A glass door is a door made entirely or largely of glass. In a frameless glass door there is no timber or metal surround and the glass carries the load itself; in a door with a glass infill the glass sits in a frame-like structure. Glass doors admit light and visually connect spaces with one another.
Application
Glass doors are used as an internal door between living and working spaces, as access to conservatories and gardens, and in offices and shops. They enlarge the sense of space and let daylight reach further inside. Popular variants are the pivot door, the sliding door and the swing door, each with its own glass fittings.
For frameless glass doors, toughened glass is almost always used, in which the holes for the fittings are drilled before toughening. The fittings are then clamped onto the glass with rubber interlayers.
Characteristics
A glass door must be of safety glass: toughened glass (which on breaking falls apart into small, blunt granules) or laminated glass (which stays stuck to the interlayer). This prevents injury on impact or breakage. Other points are the weight of the glass for hinges and floor springs, the sound insulation and the fitting of markings, so that one does not accidentally walk into the transparent door.
Related terms
- door
- glass
- glass fittings
- insulating glass
- internal door
- glazing
Learn more about building terms in our knowledge base at fredsdiyplans.com.