Tinting Your Folding Doors: Why and How
If you’ve just recently installed a set of folding doors in your home or business, then you’re no doubt pleased with all of the extra light that they let into your space. However, sometimes, they can let a little bit too much light into your space.
Thankfully, tinting your folding doors is easy, straightforward, and relatively affordable! While some folding doors may come tinted from the factory (if you did a customer order), most of them are delivered and installed untinted. This means that you’ll usually need to hire a company that specializes in installing custom tints on residential and commercial windows.
So, after receiving questions on the topic all summer long, we decided that now was the perfect time to put together a short blog post detailing the advantages of tinting your glass folding doors and how to go about getting them tinted. It’s time to get you some shade!
Why Tint Your Folding Glass Doors?
Perhaps you’re still not sold on tinting your folding door system. Maybe your spouse mentioned it, but you’re not sure if it’s worth the investment. So, that being said, here are some of the top reasons why people choose to get their folding doors tinted.
1) It Makes Them More Energy-Efficient
If you want energy-efficient folding doors, then the best thing that you can do is to have them tinted! This is especially true if you live in an area that experiences extremely hot or extremely cold temperatures.
In order to make your home as energy-efficient as possible, you’ll want to keep the temperature on the inside of your home as steady as possible. If you’re losing valuable A/C or hot air through a large glass folding door, that means your furnace or air conditioner is going to be working double-time to make up for the difference. Not exactly efficient, right?
A good ceramic window tint not only provides you with extra shade but also resists temperature change. Essentially, it keeps the hot sunrays from penetrating and refracting through your glass door. It can also work the other way to keep your air temperature on the inside!
2) It Gives You More Privacy
If you’ve got nosey neighbors, then installing a tint on your windows can be a great way to give yourself and your family a little bit more privacy. You can even install a one-way tint on your folding glass doors that will allow you to see out while preventing anybody else from seeing inside.
3) It Protects The Glass
If you recently purchased a set of glass folding doors for your home or office, then you know just how expensive they can be. Unfortunately, scratches and cracks in the windows are almost never covered by your warranty and may be too small to claim under your home insurance policy.
This means that tinting your folding doors (even if it’s just a light, barely noticeable tint) provides an extra layer of protection for your glass windows. The next time that a pebble comes flying into your glass or your dog tries to scratch the door, they won’t be able to directly damage the glass surface.
4) It Can Provide Unique Lighting
In addition to keeping your home’s temperature more stable, providing privacy, and protecting the glass, window tints can also give your interior space a whole new look. You can install a “spectrally-selective” tint that will only allow certain wavelengths to penetrate through the glass.
The effect is like adding a filter to a camera lens! You can make your space appear more vivid with warmer colors or let in cooler colors for a calming effect.
How To Tint Your Folding Doors: The Options
Alright, so now that you have some reasons why here’s how to tint your folding doors!
Option #1: DIY
If you’ve got the patience, then tinting your glass folding doors can be a relatively easy process. You’ll just need to source your tint from a high-quality source, make sure that the roll is big enough to cover the entire windowpane, and use some basic tools.
Here’s a great video detailing how to tint a glass window, if you’re trying to save some money:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96mqivCR-rU
The good news is that if you mess up, you’re not going to damage your folding doors! You’ll just have to deal with an ugly tint job that can be easily removed and redone.
Option #2: Hire A Tinting Company
If you’re not confident enough to tint your own glass folding doors, then your best bet is to just hire a company that specializes in tinting home glass doors and windows. They’ll usually be able to source high-quality tints and help you decide on the best type of window tint for your folding doors. Installation is usually quick and most home tinting companies are quite affordable for the value.