Whether you’re doing a renovation project or looking for ways to increase the value of your home, allowing access to your outdoor entertaining area or patio area is a big feature most home buyers or homeowners really look for. Having the right door to access to your backyard or outdoor patio can really open up your home, allow more fresh air to come through and also let natural light in to make your house cosier. Stacker and sliding doors are a great option and, depending on your style will determine which type of door you will go with.
This post discusses the differences between stacker and sliding doors to help you make an informed decision.
What is the difference between a stacker door and a sliding door?
Sliding doors are the most commonly used type of door in a home and also the type that you’re mostly likely to be familiar with. They have two door panels, one is fixed and one or more slide. The sliding door opens horizontally along a track, whilst the fixed panel doesn’t move at all.
Stacking doors are completely different from sliding doors. How it works is how it sounds. The doors are stacked one behind the other as they slide along.
To paint a picture, say you had a 6-panel stacker door installed in your home. One of the panels at either end would be fixed, and then four of the panels would be sliding, two slide in one direction and the two slide in the other direction. The most common style of stacker door is three panels, where one panel is fixed and the other two panels are sliding.
The benefits of sliding doors
Sliding doors are great to access patio areas. You can simply open the sliding door to invite fresh air into your home and enjoy the breeze. You can have the option of a fly screen sliding door that prevents anything flying or blowing through, which is great to have in the summertime.
Glass sliding doors that are installed facing the backyard or where the sun rises are a great way of opening more space in the house. This can help save money on your electricity bill to reduce the use of artificial lighting.
The benefits of stacker doors
Stacker doors provide more space, better access to the backyard or balcony and extra light. Much like the benefits of a sliding door where you can really open up a room, stacker doors actually allow you to control the amount of air or space that you desire. The panels of a stacker door are a lot more smaller than say a sliding door.
Thus, allowing you to open 1 panel out of the 6 stacker doors, instead of having to open one half of your sliding door. It’s also easier to leave open when you’re entertaining and require guests entering and exiting the kitchen or patio area. It allows more open space for an area that is quite small by creating more room to move.
On that note, if you need to move large furniture or bigger items into your home, you can simply open the stacker doors all the way to the edge of the wall and this will make accessibility so much easier.
So which would be the most suited to me? Stacker or sliding doors?
Both have similar features and benefits. Both are functional and practical. Depending on your needs and wants will depend on which you choose. The notable difference between the two types of doors is that if you require a doorway that is open, wide and has uninterrupting openings, a stacker door is the best option to go with.
For lack of space the best option is a sliding door, because the glass door style opens up the room. Another factor to consider is also the amount of structural work that may be required. This may have a significant impact on the price and budget of the project.
Whatever option you go with, you will find that both types of doors will really help with creating space in your home.
Related: French Doors Pros, Cons and Alternatives
Contributed by:
Dave Bruhl, Managing Director, BetaView Aluminium Doors & Windows
