If you’ve been watching HGTV or your favorite YouTube home renovation show, then you’ve no doubt seen your fair share of folding door installations. They’re usually installed as part of a major porch or patio overhaul and make for a great entranceway for your bedroom deck or leading into your backyard.

However, what many people don’t know is that folding doors can be installed almost anywhere in your house. If you have the vision, then the right contractor and architect can make it happen. What about installing a set of folding doors as the main entrance to a home, though? Is that plausible?

Well, we’re here to tell you that it is! While it’s not exactly a common request, we have seen it more than a few times, especially in luxury resort-style homes that really want to create an open, close-to-nature experience for their guests.

Are Folding Doors Practical To Use As A Main Entrance For Your Home?

The first concern that most people have in regards to installing a folding door system as the main front entrance to their home is whether or not it’s practical. Although folding door systems are designed to be incredibly efficient, nobody wants to have to slide a bunch of door panels to the side and close them again every time that they want to walk in and out of the house.

However, almost all folding door systems on the market today feature a standard swinging door that can be used as the regular entry/exit. This means that you don’t have to worry about constantly opening and closing the entire system every time you want to go out. You’ll be able to leave all of the other door panels closed while using the regular swinging door.

Are There Any Safety Concerns?

The second common concern that homeowners have is in regard to how safe it is to use folding doors as the main entrance. Most residential front doors are designed to be strong, secure, and private, to dissuade burglars or criminals from trying to break in.

How To Make Your Folding Doors More Secure

Thankfully, there are a number of different things that you can do to make your folding doors more secure! Let’s take a look.

Use A Multi-Point Locking System

Most modern exterior folding doors feature a multi-point locking system. Unlike a traditional cylinder or deadbolt lock, these systems feature numerous latch points throughout the door system. So, when you turn the key, the door will be secured from several different points, not just one weak point at the handle. This makes it harder for your lock to be picked and provides more resistance if somebody tries to push your door open.

Install Shatter-Proof Glass

If you’re concerned about burglars trying to smash your glass doors open, you can always install shatter-proof glass. This is commonly installed in hurricane-proof folding door systems and prevents the glass from falling out of the doorframe even if it is shattered or cracked. All of the glass will stay in-place until a professional can remove it and replace it.

Install A Laser Alarm System

You can also try installing a laser alarm system that you can arm whenever you’re not home. Essentially it works by creating a “laser wall” just behind the surface of the glass. If the surface of the glass is pushed in, shattered, or a body tries to pass through the laser, it will trigger an alarm.

What About Privacy?

Last but not least, what about your personal privacy? If the idea of a transparent glass front door isn’t exactly appealing to you, then you can custom-order your folding door system with sandblasted or laser-etched privacy glass. This will still allow plenty of natural light through, while blocking the mailman’s view inside of your home.

Conclusion

While it may not be common to install glass folding door systems as the front entrance of a home, it’s not unheard of. As long as you customize your folding doors with some enhanced security, then you should have no problems using folding doors as your main front entrance!