Have You Considered Replacing Your Old Patio Doors? Read This First

A few months back, we wrote a blog post about how today’s patio doors are more energy efficient than ever! We got a lot of positive feedback on that blog post, so we wanted to offer a bit more information about energy-efficient patio doors and the various options available for San Diego homes.

Many San Diego homes are already outfitted with a sliding patio door. Typically, it’s made up of two large glass panels and opens by sliding one panel in front of the other. If you live in a home that’s 30+ years old, that patio door likely has an aluminum frame. If it hasn’t been impeccably maintained over the years, it may be getting difficult to open and close. If you’re lucky, it may just be that the track is dirty and a good cleaning could help it glide smoothly again. However, it’s more likely that it’s due to damaged rollers, tracks, or frames.

Upgrade to an Energy-Efficient Patio Door

Sometimes, there are repairs that can be made to damaged patio doors to make them functional again, but most San Diego homeowners tend to opt for patio door replacement. You could spend less money to fix up an old patio door, but there’s very little you can do to make it more energy efficient. Old, single pane patio doors—especially those with aluminum frames—are notorious for letting in heat and cold. This makes your house warmer in the summer months and colder in the winter months and requires you to run your cooling and heating system more often.

What makes patio doors more energy efficient? It’s a combination of several different technologies and materials, such as:

• Low-E glass
• Warm edge spacers
• Vinyl frames
• Dual panes with a special gas in between the frames

Your old patio doors likely don’t have any of these features, which is why they allow so much heat transfer. Upgrading to energy-efficient patio doors will make a noticeable difference in the temperature of your home—especially if you upgrade your old windows at the same time.

Patio Door Options for San Diego Homes

If you currently have a sliding patio door in your San Diego home, installing another sliding patio door isn’t your only option. At BM Windows, we sell beautiful French swinging patio doors (also known as French hinged doors), as well as French sliding patio doors. Most people are familiar with French swinging patio doors, but haven’t heard of French sliding doors. French sliding doors have the look of classic French doors, but operate like a sliding patio door.

Want to add some more natural light to your home or have a large opening to fill? Consider a three- or four-panel sliding patio door. You could also opt for a two-panel slider or French doors with sidelites. Sidelites are inoperable glass panels that are installed on either or both sides of a patio door.

Since all of the patio doors we install are made to order, you can get a new patio door that fits perfectly in your current opening. There will be no damage to your interior or exterior walls, and the installation will be completed in one day.

Ready to get started? Contact us at BM Windows to set up a consultation where you can receive a free quote on a new patio door.