What Are The Origins Of Sliding Glass Doors?

Are you ready for a history lesson? We’ll try to keep this light and upbeat to peak your interests.

What is the definition of a Sliding Glass Door?

Sliding Glass Door

• A sliding glass door or patio door, is a type of sliding door in architecture and construction, is a large glass window opening in a structure that provides door access from a room to the outdoors, fresh air, and copious natural light.

Sliding Doors have been recorded as early as first century CE in Roman houses as evidence in archeological finds in Pompeii. These first doors (and some still today) were hung from the ceiling and slided over a beam on rollers. This allowed the doors to move easily. This type of door also lended to more space in an area because there is almost no room required to open the door. It is perhaps out of this functionality that these doors were later designed into Patio Doors.

The Sliding Glass or Patio Doors we know today came around during the pre-war era during the start of the 20th century, and were developed heavily until the start of World War II. Historians have speculated that these doors were fashioned after Japanese doors called Shoji. A sliding translucent door which was hung by a wood framecialis online.

This door was engineered and modernized with glass and sturdy materials. This developed into what we know as the Sliding Glass Door today. You might have a picture in your head of exactly what it looks like already.

New builders and manufacturers during that time wanted to create a seamless space between landscape and home. This transformed their designs into trackless systems where wheels were placed on the bottoms of doors instead of top. These Patio doors became the “it” doors in hotels, condominiums and homes.

Today the advancements in technology have allowed the sliding glass door to become;

• Energy Efficient
• Strong and Durable (able to hold up against the elements)
• Double, single or quadruple paned depending on your preference
• Coated with patented formulas which cover the glass to ensure it’s extremely UV resistant
• Gas Filled for more energy efficiency
• More Beautiful and shiny
• More practical with ease of operation and locking mechanisms
• 100% Customizable to whatever your tastes and likings are

(Just one small pitch--our doors at Conservation Construction have this and so much more! Like Easy Clean Coating!)

So there you have it, Patio Doors today have come a long long way from where they started in ancient Rome. They come in multiple styles today too. The French Door (created by the French with center hinge options available).

These doors have come a long way and if you want your old patio door to catch up to today’s standards, give us a call. We give free estimates and we promise not to quiz you on the history of patio doors just to get it.

Thanks for reading. Even if you are simply looking for information or if you are seriously considering replacing your old Sliding Glass Door we really appreciate you reading the article. We’ll see you next week. Have a great weekend!!!