Patio doors were originally created to replace French doors, offering an uninterrupted view of the natural daylight coming into the house, and providing easy access to the outdoors. As a result, patio doors are still hugely popular and due to demand, have become somewhat more elaborate over the years. However, they were not completely able to replace French doors; whereas the style and design of a French door is still seen as a classic and timeless look. However, the two are able co-exist on the market, benefiting the home-owner who has a choice of door options to consider.

At one point, a patio door was not a very secure entryway and easily accessible from the outside. Over time improvements have been made so now this is not as great an issue as it previously had been. There is also another issue of safety because the door, being a solid sheet of glass, is often seen as being open when it is actually not. To help remedy possible injuries, safety glass is now used to prevent people, especially children, from running headlong into the closed doors and getting severe lacerations.

When it comes to being energy efficient, patio doors perform very well. They are made with a series of brushes and seals which adhere to very stringent building code regulations. Producing the vinyl for door and window frames requires three times less energy to produce than manufacturing aluminum, thus making this product not only more cost effective, but also environmentally /energy friendly. To put this in perspective, it saves enough energy to heat almost 20, 000 single swelling family homes a year.

Most patio doors are made from vinyl or metal frames. The vinyl frames are made with up to 80% vinyl resin and then the remaining 20 % can be made up from various additives such as stabilizers to help prevent cracking and peeling. Pigments are also added to add the desired color as well to help create UV protection. Other additives help in preventing damage done during the shipping process.

Once the vinyl compound has been made, the chemical additives are locked in. Then, the resulting material is softened and forced through a die creating the unique shape that will eventually become the frame. These extruded pieces are shipped on pallets to the window / door fabricator where they are cut to the specified lengths and dimensions required to make the patio door.

After machines have cut the components to be assembled, the frames are often fusion welded together to form air tight and water tight seals at the corners. The installation of locks, keepers, balances, weather stripping, and finally the glass, are completed and the process is sent to quality control where the work is checked for air tightness, water tightness, and for any possible damages done to the frame or glass during assembly.

The use of vinyl frames for your patio door and windows helps your glass door maintain an even temperature so that there are limited condensation and humidity differences in the home. The quality of the air in the household is also greatly improved because glass doors mean less electricity is needed to heat and light the house. Lastly, an additional environmental bonus is the elimination of paint, stains, strippers, thinners which are not needed to maintain the patio doors appearance and function; saving the environment from harmful odors, chemical disposal, as well as leaving the home owner with free time to enjoy the view.

Patio doors are a great addition to any home and they can even increase the value of the home.

Need to buy replacement windows for your home? Windows doors manufacturer offers a large selection of bay/bow windows and the best patio doors that can be custom-built to meet the most demanding architectural specifications.

Have you ever stopped and really looked at the doorknobs that are on the doors in your home? Probably not because they’re not just all that interesting to look at. Well, what if you could get ones for your home that have a decorative appearance? That’s right, there are ones that have an appealing look to them, perfect for adding some flare to your space.

There are a ton of eye-catching doorknobs to choose from nowadays, which are the result of the different shapes they can have, the materials they are made from, and the lovely finishes that they can feature. For example, you can get ones that are crafted from glass that have a rosette shape and a slight amber hue to it. Or, you can get one crafted from brass that has a round shaped and a polished finish.

Those are just some of the doorknobs combinations that are available too since there are many, many others. Like, you can get ones made out of ceramic that are circular in shape and have hand painted designs on them like flowers or flowing designs. There are many other materials that they can be made from as well including those that are made from other metals like bronze, stainless steel, and regular steel, porcelain, and plastic while other finishes out there include brushed and oil rubbed for the metal, different painted color options for the porcelain, and infused colors for the plastic. The many color and material options create doorknobs of all different style, making it easy to find just the right ones to match the décor of your space.

One thing to keep in mind when purchasing doorknobs for your home is to get the right ones for the job. Why? Because there are actually different ones for different things. For example, if you need one for your bathroom, then you would want to get a privacy version that you are able to lock. Or, if you get one for a hallway closet, then a passageway one would be the way to go that just opens and shuts without locking. There are other options available to including entryway ones for the doors that you use to get into your home that have locking cylinders and dummy selections that are just used for their looks since they don’t turn or lock.

For an easy way to browse the many doorknobs that you could purchase, just hit the World Wide Web and do some online shopping. You can find what you want in no time at all and it will probably be offered at a pretty reasonable price. It will even be shipped right to your home, so you don’t have to waste a trip to the local store to get what you want. Shopping has never been so convenient.

So, instead of just having them because of their function, purchase some doorknobs to add a decorative touch to your space. There are a slew of different options to choose from, all of which are sure to please.

Author Jennifer Akre is an owner of a wide variety of online specialty shops that offer both products and information on how you can easily furnish and decorate your space. Whether it’s your living, bedroom, or even your deck or patio, there are many tips you can use to make your space both functional and beautiful. Today, she shares her insight on how to create a fabulous outdoor area by using one of a kind antique doorknobs, sparkling glass door knobs and gem-like glass doorknobs.

When you are looking to purchase new interior doors or new exterior doors you should look into the many different choices of wood doors that you have to choose from. Wood doors offer many advantages over the other types of doors that you can purchase. One advantage is that wood doors are a great way to keep the heat in your home, and the cold air out. Another great advantage is the many different choices of style that you have in wood doors for both interior and exterior.

The different kinds of wood that is used to create your interior doors or exterior doors are going to offer you a different look. So it’s important that you know what you are getting before you actually purchase it.

The style that you will need to get for you doors are going to be determined by the style that your home or office already has. Knowing the style before you begin looking for your wood door will help to narrow down your choices. It’s also a good idea to determine your budget for your door before you begin looking as well. The prices for a wood door can become very expensive depending on the type of wood that you are getting. A mahogany wood door is going to be much more expensive than a pine wood door.

You should not rush in selecting just any door. If you are looking to purchase an entry door, than you are going to need to take the security of the door into consideration as well. This will begin with the door that you select and then the door hardware.

If you are looking to buy an interior wood door than you are not going to need to take anything much into consideration other than the way the door swings and the door handle to select.

The door hardware is an important part of installing your wood door. Your door handle is going to need to match the existing design of each room. So you may have a different handle for each side of the door. One that matches the inside of the room, and the other that matches the outside of the room. This is a consideration that so many people neglect, and it really makes a huge difference in the style of the house, and also the ability to choose the right door handle much easier.

You can find many other helpful information about selecting various door hardware much easier than ever before. This is something that I believe is the most important part of designing your home or office correctly. It’s the little things that always seem to make the biggest influence.

It’s so important that you make the right impressions on your visitors whether it’s for your home, or for your office. Leaving a everlasting impression should begin with the entry of the house or office so it all begins with your door hardware.

I am sure that you know what door hinges are, but you probably just think that they are the reason why the door opens and closes. While this is true, there is a another purpose for door hinges.

Door hinges can also do more than squeak, they can be used to make your door look nicer. Hinges much more noticeable when they look bad, but when they look good you don’t know why the door might look as good as it does. This is truly an eye catching piece of door hardware, but without the grasp or understanding that you are actually noticing it. Let me explain this, it’s as if your spouse got a haircut, you notice that they look different but you just can’t seem to put your figure on the change. The only difference here is that the door won’t yell at you, your spouse will.

It’s a fairly easy task to change the hinges on your door, but it is somewhat time consuming. This is something that will dramatically change the look of your door, and it is something that you definitely want to consider changing.

Alright let’s go over the different types of hinges that are available. Hinges have holes in them, and they usually come in two different amounts of holes – two holes or three holes. The three hole hinges are going to increase the stability of the door. So if your door is heavy than you will want a three holed hinge over the two holed hinge. Removing a door with a two hole hinge is going to require two helpers, so you might want to be sure you have a friend their to hold the door for you as you begin unscrewing it. Another choice you are going to have is whether or not that you want a removable pin or a fixed pin. This is going to depend more on your needs. A removable pin is going to make it easy for you to take the door off the hinges without unscrewing the hinge from the door jamb.

You can easily begin shopping online and looking at all of the different designs that there are for door hinges, you might actually be amazed at the choices. Who would have thought that a door hinge could make the difference in the look of the door, but it does. And you will quickly begin to see how important it actually is and you will be kicking yourself for not doing this sooner.

It’s so important that you make the right impressions on your visitors whether it’s for your home, or for your office. Leaving a everlasting impression should begin with the entry of the house or office so it all begins with your door hardware.

Patio door security is not reliable in and of itself, however, it is not hard to make your patio door more secure, in fact there is a very easy way to do so and that is with a security bar. We have all seen them, the broken off broom handle placed in the patio door runners to keep someone from being able to open the door without removing the broom handle first.

While this seems rudimentary, and almost archaic, it is wise, as six out of ten burglaries, begin with entry through the back of the house. Three out of ten require no force at all; they are through open doors and windows! Thus, by even using a very archaic method to better secure your doors, you significantly reduce your chances of being burglarized etc. If you watch television you know that by breaking glass you not only have the problem of noise, but you also have the problem with DNA testing if blood is left at the scene. Thus, breaking in by literally breaking, does not happen much more. So, having some sort of patio door security besides the flimsy door lock is a great idea!

The locks that come as a basic with patio doors are generally put together with materials that are soft and brittle. Most will snap off or break if put under pressure. So, the best way to improve the patio door security in your home is to add additional and also visible locks. If you want the best patio door security possible, then look for a security bar with a patented locking device that can withstand up to 1,000 pounds of force. Look for patio door security bars, and make sure they have features that also prevent thieves from lifting the door off the track.

Why would you want to have your patio door security be visible? Well, for one, if a burglar can see how secure the door is, they are less likely to damage it at all in an attempt to get in. many times they can see that their feat is hopeless, and they may not even try to begin with.

It makes sense to add additional locks as they are relatively inexpensive, do not take much time or effort to fit to your patio door, and are generally not much of a hassle, and are easy to operate; thus, your life becomes more secure, and you do not have any inconvenience.

Part of your patio door security is for your own security, you will need to have quick and easy ways out, not just in, so if you have patio door security that that requires a key, it would be wise to keep the key near the lock, but hidden from outside view. This will mean that should you need to exit your home quickly, you won’t have to search for a key, or break glass, but simply leave quickly.

Another form of patio door security is found in the glass. You can improve security not just with a security bar, but also by replacing single glazed glass with polycarbonate or wire-embedded glass.

Another problem with patio door security is that often the glass is not broken or whatnot, but the door is actually lifted right off the track. Drive a screw into the top of the upper track to keep thieves from lifting the door off the track.

The bifold closet door is a door for closets which is designed to fold outwards just in the same way that an accordion does. Often these doors are made of two panels which are connected together by hinges and it is these hinges which allow the door to fold outwards.

The bifold closet door is especially useful as a space saver and yet still allows you easy access to the contents inside the closet unlike a sliding door would. The great thing about the bifold closet door is that it can be custom made to fit any size closet.

Certainly there are some situations where a bifold closet door would be much more effective to use. These doors are good for exceptionally large closets like those that stretch the whole length of a room. As previously mentioned, if equipped with sliding doors they do not allow you access to the whole of the closet. Whilst with bifold doors you are able to easily gain access to all corners of the closet space.

Another situation in which you may want to utilize bifold closet doors rather than using a standard door fitting is when you have a wardrobe that is fitted with swinging style doors. Unfortunately although the wardrobe fits into the bedroom there is not enough room in which you can effectively open the doors, so by replacing these swinging doors with bifold closet doors you will easily be able to access the storage space within. This means that you do not need to get rid of the current wardrobe and buy or build one much smaller in order that you can get into it, but rather just spend a little money on replacing the old swinging doors with a bifold closet door instead.

Although there are many advantages to be had from the installation of a bifold closet door there are still some other things which need to be taken into consideration before you go ahead and have them fitted:

1. First of all you will need to ensure that the space you have within your storage cabinet is utilized fully. Unfortunately the items that you have already purchased in order to fully utilize this space may not work with bifold closet doors, so you may have to find another way of utilizing the space that you have. But if you speak to the company where you purchased your bifold closet doors they should be able to provide you with some answers.

2. As bifold closet doors tend to see a lot of use where they are being opened and closed constantly, this may well place untold stress on its mechanical parts. As the bifold closet door is on a track it is this which will bear the brunt of the stress placed on the doors and they can soon become warped and damaged. If you want to stop this from happening you could try spraying them with a small amount of a greasing product (WD40 springs to mind) on to the tracks.

Installing an exterior door is one of the easiest of all door installations. Whether the door is installed in new construction or in a replacement situation, there are a few factors that make this an easy task.

The biggest reason this is a simple operation is that these doors come prehung. What this means is the door is already hung in its jamb. The hinges are mortised into the door and jamb and screwed in place. The door is held in position by the hinge pins, leaving the perfect reveal around the door and the jambs top and sides. The holes are also bored for the lockset and if necessary, for the deadbolt too. Exterior doors come in wood, fiberglass, and the most popular, steel. The two sizes are normally used for exterior doors are 32″ and 36″. With the sizes of todays furniture and appliances the smart choice is the 36″ door. The standard height for a door is 6’8″ but taller ones can be special ordered.

The exterior trim comes nailed to the jamb. This trim, called brickmoulding, is mitred and already installed, saving the installer(s) another step. These doors also have an aluminum threshold already attached to the legs of the jambs. All these things make the door and jamb one cohesive unit.

The standard jamb size is 4 and 1/2 inches wide. With the demand for a higher insulation R value in exterior walls, 2×6 framing is being used more frequently. Jambs to fit these walls, 6 1/2 inches, are becoming more common. Jamb widths can be made to order for whatever a projects needs are and would cost more.

To install an exterior door, first check to see if the rough opening is correct. The width of the opening should be 2″ wider than the door itself (38″ for a 36″ door, 34″ for a 32″ door). For a rough opening height 83″ will suffice for most door manufacturers. Also check to see if the framing and floor is reasonably plumb.

Door installation is easier with 2 people but can be done alone. Put the door in the opening from the outside. If you are working alone, tack the door to the wall through the brickmoulding, not driving the nails home. I like to use galvenized ring shank splitless nails that are used for cedar siding. They don’t split the wood and the smaller heads are not as obvious to the eye. The ring shank feature gives them great holding power.

With the door tacked in the opening, go to the inside of the door and check the reveals around the door. There should be about an eighth of an inch all around the door. Shim the jambs of the door so the reveals are right. Check the door jamb on the hinge side for plumb. If it is not plumb, then the floor is out of level. One jamb leg or the other will need to be shimmed so the threshold is level. Now readjust the reveals by moving the door and jambs sideways in the opening to a point where the reveals are right. Once the door and jamb are in position, shim the jamb at each hinge and at the strike, top and bottom on the strike side. Nail the shims in place by nailing through the jamb, through the shims and into the framing. Check the door swing to see if it opens and closes properly. If all is well, go outside and nail through the brickmould using the splitless nails to nail the door frame to the house.

Most door manufacturers provide long screws that replace some of the shorter screws in the hinges on the jamb. The top hinge is the most important place to use one or two of these screws.
These screws go through the jamb and into the framing and keep the door from sagging over time.

Most doors come with an adjustable threshold. This may have to be adjusted up or down to create an airtight seal.

With the door securely in the opening, it is ready for door hardware installation.

Mike Merisko (c) 2007