Glass doors in the interior: tips for selection and installation

Recommendation points

• Features of the use of glass doors in the interior
• Prices and manufacturers
• What is the difference between quality and fake
• Features of installing glass doors
• Fittings: locks, hinges, boxes
• Operation and care

Advanced methods of processing materials have made glass doors not a luxury, but a stylish and affordable attribute of modern spaces. In this article, we will reveal questions about the types of doors, the features of their installation, safety and rules of operation in residential and office premises..

Features of the use of glass doors in the interior

In modern interior design, a great way has appeared to rid the room of isolation and visually expand the space. Glass doors are becoming more and more popular not only because of their high aesthetic value. This material is practical enough to be used universally. At the same time, the use of glass doors requires a thorough approach, both in architectural and design planning..

The main feature of glass doors is that they let in a lot of light. This factor must be taken into account for the correct placement of doorways relative to windows and when placing lighting fixtures in adjacent rooms. With an ideal layout, there will be enough light in the interior during the daytime, while at night the lights on will not disturb the rest of the residents..

From the point of view of interior design, everything is somewhat more complicated. Of course, glass paraphernalia in modern style solutions is more than appropriate, but everyone needs to know when to stop. The best solution would be to duplicate glass in other design details using mirrors, glass shelves and furniture elements..

In the traditional version, a glass door is a smooth transparent or translucent canvas, possibly with matting or laser printing. This option definitely looks good when decorated in a modern or high-tech style and is completely out of place in a classic design. For such cases, manufacturers have a number of solutions that involve complex printing, stained glass, art painting or applying amalgam of different shades..

Prices and manufacturers

Glass doors should not be considered an unjustified luxury. If only because the price of the cheapest canvas is 4–5 thousand rubles, which is equivalent to the cost of a solid MDF door. Inexpensive door options cannot boast of an exquisite design, their appearance is strict and minimalistic.

In the range of 6-10 thousand rubles, there are doors with matt tinting, including those under metal or bronze. The pattern on them is simple and monochrome; in some models, inserts of a different color or shade may be present. The use of doors from this price category is quite versatile..

More specific canvases cost 12-16 thousand rubles and more. In the models from this series, you can find rather complex printing and exclusive style solutions, gold finish, options with figured and textured embossing are possible.

Most furniture showrooms either have their own production line or order cloths from glass factories. The exception is European-made doors, but the price of one such canvas starts at $ 250.

What is the difference between quality and fake

Although the technology of manufacturing glass doors has been studied enough, their production on outdated equipment leads to a significant decrease in quality, and this is very unsafe.

For doors, special tempered glass or triplex is used. The first type has increased impact resistance, but this material is very fragile. When tempered glass is broken, it crumbles into small fragments with blunt edges, which cannot be injured. Triplex has a transparent plastic gasket and does not crumble when broken, the door can be used even if there are cracks.

There are few external signs indicating low quality. First of all, there is a discrepancy between the thickness and linear dimensions or their large error. The difference in the lengths of opposite sides of the glass sheet should not exceed 0.04%, that is, not more than 0.4 mm per meter.

The second sign is the presence of acoustic ringing irregularity. When hitting the glass with a hard object, it should emit a sound without bouncing and wave attenuation, indicating an uneven structure or the presence of many points of internal stress.

In general, the buyer will only need to check the relevance and authenticity of the certificates of conformity, as well as learn more about the place of production.

Features of installing glass doors

Special preparation of the opening for the glass door is not required, but it is important to have a solid base at the top and on the floor. The exact dimensions are also critical: the glass door cannot be fitted to the frame. Therefore, all possible tolerances are accepted only in the ascending direction, and the platbands mask the formed gap.

The weight of the glass panel is comparable to that of a solid wood panel and is significantly higher than that of an MDF door. The glass door is harder to hold, and installers use suction cup holders for this. The home craftsman can be helped by two assistants who will support the door on belts during the fastening process.

Usually, the door is delivered completely assembled from the passenger compartment. The canvas must be removed and the box installed in the opening, or the parts of the support mechanism must be fixed. After that, the door, on which the mechanical holders are already fixed, is installed and adjusted according to the installation diagram.

Fittings: locks, hinges, boxes

The most popular are pendulum mechanisms that provide double-sided opening of the canvas. The hardware includes two hinges, one of which has an automatic door closer and is attached to the floor, the second is located on the ceiling or the top of the doorway.

The sliding doors are suspended on a rail mounted just above the doorway. Their advantage is space saving and complete safety when closing.

There is also a more familiar way of fastening – with the help of side hinges. One movable part is either attached to the glass or soldered into the canvas, the other is fixed to the frame of the doorway.

It is better to choose fittings separately from the canvas, most modern mechanisms are designed for a glass thickness of 8 mm, this is the main standard in the production of glass sheets. Preference should be given to fittings made in Germany (DORMA, MWE), Taiwan (GCC, GMT, HaiDeli) or Italy (MetalGlass).

Linear elements of frames for glass doors can be made of wood (MDF) or aluminum. The latter are more preferable in terms of reliability and strength, and are better suited from an aesthetic point of view. Wooden moldings are cheaper, but prone to getting wet and dry.

Operation and care

Glass doors require careful handling and quickly lose their attractive appearance if residents are not used to grabbing only handles. No special products are required to clean the doors, a spray for washing glass is excellent, preferably containing ammonia.

In the course of operation, the doors need to be adjusted in a timely manner, they respond extremely negatively to the draft of the building. In addition, it is important to control the recommended gap between the glass and the opening, otherwise the door can jam at one moment and it will collapse..