How big is a sliding glass door?

How large can you make glass sliding doors? A sliding glass door is as big as you want to make it. When you are specifying a glass sliding door system it is important to understand that there is nearly no limit on its size and scale. High specification glass door systems – like the minimal windows systems – are designed on conjunction with the architect’s requirements for the build. Extra large sizes, bespoke shapes, unique configurations and more are all possible with a premium glass sliding door solution. So when we get asked the question how big is a sliding glass door it’s very difficult to answer succinctly. However just because a glass sliding door can be any size that’s not always practical in real life. Read on below for some of the considerations when you’re looking for a big sliding glass door and some of the advantages of specifying glass that is oversized. What Considerations are needed for the size of a glass sliding doors? When specifying an oversized glass door, you will need to consider multiple different aspects of the build including; The access to the site and the access to the opening The weight of the glass doors you will need to move Any strength considerations such as the wind load of the building The performance of the glass sliding doors required All aspects of the building project will need to be considered in parallel to determine the maximum size of the sliding glass door you can specify and use. Large glass sliding doors can be engineered and designed to almost any size, with insulated glass possible up to sizes of 20m long in a single pane. Sliding glass doors of up to 6m tall are very possible with no limit applied directly to the width of a glass sliding pane. While the size of a glass sliding door can be almost limitless in theory, practical aspects of the building site could pose limitations on the size of the sliding glass door. If there are weight restrictions on the access roads to the site this will limit the weight of the transport that can be used and therefore limit the weight of the glass that can be installed. You also need to consider how the oversized glass doors will get to the opening. minimal windows can be installed in extreme locations with high wind loads. But if there is no access to a cliffside location, for example, you will not be able to install large glass units here. You will then also need to think about the weight of the glass units once in situ. Although the sliding mechanisms of the minimal windows glass doors are highly engineered, they cannot counteract gravity and weight. Very tall, very large or very heavy doors will still be heavy and may require automation to move easily. A brilliant example of this is the 6.5m tall minimal windows glass door to the front elevation of the Skyhouse showroom in Amersham. This glass sliding door is 6.5 metres tall and weighs 1.4 tonnes in a single panel. This glass door had to be fully automated to use and is operated via a dead man switch. The advantages of very large glass doors The advantages of using very large glass in your door elevation is that you achieve a striking and unique design. With architects and specifiers looking to push the boundaries and create designs that cannot be seen elsewhere, the use of oversized and extremely large glass within glass door designs is increasing in popularity. Double height elevations of sliding glass can be used to bridge the gap between two floors, allowing mezzanine floors to have a direct view outside with no horizontal bars or structures required. The double height glass extension on Portland Road uses minimal windows at 6 metres tall to achieve this design. Another good example is the rear and kitchen extension on Kingston Road which used 4.5 metre tall minimal windows to create a double height elevation of glass. The doors here were manually operated and the highly engineered sliding rail system allowed for a smooth movement of two sliding doors even at this height. As well as creating a striking architectural design for the building from an external view, double high elevations of glass allow a large influx of natural light into spaces, elevating ceiling heights and creating bright space. This type of double height internal space is closely aligned with luxury design creating the feeling of volume and space within a structure that is bright and airy. How do I specify a very large glass door? If you are looking to specify a large glass door on your project then minimal windows is one of the best options. The team at the UK showroom can work with you to get the design and engineering right so that the door not only looks brilliant but performs well as well. To see these types of very large glass doors in person you should go no further than the minimal windows UK showroom which is based at Sky House in Amersham. A double high elevation of glass on the front facade is a brilliant showcase of the scale that minimal windows can achieve. To arrange your visit to the minimal window showroom or to discuss your glass door specification just get in touch with the team here.

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