How to Choose Between Sliding or Hinged Patio Doors for Your Home
A home's patio doors should be attractive and stylish, and should allow you to easily enjoy the view to the home's exterior. When choosing to replace glass patio doors, you also need to keep in mind the amount of foot traffic you'll have in and out of that space; if you entertain often or have kids, you might want the widest opening to the patio possible, to accommodate everyone's comings and goings!
There are many styles of patio doors on the market that might work well in your home, and along with the door's style or frame material, you'll also need to decide between sliding or hinged doors. Note a few tips on how to make a selection between these two options when you're shopping for new doors for your home's patio or deck area.
Clearance
Sliding doors have the advantage of not needing clearance in front of them, so they're often a good choice for smaller homes and patios. If you're considering a hinged door of any style, it's good to measure the actual clearance needed for the door, and note if this would interfere with furniture or other items.
Hinged doors don't typically need a bottom track, as do sliding doors, so they may mean less of a tripping hazard. When sliding doors are open, the frame around the glass is still visible, so this may cut off some of your view to the outside, whereas a hinged door's frame opens completely, for an unobstructed view.
Screen
It's typically easier to install a screen outside a sliding door versus a hinged door; if you want a screen outside a hinged door, that screen also needs to work on hinges, and this can be cumbersome and unsightly. Note, too, that you would then need to consider the clearance required for the hinged screen door and not just the hinged glass door.
Decoration and add-ons
Sliding doors may not be able to accommodate decorative features in the glass, such as grilles or security film, as these features may actually make the glass too thick for the panes to slide next to each other. Sliding doors also cannot accommodate blinds or shades on the glass pane itself; you can add curtains in front of the entire doorframe of sliding doors, but this can then look very awkward and oversized. On the other hand, you can install blinds or rollers shades right to the frame of hinged doors, for added privacy and light blockage. Hinged doors can also more easily accommodate decorative features in the glass.
