Plastic balcony doors: description and tips for choosing

Nowadays, plastic doors are most often used to decorate the transition from a room to a balcony. They have quite significant advantages, in comparison with the usual wooden ones, while they are quite inexpensive. It is noteworthy that such materials blend harmoniously with both classic and contemporary interiors.

Among the variety of materials, plastic is the most popular for the manufacture of balcony doors. This is not surprising, because such designs have the following advantages:

• As you know, wooden doors are susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity, plastic does not have the ability to absorb water, is resistant to severe frosts and prolonged heat;
• the plastic structure is quite easy to adjust thanks to the built-in correction mechanisms; in the presence of some working skills, the regulation of the mechanism can even be done independently;
• plastic doors have a low weight and low thermal conductivity - this property is achieved due to the presence of internal cavities;
• the design provides effective protection of dwellings from drafts; double-glazed windows do not allow cold air to enter the room, so even in cold weather in a living room, the air temperature does not drop below +20 degrees;
• plastic construction has a high soundproofing ability;
• the life of plastic balcony doors reaches 40 years, while the design is easily mounted and quickly cleaned.

In accordance with the current legislation, balcony doors made of PVC, must comply with the requirements of GOST adopted in 2002. This standard has been approved in several countries: the Russian Federation, Armenia, Moldova, as well as in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. In our country, GOST has been in circulation since 2003. This document establishes the requirements for the size of PVC balcony doors, the permissible error of the structural parameters of the canvas, profiles, attachments and controls.

According to the document, the threshold of the balcony door should securely fastened mechanically rather than glue. At the same time, the contour of the opening must necessarily be integral - non-compliance with this requirement quickly leads to a bursting of the design threshold.

The standard sets requirements for door imposts - they must be fixed by mechanical connection or welding. The standard establishes certain requirements in relation to the dimensions of the door. So, the area of ​​the opened canvas should not exceed 2.5 square meters. m, and the total size of the door with the narthex should be less than or equal to 6 square meters. m. The maximum permissible mass of the structure is 120 kg. In accordance with GOST, the size of the door leaf is 2.4 x 1.0 m.

A separate variety of plastic balcony doors are metal-plastic constructions with double-glazed windows. As a rule, the glass in them completely fills the door, thereby creating maximum lighting in the living room. The advantages of metal-plastic do not end there, the product is distinguished by the following advantages:

• increased strength due to the welded type of connection of the corner joints;
• high heat and noise insulation provided by double glazing;
• resistance to high humidity and temperature extremes.

The metal-plastic balcony door with glass is a huge window, while the width of the structure can be twice as large as the standard plasticalthough outwardly they may be similar. Doors made of metal-plastic are characterized by increased tightness, comfort and easy to use, and the working mechanism is easily adjustable. Such models do not deform under the influence of precipitation and ultraviolet rays, retain their operational properties for a long time, while they are quite cheap.

Installation of metal-plastic structures is in great demand in modern apartments and cottages, as well as in rooms with poor lighting - glazing looks unusual, but at the same time easy.

From the point of view of design features, several options for balcony doors are distinguished.

• In typical houses are used single-wing swing structures, in which the sash is an independent element and is not connected in any way with the window. At different times of the year, such doors perform various functions: in the summer they allow you to ventilate the room, and in winter retains heat inside the house. Most often, a nearby window is made deaf, which significantly reduces the cost of the entire unit and simplifies window maintenance.
• In wide openings look spectacular double doors. Due to their size, such models look very stylish.
• In modern homes, as well as in hotels, they are popular sliding sliding doors. They are made as an independent design and are not part of the common balcony opening. The main advantage of such solutions is space saving. It does not require free constancy to open the door leaf. The main weight in the structure falls on the lower guides, so that the load is distributed evenly.
• On terraces and summer kitchens, owners most often prefer folding panels and accordions. They are practical, ergonomic, just open and easy to close. However, such options have some installation restrictions, in particular, they are not installed in openings that are too long and too high.

The standard width of the balcony door is 61 cm - It is this value that is established in the current standard. The parameter was developed taking into account the climatic features of the country and the principle of housebuilding of past years. In most of Russia, lingering cold winters predominate, but at the same time, in old multi-storey buildings, balconies were originally conceived as a place to store things, but not for the relaxation of households, so a small opening was enough. Now the functionality of the additional room has expanded significantly, so the doors are wider - up to 80 cm and even more.

When planning to replace an old balcony door with a new PVC construction, you should take into account features of the opening, calculate the estimated cost of replacement. In addition, you should make sure that the manufacturer and dealer have all the necessary certificates of quality and conformity for the manufactured / sold products - DIN, EN, ISO, RAL. When ordering, it will be useful to carefully examine the cut of a plastic product, as well as compare ready-made options with different sets of equipment.

It is very important to make sure proper quality hardware To do this, close and open the sash several times, while the stroke should be smooth and without creaking. Special attention should be paid directly to the double-glazed window. It should not have any defects: cracks, chips and condensate inside, otherwise it will not be able to perform its functions of heat and noise insulation.

The balcony mechanism is subjected to repeated opening and closing every day, so there is absolutely nothing surprising in the fact that over time even the most reliable fittings fail. In addition, under the weight of the double-glazed window, the structure sags sooner or later and, as a result, ceases to close hermetically, which creates a draft in the living room, while even the balcony glazing does not help to cope with it. Normally, the position of the door to the loggia is as follows:

• if the sash is ajar - it does not move spontaneously;
• there is no web displacement;
• when closed, the sash is firmly pressed against the door frame.

If you plan to do the adjustment of the balcony door on your own, then first of all you should determine the causes of the breakdown. Most often they come down to the following:

• in most cases the reason - excess weight of the structure, which leads to its gradual displacement down;
• loosening the handle - this happens when the balcony door is opened too often;
• loose closure - a similar problem leads to a constant draft in the room; usually a consequence of a warp of the main fabric or a malfunction of the hardware itself;
• sash offset sideways - at the same time, the door touches the middle of the frame, the problem boils down to breaking the hinges; the most common cause of the malfunction is temperature changes, which have a negative effect on the fittings for PVC structures.

In the next video, you are waiting for the installation of a plastic PVC window with a balcony door and the decoration of the slopes.