Doors
Entry, patio and screen doors
Sliding, French, bi-fold, entry and security screen, with what each one needs from your opening.
The full list
5 door types, drawn the way they open
Each drawing shows how the door operates and which way it moves. Every page says what that type asks of your opening before it says anything else.
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Sliding Patio
Large glass panels glide horizontally on a track, connecting a living space to the backyard, the same glazing rules as a window apply to all that glass.
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French
Two hinged panels swing open from the center, giving a traditional look and a full-width opening, the tradeoff is more seams to keep airtight than a slider.
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Multi-Slide & Bi-Fold
Several large glass panels stack or fold to the side, opening most of a wall to the outdoors, a bigger commitment structurally than a standard patio door.
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Entry
The front door and its frame, often the single biggest source of air leakage in a house, where threshold and weatherstripping quality outweigh the glass.
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Security Screen
A secondary door mounted outside an entry or patio door, combining a view-through mesh or bars with a lock, built to leave the main door open safely.
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How to choose
Start with the opening, not the door
How wide is the opening, does that wall carry load, and is there room for a panel to swing on both sides? Those three answers narrow the list faster than any showroom will. A slider needs no clearance and gives you about half the width. A French pair gives the full width and wants room inside and out. A multi-slide or a bi-fold opens most of the wall and usually needs an engineered header, which makes it a permit job.
Entry doors are decided by the frame and the threshold more than by the slab. If the door sticks in summer and rattles in winter, the frame is telling you something, and swapping the door alone will not fix it. A security screen is the piece that lets you leave any of these open at nine at night, which is when the Inland Empire finally cools off.
Find out what your house actually needs
A real measurement, a real number, and a straight answer about what is worth doing first. No obligation.