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As the gateway to your home’s outdoor living space, patio doors provide beautiful, stylish transitions between your home and landscape. Choosing and installing a patio door is no simple task, but these five pointers can help any homeowner complete the process successfully.
1. Choose a style that fits your home
Patio doors come in many different styles today. Not only do you need to keep in mind the space available for the door and how much natural light you want the doors to bring into the home, but also consider how the door connects the interior and exterior aesthetics of the home.
2. Carefully create the space you need for a new patio door
If you’re not replacing a patio door, you should know there’s more to preparing a wall for they patio door than simply cutting an opening in the wall. Depending on the construction, you may need to incorporate other structural changes to your home. Done right, though, a well-engineered opening will make the installation and enjoyment of the new patio door all the easier.
3. Even if you’re a DIYer, ask for help
Patio doors are heavy—this is not a one-man job! Hiring the pros is something we would recommend, but if you’re a seasoned DIYer, make sure you not only use safe lifting techniques, but also a strong team to help you move the door safely.
4. Measurements count after installation, too
After the door is in place, check your measurements and make sure everything is level. This is the last opportunity to take things out and adjust before you anchor the door into place. Any measurements that are off could potentially cause permanent damage to the patio door or void the manufacturer’s warranty.
5. The door must be watertight
Just like you want to seal out water around a window opening, the same philosophy applies to patio doors. A watertight door not only helps keep the home insulated, it will also prevent future leaks and damage from the outside elements.
There are many considerations for installing a patio door, but these five tips can help keep any homeowner on track for completing the project. For more information about patio doors, styles, and installation ideas, be sure to visit our website.
Hire us for Garage Door Installation and you will not even realize how easy it is to get it done. Once you are clear with want you want, get in touch with us so that we can plan the activity.
If you are creating a new door opening, it’s probably best to hire a professional to do the job. You need to know what wires, cables, or pipes may lurk in a designated area, and if so, can you re-route them elsewhere?
I like that you point out that the door must be watertight. I can see why this would be really important because your cold or hot air could go right out the door, as well as water and other elements could come right in. My sister wants to remodel her whole kitchen, including the sliding door to the backyard. I’ll have to make sure she knows that the door needs to be water tight.
Happy you found this helpful, Scott. Best of luck to your sister on her kitchen remodel! Here are few other articles that might help her along the way: http://blog.coldwellbanker.com/?s=kitchen+remodel
I had no idea that a patio door would need to be watertight, but you made a really good point about how it helps keep your home insulated and prevents damage to patio furniture. I would think that waterproofing it could be something quite a bit more difficult than just putting it together. With this in mind, I would be that hiring a contractor of some sort to handle the whole affair could be the easiest option.
I like how you talked about making sure to have help when installing a patio door. My husband loves to do do-it-yourself projects and wants a new patio door. We’ll have to make sure we get some help with the installation before we start making changes to the house.