Glass Door Guide
Glass material plays an important role in the interior design of many modern homes, and glass doors are one of the most prominent examples. As an architect, contractor or designer, your clients may request this door style, and it helps to understand the full extent of options you can choose from. For more information about the different kinds of interior glass doors available, we will discuss some of the most popular options below.
Why Choose Glass Interior Doors?
In addition to the aesthetic appeal glass interior doors offer, they provide many practical advantages for homeowners. Below are some of the greatest benefits of glass doors:
1. They Allow More Light to Pass Through Homes
One of the greatest benefits of exterior windows and skylights is that they help distribute natural light around the home, making the rooms look bigger than they are. Interior glass doors are popular for the same reason and are commonly found in apartments where owners want to make their interior space look bigger.
​
Glass interior doors work especially well in entryways into open-plan surroundings, like dining and living rooms. Here, they allow natural light to flow through the rooms and into hallways, making spaces throughout homes feel larger. Interior glass doors also help with bringing rooms together, which can be much harder to achieve with traditional paneled doors.
2. They Allow Homeowners to See From One Room Into Another
A glass door's transparency allows homeowners to keep an eye on things in other rooms with greater ease. For instance, someone cooking in the kitchen with kids playing in the family room could keep an eye on the little ones while making progress on meal preparations. This gives homeowners peace of mind while enabling more practical use of their space.
3. They Reflect Sound
Another advantage of glass interior doors is their ability to reflect sound, meaning they are especially suitable for noisier spaces such as game rooms and entertainment rooms. The addition of glass doors, especially double-paned glass doors, can help create a sound-insulated area that is perfect for watching movies and sporting events.
​
If glass doors will only be installed in a couple of rooms of a home, the doors should be installed in the rooms where they will provide the most sound-dampening benefits.
4. They Offer a Modern Look
Glass doors give a home interior a sleek, modern appearance. If the current interior doors in a home are dated, upgrading them to modern glass doors is a great way to give the home's interior a contemporary refresh.
5. They Help With Communication
If the rooms in a home are divided by glass doors, it can make nonverbal communication much easier between people in different rooms. Doors and walls can constrain the space at times, whereas glass doors open the space up more and remove these barriers.
There are many different types of residential and commercial glass doors, the most common of which we will cover in this section:
1. French Doors
French doors are one of the most well-known styles of interior glass doors. These visually appealing doors work well in many areas around the house. While French doors are commonly used as exterior doors leading out to a patio, they also work well as interior doors, such as at the entrances to dining rooms or leading into an interior garden area. French interior doors make a space more visually stunning, and their appeal is timeless
2. Double-Paned Glass Doors
Whereas single-paned glass doors feature just one pane or sheet of glass, double glass interior doors have two separate glass panes that are separated by a thin gas layer that has insulating properties. This insulating gas reduces the transfer of heat traveling from one side of the door to the other.
​
For example, say it is winter and there there are some unused areas in a house separated by double-paned glass doors. To save money on their heating bill, a homeowner can close the doors to unused rooms. These highly energy-efficient doors will ensure there is little heat flow when the doors are shut, saving money on energy costs.
​
Doors with double-paned glass are also useful for dampening noise coming from the outside or from other rooms in a house. Additionally, double-paned glass reduces condensation, which significantly lowers the chances of mold growth.
3. Sliding Glass Doors
Sliding glass interior doors provide all the benefits of transparency while also saving space. The space-saving aspect of interior sliding glass doors creates a seamless, smooth flow throughout a home. Whereas any other door type opens out — potentially restricting the aesthetics and flow of a home — sliding glass doors recess into the walls and are concealed.
4. Glass Shower Doors
For showers, one of the most important decisions to be made is whether to install a curtain or glass doors to contain the shower water. While many people opt for the more economical shower curtain, they are often unaware of the many advantages that a glass shower door provides. These benefits include:
-
Appearance: Many people consider the shower to be the focal point of the bathroom, as it is often the first thing people notice when entering. Accordingly, a glass shower door can improve the entire aesthetic of a bathroom on its own.
-
Customizability: Today, there are more glass shower door options than ever before, allowing you to pick the glass type that is as transparent or as private as your client likes. You can also choose between frameless and framed designs, as well as between sliding glass doors and those that open out. In short, it is easy to find a design that perfectly suits the tastes and needs of any person.
-
Less mess: If you have ever showered in a shower with a curtain, you are probably familiar with the experience of stepping out and finding a puddle on the floor. Most curtains allow shower water to escape the tub easily, but with glass enclosures, this is much less likely to happen.
-
Less water damage: Although bathrooms are generally designed to withstand large amounts of water and moisture, puddles on the floor could still cause damage to bathroom flooring. By opting for glass shower doors, these puddles will not have a chance to form, thereby protecting your client's floors.
-
Cleaner shower: Shower curtains are made of plastic, and plastic clings to the shower's side when it is damp. This situation can lead to mold and mildew growth in a tub, which is unattractive and can also be hazardous to one's health. With a glass shower door, hidden mildew or mold growth will not be a concern because homeowners can always clearly see anything that is lingering on the tub. Since all surfaces are exposed with a glass shower door, they can also dry more easily. And unlike a shower curtain, glass can be cleaned more easily — homeowners simply need to use some warm soapy water.
-
Healthier: Although its use has been largely discontinued, the harmful chemical PVC is still found in some shower curtains. The main issue with PVC is that it contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other toxins that can damage the central nervous system and kidneys as well as induce headaches and nausea. Even if a shower curtain does not have PVC liners, there is still a good chance it contains ethylene vinyl acetate, a chemical that is harmful to the environment.
-
No recurring costs: When comparing the cost of a glass door to that of a shower curtain, the shower curtain is noticeably less expensive. However, as shower curtains must be frequently replaced, the cost over the years can add up. By investing in a glass door enclosure, there will never be any need to replace it. The only additional expense is buying a few cleaning products every now and then to help maintain its appearance.
Glass Design
Just as there are a variety of glass door types, there are also a number of glass styles. Some of the most popular glass types for interior doors include:
​
-
Frosted glass: Frosted glass is a general term used to describe any glass that has a frosted appearance and tends to scatter or diffuse incident light. Frosted glass can be made using various methods, such as using abrasives, etching with chemicals, incorporating or attaching translucent films, engraving and application of decals or ceramic inks.
-
Mirrored glass: Mirrored glass refers to glass with a treatment on its surface to create a mirrored or reflective quality.
-
Clear glass: This is what most people think of when imagining glass. It is completely transparent and features no additives or visible tint.
-
Patterned glass: This type of glass features a pattern or texture that has been imprinted on it at a high temperature when still in the malleable or molten state. Alternative names include obscure or textured glass.
-
Decorative glass: Decorative or ornamental glass refers to any type of glass that serves more than a functional purpose, especially if it was made to be attractive or transform the space where it has been installed. Common uses of decorative glass in doors include colored, frosted, textured or stained glass.
-
Beveled glass: Beveled glass features edges that have been cut and polished at a certain angle and size to look more elegant. As a result, beveled glass is thinner around its edges, while its middle portion stays the normal thickness.
-
Cast glass: Cast glass is characterized by its textured surface. This surface is created by putting molten glass in a mold and pressing it.
Glass Installation Process
If you have a hollow core door that your client would like to add panes of glass to, you can follow the steps below:
​
-
Cut the panels out of the door: When you cut these panels out, make sure the cuts are extremely straight and square. You can accomplish this with a guide clamped to your door with Kreg face clamps. To complete the cutting, you can use a variety of tools, although we recommend a vibrating multi-tool.
-
Flip the door over: Once you have made your cuts on one side, flip the door over and repeat. The result will be a complete hole in the door where the panes will be installed.
-
Reinforce the door: Although the door may appear ready for the glass to be inserted, you must first close the open edges off while reinforcing the door. Consider cutting strips from a pine one-by-four and then inserting the strips around your open edge. The strips must be exactly the same width as the opening around the door's cut edge.
-
Attach the strips to the openings: Glue your cut strips in the openings, making sure the strips are flush with the edge of the door's cut edges.
-
Create window stop trim: Next, you will need to make the window stop molding, which will hold the glass in place. This molding should have a square edge and a small lip to go over the door's cut edge. Make enough pieces so that they can cover the entire opening of the door.
-
Attach window stop trim: Once you have made all your window stop trim pieces, miter the corners and dry fit all the pieces. Once you know that all the pieces fit in place, apply large beads of wood glue to the window stops and install them with 1-inch nails.
-
Install the glass: Install your piece of glass, which must exactly fit the dimensions of the opening. Since you cannot nail into glass, the window stop molding pieces you just installed will be the only things holding the glass in place. To ensure the glass does not shift, you can caulk around the gap around the outside of the glass.
Partner With Us for High-Quality Modern Interior Glass Doors
For high-performance, attractive interior glass wood doors, partner with us at DoorStop, the premier wood door distributor in the Tri-State area. Our team of innovative door specialists boasts over eight decades of combined experience in the industry and is passionate about providing you durable, attractive and well-manufactured wood doors with glass.
We can coordinate custom glass doors to your specifications in conveniently fast lead times. To receive a quote, contact us using our form today.
