Author Topic: Insulate Sliding Glass Doors?  (Read 8507 times)

michaelrecycles

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Insulate Sliding Glass Doors?
« on: January 26, 2013, 01:00:08 PM »
cosmie's "shoddy door frame" post reminded me:

My folks' home has sliding glass doors in the kitchen nook. This winter, I've noticed a dramatic difference in temperature standing next to the doors and only three feet away where the air vent is.

I don't know if I can put a number on it, but it seems like they are throwing lots of money away on heat loss when the heater is on. Maybe a few dollars on an installation could eliminate this long term waste.

On a quick search, it looks like one solution is hanging insulating curtains on a bar across the doors. Has anyone here tried that or some other method? This part of the home gets lots of traffic, so I'm sure they want it to be pretty.

herisff

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Re: Insulate Sliding Glass Doors?
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2013, 02:32:00 PM »
I put a double-celled hanging blind in front of mine. I only open it when I'm working in the kitchen and want natural sunlight. Otherwise it stays closed. I dislike curtains so close to the kitchen.

StarswirlTheMustached

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Re: Insulate Sliding Glass Doors?
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2013, 03:16:24 PM »
I've got insulating curtains in front of the sliding doors in my apartment; one problem I have is ice buildup locking the doors closed when it gets cold. (<-20C) When warmer than that, it's even worse: the cold glass builds up a tonne of condensation, which can lead to mold buildup. Not sure what do do about that, other than make sure the curtains come open and air the space out fairly often, and wipe down the windows every so often. (Have a dryer apt, I guess-- but then I couldn't dry all my clothes on racks)

meadow lark

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Re: Insulate Sliding Glass Doors?
« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2013, 11:09:32 AM »
Www.thewarmcompany.com .  Has the "warm windows" system.  They give instructions and sell kits to make side drawn insulated shades.  The other option - buy a better slidingglass door.  I don't feel much of any temperature difference when I stand near mine.

michaelrecycles

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Re: Insulate Sliding Glass Doors?
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2013, 11:06:32 AM »
Thanks for the ideas!

Welmoed

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Re: Insulate Sliding Glass Doors?
« Reply #5 on: February 01, 2013, 08:49:46 AM »
You need to stop the convection current caused by warm air hitting the glass and sinking, drawing more warm air behind it. Hanging a cornice board above the door will help a lot. This is like a box, with top, front and sides made out of wood. You can staple batting and fabric over it to make it look nice. Make it wide enough to cover the rail of any curtain or blind. Insulated curtains will help, but they need to hang close enough to the glass (like an inch) so that the cushion of air between the glass and the curtain doesn't get warm enough to cause problems.
--Welmoed