Sliding glass doors have a number of advantages: they save space, have a beautiful appearance and are easy to maintain. They visually increase the volume of the room and have good aesthetic qualities.
Sliding glass systems are ergonomic, functional, and original. They can be made according to an individual project, but standard ones are cheaper. Glass doors give a modern look, lightness to the room, and improve lighting. They fit well into the interior of the gazebo, creating comfort, convenience and coziness.
Types of doors by design and filling
Installation of doors in a gazebo
According to the design, they are distinguished:
- Single doors
- Single-leaf with side parts or with a fixed component
- Bivalve
- Double-leaf with movable or fixed leaves
- Radial.
Radius sliding glass doors fit perfectly into gazebos with round shapes. This is an expensive option, because you need to make curved rails and a curved door leaf. This sophisticated option impresses with its originality and comfort.
Various glasses are used for doors: tinted, frosted, stained glass, decorated. Canvases with patterns are also used, which are applied using various methods. A unique design can be created using a stencil or decor. An original decoration element: doors with mosaics and voluminous decorative elements. Sometimes a film is glued that differs both in texture and in a variety of colors.
Acrylic, tempered, impact-resistant, triplex are the types of glass used depending on the strength characteristics. The use of special glass, which shatters into small fragments upon impact, saves you from serious injuries. Durability and safety are important advantages.
Glass doors are framed in aluminum, wood, plastic, or can be frameless. An aluminum profile is used for the gazebo to enhance strength.
The aluminum sash has good load-bearing qualities. With its help, you can make structures of significant size and different colors, because painting is possible. Glazing without a frame: stylish, original, fits into a gazebo of any architecture and offers an excellent view.
Advantages and principle of operation of sliding doors
Self-installation of doors in a gazebo
The main advantages of glass doors:
- Space saving
- Easy opening
- No thresholds (if there is no bottom guide)
- Self-opening resistance
- Versatility
- Safety.
Sliding glass structures operate on the same principle as sliding wardrobes: they are held on top by carriages and moved apart in different directions. A sliding door is perfect for a gazebo. Reliability, practicality, and original design ensure comfort and safety.
The door structure consists of a roller mechanism, glass and guides. There may be several of them. The kit also includes fittings, decorative panels, trims. The fittings are used of a certain type: they should not protrude above the surface so that the structure can move to the side or into a niche. The guides and roller mechanism are selected taking into account the number of leaves, weight and type of door.
Glass doors are quite heavy and you need to choose a durable and reliable mechanism. The guides for the gazebo must be secured at both the top and bottom so that the structure ensures safety.
Manufacturing materials
Frames are made from several types of materials: plastic, wood, aluminum. There are advantages and disadvantages.
Plastic options are reliable and allow you to glaze your balcony for relatively little money.
Plastic is reliable. Well insulated. Has protection from noise and other sounds. Plastic models are durable and do not deform over time. They do not deteriorate due to bad weather. Long service life. More often they choose windows with a plastic frame. The only negative is the heavy weight.
This is an ideal option for insulating a loggia. After this, you can turn the balcony into a separate room for personal needs.
Aluminum is lightweight. Resistant to wind, frost and corrosion. Durable. Easy to care for and clean. Cons: releases heat - only cold glazing can be installed. It will not be possible to insulate a balcony if there are aluminum frames. Suitable for those who do not use the loggia in the winter season.
Aluminum profile is lighter and more durable
Wood is an environmentally friendly product. Excellent noise protection. Keeps the room warm. Durability and long service life. Deformation is possible due to the large amount of moisture and light weight.
Tools and components used to install doors
Door handles, rollers, rails, fasteners, stops, bolts - the main components.
The following tools are used for work:
- Screwdriver
- Roulette
- Drill
- Level
- Polyurethane foam
- Mounting kit.
Do-it-yourself door installation
You can install the doors yourself if you buy the necessary components and have knowledge of installation technology.
First you need to mark and install guides along the marked lines (on the ceiling and on the floor). They must be strictly horizontal and longer than the opening to eliminate the possibility of the doors falling off.
Glass doors have fasteners made of metal claws with internal rubber linings. The glass is secured with screws. The roller mechanism can be hidden behind a decorative strip.
The installation of sliding doors is discussed in detail in the video:
Operating procedure:
- Doorway measurement
- Installation of the bottom rail with checking for unevenness with a level
- Complete set of the canvas with fasteners from the bottom and top
- Installing the top bar
- Attaching the guides to the plank using self-tapping screws or dowels
- Installation of locking pads
- Attaching a decorative panel to improve appearance
- Installation of accessories.
For glass doors, handles made of anodized aluminum or stainless steel are used to ensure reliability and durability. Modern sliding doors are equipped with handles of different shapes with recesses.
The glass is brought to the upper guide and suspended. While tilting the glass, make sure that each roller engages. Next, the canvas is joined to the lower guide. The doors are moved and opened several times to check that they move smoothly and that there are no distortions.
You should not buy sliding doors from small organizations that cannot provide decent quality. A good manufacturer should provide a guarantee. Low cost is a reason not to trust the company, because glass structures are not cheap.
Sliding doors are stylish, convenient and beautiful. They are very popular because they are not only beautiful, but also functional. The ability to move apart in different directions and quickly change the environment allows you to install sliding doors as a successful and practical element of the interior. But if they are not installed correctly, they can rattle, move unevenly, or jam.
Therefore, the sliding mechanism must be carefully selected.
The ability to transform from a closed space into an open one, a huge choice of design, panoramic views, safety, durability, ease of maintenance - all these advantages allow you to use sliding structures as an excellent decoration for a summer cottage.
Sliding doors, the doors of which are made of glass, are distinguished by their special aesthetics. In addition to the fact that sliding partitions allow rational use of space, transparent material gives the interior sophistication and lightness, and contributes to good illumination of the room. But glass canvas has significant drawbacks: the high cost and fragility of the material, which requires careful handling of the structure. The production of glass panels can only be done by specialized companies that have the necessary equipment for glass processing.
A good alternative to natural glass are various polymer materials. One of the most popular transparent polymers, which is used for the manufacture and installation of transparent panels for sliding structures, is polycarbonate. This material is impact-resistant, lighter than glass, has the same transparency, and most importantly, you can make sliding doors from polycarbonate with your own hands.
Frameless glazing system
Windows in Russia are not often made in the French manner. First of all, it's too expensive. And secondly, not every city has a company that is ready to install frameless glazing. However, you may decide to make the windows in French, which means this option should also be considered in as much detail as possible. So, let's look at a project from the manufacturer: frameless glazing of an apartment.
It’s worth noting right away that this style of glazing is called “French glazing.” The main advantage is that the doors are not framed. Thanks to this, a panoramic window is created through which it is pleasant to observe the world around you. And of course, the main advantage of frameless glazing of a loggia is its excellent appearance, which every owner of frame glazing can envy.
But before you glaze your apartment in this way, you need to think about the disadvantages. Firstly, the prices for frameless glazing are astronomical for many Russians, especially for balconies in Moscow. Secondly, low thermal insulation and sound insulation characteristics. And of course, it is worth noting that to install the glazed material you will have to hire a specialized team in any case. Because without them nothing will work.
But it’s still interesting how the frameless glazing of the balcony holds up. The side surfaces of the glass are secured with a reliable sealant to another glass covering. And at the top and bottom, the double-glazed windows are attached to the load-bearing elements of the house through guide elements. Although some installation specialists use a slightly different method, installing glass directly to the house (guide elements are not used). In principle, there is not much difference, but it is better to entrust the choice to professionals.
Features and types of material
Polycarbonate is produced in monolithic and cellular versions. These materials have different aesthetic and technical characteristics. Each type of polycarbonate is installed in a specific type of sliding structure, which ultimately determines the appearance of the finished sliding door and polycarbonate partition.
Important
! The variety of polycarbonate sheets allows you to use it for the manufacture and installation of a sliding door, similar to natural glass, or use it as a decorative panel material. It can be used as an independent material for the manufacture of door leaves, or in combination with other decorative materials (laminated chipboard, MDF).
Monolithic polycarbonate
This is a single sheet of polymer with a smooth surface. It is a full-fledged analogue of natural glass.
They are produced by analogy with silicate glass sheets with a material thickness of 2-12 mm. Thus, you can make either a frameless panel 10 mm thick for installation in a hinged structure for glass doors, or use them as inserts in a profile frame for sliding wardrobe systems.
Thick sheets of this material are highly durable and are also called anti-vandal. They are not only resistant to impacts, they cannot be broken even intentionally.
Cellular polycarbonate
This material is a hollow sheet that consists of two or more thin layers connected by thin bridges. Manufactured by extrusion.
Due to the cellular structure, a door made of this material weighs more than ten times less than a door made of glass.
Due to the multi-layer nature of the material, it cannot be made as thin as monolithic polycarbonate. The thickness of the produced sheets starts from 4 mm. Panels 32 mm thick are made from cellular material.
Important
! When planning the dimensions of a sliding door or partition made of polycarbonate, you need to remember that the width of the strip of cellular material is 2.1 m, and its length is cut in stores in increments of 1 m. The length of the end profile for polycarbonate is associated with these dimensions.
To summarize
This brings us to the end of the article about sliding windows. I recommend purchasing fiberglass window profiles if your budget allows. This is really high-quality material with good characteristics, but expensive. If you are interested in unusual ways to open windows, then I recommend considering options such as English windows, an accordion system, or tilt-and-slide windows.
Of course, it is not advisable to carry out installation yourself without the appropriate equipment, skills and knowledge, otherwise there is too high a risk of making a large number of critical errors. In this case, it is better to enlist the help of someone familiar with these skills or hire a specialized team. If you still have any questions regarding sliding windows, be sure to write them in the comments below the article. We will definitely read and answer them as soon as possible. Thank you for your attention, see you soon!
Profiles for polycarbonate
Several types of profiles are produced for mounting and covering the edges of polycarbonate sheets. They are made of aluminum and polycarbonate. When making a sliding door, only end profiles may be needed to decorate the frame and create a rigid frame. This depends on the design of the door, the selected type of sheet of material and the technical capabilities of the master in terms of the quality of cutting the material at home. Such a profile may be needed to stiffen the panel and make a door edge that will hide chips.
The end profile closes the honeycombs of the cellular sheet, which are open at the ends, from moisture and dust getting into them. If you do not cover the ends with a profile, then over time the material will lose its transparency. Particular care must be taken when closing the ends of the polycarbonate when installing a bathroom door.
The end profile, which acts as a frame, will give the door an aesthetic and finished appearance.
For any purchased sheet there are end profiles of the appropriate thickness: from 2 to 16 mm. The length of the profile is the same as the width of the polycarbonate - 2.1 m.
Specifications
Different models of aluminum sliding windows from different manufacturers have their own technical characteristics. But all products have smooth contours and a smooth, carefully processed surface. The interlocking reinforcement used in production makes the structure rigid, which eliminates skewing of the windows.
The width of the product is up to 60 mm, the thickness of the glass unit can be 16 mm. The number of cameras can reach up to 4 . The reinforcement is made of galvanized steel. High-quality products are equipped with 2 sealing circuits. The width of the 2-strip profile is 64 mm, the glass thickness is 4-5 mm. If these are “warm” windows, then the thickness of the frame profiles can be 74 mm, and the sash thickness is 83.5 mm.
The level of sound insulation with ordinary glass is up to 20-27 dB. Aluminum windows can be painted in different colors.
How to work with polycarbonate
After purchasing cellular polycarbonate, you will notice that its ends are sealed with tape. This is a temporary protection that needs to be removed. After cutting the polycarbonate, the ends with open cells will need to be sealed with sealing tape. The end profile is placed over the tape. To hold an aluminum or polycarbonate profile, it is placed on small droplets of transparent silicone.
In addition to the ends, the polycarbonate is covered with film on one (front) side. It is removed only after the installation of the sliding door made of cellular polycarbonate is completed. The only thing that needs to be done is to partially peel it off along the edges, where the frame profile will fit and the roller carriages will be attached. In addition, this will prevent the sides of the leaf from being mixed up if a sliding door of two or more leaves is installed.
Important
! Before cellular polycarbonate is sealed and installed into the sliding door frame, it must be kept in a dry air environment. This will prevent the formation and accumulation of condensation inside the sheet cells.
To cut the material, use a jigsaw with a fine-toothed file, a grinder, or a stationery knife.
Other interesting ideas
Finally, I will make a small selection of options that evoked pleasant emotions and associations in me.
I would not say that it is very advisable to spend a lot of money on an ordinary summerhouse, especially if there is nothing of particular value inside. But for the sake of interesting impressions on guests, this can be done. I am sure that the summer residents whose doors were included in our selection succeeded
