increasingly turning
to patio doors. In fact, the residential patio door market grew
by nearly 25 percent in the 1990s alone, according to research statistics.
Patio doors provide an expansive view of the outdoors, whether
it is a wooded glade, the ocean or children playing in the back
yard. Many homeowners and residential architects further enhance
those views by combining the doors with specialty windows, creating
a focal point for a great room, dining room or master bedroom.
There are two basic types of patio doors. According to experts
from Quantum2 Window and Patton General Contracting*, the Carolina's
leading patio doors installer, each door style has its own distinct
advantages:
The
post-World War II building boom saw the advent of the gliding patio
door, whose popularity began on the West Coast and gradually spread
eastward.
Gliding patio doors help large volumes of fresh air to circulate
throughout the home. One of the main attractions is the amount of
outdoor beauty that seems to creep inside. Homeowners love the extra-wide
entrance that such a door adds.
The glide door can actually be lifted, removed and set aside for
large furnishings or moving. They also free up both interior and
exterior space by eliminating the need to swing the door in one
direction or the other.
Also
known as French doors, hinged patio doors have been used in American
homes since the early 1900s. In the building boom of the 1980s this
door style began to cross over from luxury homes to middle-priced
homes.
Hinged patio doors are a great way to open a home to the outdoors,
allowing cross breezes to flow freely from front to rear accompanied
by open windows. Like its gliding counterpart, this patio door style
allows homeowners to get the most out of their yard, patio and home.
UniFrame hinged patio doors are designed as a two-panel center hinge
unit in which one panel is stationary, or fixed - where the other
panel opens for convenient access and expanded natural ventilation.
Hinged patio doors swing to the interior or exterior of a home.
Outswing patio doors free up valuable interior space, providing
more room for furniture and accessories, while inswing patio doors
do the same for a patio or deck.
But not all patio doors are created equally. Building experts remind
consumers in the market for new patio doors to keep these features
in mind:
- Does the door come with a solid warranty? Products are
only as good as the warranty that backs them. Make sure of what
the warranty covers, if it's fully transferable and if it's prorated.
Great lakes Windows and Doors have a lifetime of ownership warranty
and a 50-year transferable warranty.
- Does the door display the NFRC performance certification
label? Because patio doors often constitute a home's largest
exterior wall opening, wise homeowners insist on doors carrying
the National Fenestration Rating Council (NRFC) performance certification
label. The NFRC label gives consumers easy-to-understand, comparative
numbers representing a product's ability to minimize a home's
heating and cooling costs. If the patio door isn't labeled, don't
buy it.
- Does the door have a maintenance-free exterior? Many
doors are made of preservative-treated wood with an exterior "cladding
material," that minimizes maintenance and helps protect the
door from the elements. Hmmmm, "minimizes maintenance?"
Vinyl "clad," doors are NOT maintenance free! They are
low-maintenance, which means they require less maintenance than
a wood door. However, Quantum2 Windows and Doors are fully
maintenance free, as they are made of uiPVC - both interior and
exterior.
- Does the hinged door have a multi-point locking system?
Quality hinged patio doors provide locking points at the top,
center and bottom of the door panel for improved security and
weathertightness.
To see more information about the high-quality features provided
with Great lakes UniFrame Doors, please visit either the Sliding
Patio Door or the Hinged
Patio Door sections.
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