Patio doors are a great addition to any home, framing beautiful views and letting in natural light while making rooms feel more spacious. Here are 5 types of patio doors to consider for your Salt Lake City home, along with the frame materials and finishes that can elevate any of them.
Beyond looks, the right patio door can add resale value and increase energy efficiency. Explore our patio door replacement services to get started, or read on to compare styles, including our vinyl window replacement options in Salt Lake City.
French Doors
With their classic beauty and timeless appeal, French doors are the perfect way to connect your home with the outdoors. Hinged French doors create a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces while offering plenty of natural light. They’re also available with energy-saving features like dual panes of glass and low-E coatings to reduce your energy bills.
While many homeowners opt for blinds or curtains to cover their French patio doors, these solutions come with downsides. Blinds bang against the door when it opens and curtains can snag, making them less than ideal. Instead, consider plantation shutters for a sleek, stylish accent that’s both decorative and functional. They’ll help keep the sun’s harmful UV rays out of your home, protecting your flooring and furniture from damage. If French doors fit your style, our custom door replacement options in Salt Lake City can help you find the right match.
Sliding Doors
Sliding doors offer a view of your yard while letting in natural light. They can brighten rooms, unify indoor and outdoor spaces, and make homes feel larger. They don’t require swing space like hinged doors, so they’re ideal for tighter areas.
They come in a variety of sizes, styles, and finishes to complement your home’s design. Choose narrow frames for a sleek modern look or add a custom grid for a distinctive touch. Enhanced energy efficiency options such as low-E glass and double or triple glazing with argon gas fillings reduce heat transfer to help regulate indoor temperatures and lower energy bills. Sliding patio doors also protect against harmful UV rays and reduce outside noise, and can even be etched with designs that reflect your style. Our slider window styles for Salt Lake City homes use the same smooth, space-saving design throughout the rest of your home.
Bi-Fold Doors
Bi-fold patio doors fold open along a track, stacking neatly to one side and turning an entire wall into an opening between your home and the outdoors. They’re a dramatic way to blend indoor and outdoor living, especially for homes with a patio, deck, or backyard entertaining space.
Because they fold rather than slide flat, bi-fold doors can open up a much wider span than a traditional sliding door, without needing a pocket in the wall to disappear into. Our professional door installation services team can walk you through sizing and configuration options for your space.
Multi-Slide Doors
Multi-slide doors use multiple panels that glide along parallel tracks, allowing them to stack to one or both sides for an especially wide, unobstructed opening. They’re a popular choice for homes with panoramic views, since the frame disappears almost entirely when the door is fully open.
Multi-slide systems pair especially well with covered types of patio doors or outdoor living rooms where you want the indoor and outdoor space to feel like one continuous room. Explore our door replacement services near you page to see if this style fits your home.
Pocket Doors
Pocket patio doors slide directly into a wall cavity, disappearing completely when fully open. This makes them a strong choice for homeowners who want an unobstructed view and opening without a stacked panel remaining visible along the frame.
Because the door recedes into the wall, pocket doors work well in spaces where you want the transition between indoors and outdoors to feel as seamless as possible. They do require more precise construction planning than a standard sliding door, so it’s worth discussing feasibility with your installer early in the design process. Schedule a free consultation with our Salt Lake City team to talk through what’s possible for your space.
Frame Materials & Customization Options
Whichever door type you choose, the frame material and finish you pair it with can make a big difference in performance and style.
Aluminum Frames
Aluminum frames are available in a variety of colors and are typically less expensive than other frame materials. They’re durable and resistant to weathering, rust, and fading, and can be paired with a range of finishes, from wood-look to vinyl. Vinyl patio doors are also a durable, budget-friendly option that resists fading and weathering, while fiberglass patio doors combine aesthetics with functionality, resisting the thermal expansion and contraction caused by Utah’s extreme temperature swings. Our window replacement services in Salt Lake City team can help you find matching frame finishes throughout your home.
Etched Glass
Etched glass is a decorative way to add a unique touch to your patio door. It’s made using a laser to create a pattern on the surface of the glass, a technique detailed by the National Glass Association, which avoids the health and safety issues associated with acid etching and provides a more durable finish than standard window film. Etched glass can be custom designed to your specifications, with a variety of fonts and border styles to choose from, and works well on patio doors, sliding windows, and other glass features throughout your home.
Ready to choose the right types of patio doors for your home? Meet our trusted Salt Lake City door and window team for a free consultation.