Best Doors and Glass Options for a Sunroom | Duralum
Volume 5 Issue 21
Best Doors and Glass Options for a Sunroom
Choose a sunroom door by how people will walk through the room. Glass is a separate decision, set by your climate and the direction each wall faces. Most of a sunroom wall is glass, so these two choices shape the view and the comfort of the room.
Duralum has manufactured patio products in the USA since 1962 and sells its sunrooms through certified dealers across the country. This guide uses the Duralife door and glass choices as examples.
Door styles for a sunroom
Duralife sunrooms are offered with a standard door, full-light doors, half-moon designer doors, French-style doors, and sliding doors.
Sliding glass doors
A sliding door moves along a track and needs no floor space to open. It fits where furniture sits close to the doorway or the patio outside is narrow. One panel is fixed, so the walk-through opening is about half the width of the door. Duralife lists sliding doors in 5 foot and 6 foot widths.
French doors
French doors are two hinged panels that meet in the middle. With both panels open, the full width of the frame is clear, which is useful when you move furniture. The panels need room to swing, so mark that arc on the floor plan before you place a sofa near it.
Full-light single doors
A full-light door is a single hinged door with glass over most of its height. It keeps the view and takes the least wall space, which suits a side wall used as the everyday route to the yard.
Half-moon and standard doors
Half-moon doors have a half-round window in the upper part, and the Duralife brochure shows them in single and double versions. Choose one, or the standard door, for a wall where privacy matters more than the view.
What to check on a hinged door
The Duralife brochure describes its hinged doors as steel clad, with a magnetic gasket that seals around the whole door. Full-length hinges spread the weight so the door does not sag. Ask about the seal and the hinges on any sunroom door you are quoted.
Glass in a door has to be safety glazing. A federal standard, 16 CFR Part 1201, covers the glazing used in doors, storm doors, and patio-type sliding glass doors. Local building codes add rules for large panes near the floor, so confirm the glass type for each wall with your dealer.
Glass options for a sunroom
Four features separate one glass package from another: the panes, the coating, the fill, and the frame.
Number of panes
Single-pane glass suits a room used in mild weather only. Insulated glazing has two or more panes with a sealed space between them. The U.S. Department of Energy notes that insulated glazing lowers both heat loss and solar heat gain. Duralife sunrooms use 5/8-inch Dura-Ble dual pane glass.
If open air matters more to you than a closed room, DuraScreen screened rooms use insect screen panels and a screen door in place of glass.
Low-E coatings
A low-emissivity coating is a thin layer on the glass that lowers the U-factor of the window. Some coatings are also spectrally selective. The Department of Energy says these filter out 40% to 70% of the heat normally transmitted through insulated glass while allowing the full amount of daylight. The Duralife brochure lists Low-E insulated glass as standard in its windows.
Gas fill and spacers
The space between the panes can hold air or an inert gas. The Department of Energy says argon is the most common fill because it is inexpensive and performs well in a typical half-inch space. Ask whether the unit in your quote is gas-filled and what kind of spacer holds the panes apart.
Frames and thermal breaks
Aluminum conducts heat quickly. For that reason, the Department of Energy says metal frames should have a thermal break, an insulating strip between the inside and outside of the frame. The Duralife brochure describes its windows as fully thermally broken.
Our article on sunroom comfort in hot climates covers the shading and ventilation choices that work alongside the glass.
Four ratings to ask for
The Department of Energy calls the National Fenestration Rating Council label a reliable way to compare windows and doors. Ask your dealer for these figures on the glass package in your quote:
- U-factor: the rate of non-solar heat flow through the unit. Lower numbers insulate better.
- Solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC): the fraction of solar radiation that gets through. Lower numbers admit less heat from the sun.
- Visible transmittance (VT): the fraction of visible light that gets through. Higher numbers give a brighter room.
- Air leakage: the rate of air movement around the unit. Lower numbers mean a tighter seal.
Match the glass to each wall
The Department of Energy says the right SHGC depends on your climate, the orientation of the glass, and any outside shading. In a hot climate, walls that face south or west take the most sun, and a lower SHGC keeps more of that heat out. In a cold climate, winter sun through south glass is welcome, and a higher SHGC can suit that wall.
Duralife rooms come with all-glass walls or with a mix of glass and solid sections. The brochure shows insulated knee wall panels, glass transoms above and below the windows, and windows five feet tall in widths from 36 to 60 inches.
Before you sign the order
Ask for the door list and the glass specification in writing, then check them against these points:
- Door style, width, and swing direction for each opening
- U-factor, SHGC, and VT for the glass
- Whether the glass is Low-E and gas-filled
- Which panes are safety glazing
- What the warranty says about glass seals and door hardware
Duralife sunrooms carry a lifetime warranty that transfers to the next homeowner. It applies only when an authorized contractor installs the room.
A certified Duralum dealer handles delivery and installation, so raise local code questions with them early.
Frequently asked questions
1) What is the best glass for a year-round sunroom?
Insulated dual pane glass with a Low-E coating is the common pick for a room used in every season. Compare the U-factor and SHGC of each package against your climate and the direction the glass faces.
2) Are sliding doors or French doors better for a sunroom?
Sliding doors suit tight spaces because nothing swings into the room. French doors give a wider clear opening when both panels are open.
3) Does sunroom glass have to be tempered?
Glazing in doors and patio-type sliding doors must meet the federal safety standard in 16 CFR Part 1201, and tempered glass is one common way to meet it. Requirements for fixed panes depend on local code, so ask your dealer which panes in your design are safety glazing.
4) Will Low-E glass make my sunroom darker?
Not necessarily. Spectrally selective Low-E coatings are designed to filter heat while letting daylight through. The visible transmittance figure on the label tells you how much light a given glass admits.
5) Can a sunroom have more than one door?
Yes. A common layout has one door to the patio and a second on a side wall. Settle the layout with your dealer before the room is ordered.
Conclusion
A floor plan with the door swings marked, plus a note of which way each wall faces, will settle most of these choices. Bring both to the first meeting with your dealer.
To get the door and glass choices for your own room in writing, request a Duralum quote.