Insulating Around A Sliding Glass Door

Dirt gravel or other debris may prevent the door from sliding and sealing optimally.

Insulating around a sliding glass door.

To achieve the greatest efficiency i ve read that the insulation should be 1 from the glazing on the glass and by my measurements the glass panes do sit in the middle of our heavy 2 wooden door. The insulating panel should be cut to the appropriate measurement taken. Double glazed inserts can be installed to existing sliding doors. The glass itself is a single pane so as you can imagine it isn t much of a barrier to cold air.

The simplest and easiest way to keep your sliding glass door from leaking is by keeping the track and rollers clean. Most modern glass doors with metal frames have a thermal break which is a plastic insulator between inner and outer parts of the frame. Insulated drapes blackout curtains or cellular blinds are just some of the products that can be used to reduce energy loss through your sliding glass doors. The sliding doors have small wheels on them that fit on a track in the unit.

When it gets really cold outside we have a piece of heavy duty clear plastic that we hang over our sliding glass door. The panel should sit on the floor and extend above the top of the door frame. Installing insulation over the stationary glass panel and weatherstripping between the insulation and the sliding glass door effectively seals the sliding glass door from the inside. It should go over the window side and the size should be enough to cover the whole window.

When debris gets trapped in this track or on the wheels it can cause holes in the natural insulation of the sliding doors. Use a rag dipped in warm water to remove any dirt from the bottom of the wheels the window or the track. Measure the sliding door and decide how tall and wide to make your insulating panel. The match to the velcro is on the woodwork of the door.

Measure the sliding window and determine the size of the insulating panel which should cover the top of the door frame down to the floor area. Replace existing curtains with insulating thermal curtains. I cut it to fit the door and put a border of masking tape across the top of the plastic. Remove the sliding doors from the tracks.

It should extend beyond the side of the window and either be wide enough to cover the entire door or stop where the door starts and just cover the non opening part of it. To the masking tape i have four small strips of self sticking velcro. You will have to take the doors apart.