Building or renovating a house is a challenging task, you need to choose new windows, furniture, garden doors… Wait, garden doors? Why not patio doors? That is what we are going to discuss in this article, my friend!
What are garden doors and what are patio doors?
Before moving forward, let`s state what is what. Usually, when we are saying garden doors we imagine something light, made from glass so your beautiful flowers will be easily seen from your house. And your imagination is right about it because garden doors feature two traditional door panels where one is used as an entryway, and the other is used for ventilation, so the sweet smell of your flowers will ventilate in your home.
Patio doors, on the other side, are more like huge floor-to-ceiling windows. They don’t literally open, they slide horizontally. Patio doors can be a great choice for those who don’t have much space inside or outside the house for opening garden doors, but we are going to discuss it right below in greater detail.
Advantages and disadvantages of garden doors
There are several sides from which we can judge the convenience of use of the garden doors. Firstly, if we are talking about ease of use garden doors and the space they take. We can assure you that double door configurations when opened are much wider than patio doors so it will be easier for you to bring something big in or out of the house. Plus, you can install a pet door on your garden doors so your little one can go for a walk any time they want. Plus, there are several door configurations for each taste yet designed with a sill instead of a track and that fact reduces the risk of potential tripping,
From a style perspective, there are only advantages too. Even though garden doors are good for special styles there are dramatically more elements to play with (hinge swing options, materials, colors, etc.). What about security you may ask? Well, you can easily make your garden doors more secure, but usually, additional locks are expensive. Plus, you can ask to use specified stained glass or special glass covering, yet, some suppose that garden doors are less secure than patio doors.
From the viewing perspective there are a lot of different glass options like privacy or stained glass, maybe tints. But there is still a disadvantage because due to their construction and larger frame requirements garden doors can`t provide the same amount of natural light as patio doors can. From the energy efficiency point of view, unfortunately the materials of garden doors (glass, steel or wood) are very fast at heat losing as well as at gaining it. Plus, there are very limited possibilities for glass configurations. Only double and very rarely triple glazed windows are available.
A short conclusion.
Advantages:
- Easy to use
- Safe to step through them
- A lot of options to suit every home design
- Different glass variants are available
Disadvantages:
- Not as secure as patio doors
- Often cost more than patio doors
- Requires additional space to be opened inside or outside a house
- Let less visible light than patio doors and lose heat faster than patio doors
Ok, now we know more about garden doors. In the next paragraph, we will talk more about our second competitor – patio doors.
Advantages and disadvantages of patio doors
The sliding patio doors from an ease of use perspective are easy to operate. What can be hard at sliding a door horizontally? Plus, they don`t take additional space inside or outside the house to open. From the style perspective, there are several configurations for you to choose from. Plus, if you are building a new house patio doors will look there perfectly.
As for security, we already mentioned that patio doors can be more secure than garden doors. You can choose from a whole variety of security measures. The design of patio doors presupposes that you can use something special with it like a kick lock, deadbolts, or even a security bar since the door is sliding. Moreover, for added convenience and privacy, you can install inner mini blinds.
What is also interesting is the fact that patio doors can have semi-automatic control. Plus, a patio door is basically a huge window. That means that you will have a better view of what is happening outside, more natural light, which can help you save money on electricity bills.
Usually, patio doors have high heat, hydro, and sound insulation. A high-quality profile and hermetic seals made of modern materials reliably protect against low temperatures, wind, precipitation, and dust. A high degree of sound insulation is a necessary component of creating comfort in the house.
From the viewing perspective patio doors are perfect to look at breathtaking landscapes. They have a large glass surface which helps you enjoy your backyard without frames. Still, it is harder to cover them with curtains from heat. From the energy efficiency point of view, patio doors have a possibility to let in a huge amount of natural light in your house since they can be considered as an oversize window.
We need a small sum up here too.
Advantages:
- Very secure
- Don`t require additional space to be opened
- Very stylish looking
- Energy efficient and let a lot of natural light
Disadvantages
- Someone can trip over the sliding track if unaware of it
- Not a lot of options for design
- Their contemporary modern look more suited to newer home designs
- Limited design possibilities
And that sums up new information about patio doors so we can easily move to the overall conclusion.
Bottom line
In this article, we have discussed pluses and minuses of garden and patio doors and tried to answer the question of which one of them is better? They both have their advantages and disadvantages, so you should decide considering your personal case, the style of house you`re working with, the money you have and a lot of other factors. We can wish you just good luck with safely finishing your construction or renovation!
