Adding Patio Doors in an Existing Wall

What a difference a door makes . It’s a bold move to replace a window and adding a patio door and one that pays off handsomely in livability. When it’s time to upgrade your old windows, be strategic and look at your home with a fresh eye. Are there rooms in your home that can be visibly enhanced with a different style window or door? Adding sliding patio doors in an existing wall is not difficult. Check out this project in the West Chicago suburbs.

Connecting interior to exterior spaces utilizing patio and French patio doors from Marvin, Andersen, Pella or other Woodland brand selections is a remodeling trend with many benefits that go beyond adding natural light into your home. You’ll also be creating a panoramic view, which naturally extends the open feeling of a room.

This beautiful traditional style home in West Chicago, typical of earlier construction, had just one door off the back of their home accessible from the family living areas. In order to access their patio and barbeque they had to walk around through the screened porch. Replacing a window by adding the Marvin Ultimate Sliding French Patio Door was the perfect remodel design for their home.

Today, homebuilders are installing taller and wider doors in order to both make a room seem larger and to connect the home to the outdoors. A standard sliding patio door is 5’ x 6’8”. Do a little research about patio sliders or French swing door(s) and you’ll find a plethora of options such as, French style with two, three or four-panel configurations and 8ft, 9ft, 10ft heights. With some brands, 8ft heights is a standard door size. Select the tallest doors your room can accommodate functionally and aesthetically.

Creating the remodel of your dreams begins with education about windows and doors. A window / door specialist needs to see your project. Every project will have its own particulars, which an experienced expert will identify upfront, such as the need for a permit where applicable or a contractor if it’s not a simple cut-out. You may want to investigate your city’s permit requirements before getting a quote, or get some measurements and ideas to take to the city for their guidance. A permit for simply adding a sliding patio door is fairly easy to obtain. Most window installers are trained and experienced with opening a wall, but it is important that the area around the new door is properly reframed, which heavily depends on the expertise of your installers.

Marvin’s Remodeling Guide for simplifying window and door replacement is a great place to orient you to the many remodeling options.