Whether you’re shopping for pre-fabricated folding doors or working with a manufacturer to customize your own folding doors, one of the most important design aspects to keep in mind is the sightline.

The smaller the sightline of the folding door, the more seamless the doors will be and the closer more connected you’ll feel to the outdoors. The larger the sightline is, the more your doors will create a “barrier.”

Generally speaking, smaller sightlines are more desirable and are a good sign of high-quality door materials and engineering. In today’s post, we’ll give you a brief but detailed explanation of how folding door sightlines work, how they’re measured, and why they matter.

Folding Door Sightline Explained

Folding door systems typically consist of at least three door panel aligned in parallel but may feature up to seven door panels or more. Some folding door systems can even span up to 50-feet wide!

The sightline of the doors is the point where there the doorframe panels meet in the middle. This is usually the same place where two door panels are linked together and fold inward on themselves as well.

How Is Folding Door Sightline Measured?

The folding door sightline is measured by combining the width of the doorframe where the two doors meet. For example, if one door has a doorframe width of 3 inches, then the sightline where the two doors meet will be 6 inches.

Generally speaking, a 6-inch sightline is considered a bit large. Larger sightlines can be indicative of low-quality doorframe materials or poor engineering.

Slimmer sightlines are generally regarded as higher-quality and utilize industry-leading doorframes that feature a high strength-to-weight ratio. This translates to a smaller, thinner doorframe that’s just as strong as larger doorframes in a lower-quality door system.

What Doorframe Material Is Best For A Slimmer Sightline?

If you’re looking for a slim doorframe, then your best bet is to go with an aluminum doorframe. Aluminum is easily one of the most popular doorframe materials on the market due to the fact that’s it’s incredibly strong, ultra-lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and can be painted any color.

Advantages Of Slim Sightlines

Wondering what the advantages of a slim sightline are? Well, here’s why it’s important and why slim sightlines are something that you should look for when shopping.

1) More Light In Your Home

For one, slim sightlines let more light into your home. The larger your sightline is, the more natural lighting is blocked from being able to get into your home.

2) Seamless “Glass Wall” Feel

Possibly the best reason to purchase a set of folding doors with a slim sightline is that they’ll contribute to that seamless “glass wall” feel that truly makes your space feel more open and free.

3) Less Maintenance

Last but not least, the slimmer your doorframe is, the less maintenance it will require! Even aluminum doorframes will need to be re-painted periodically. However, since they have a reduced sightline, there’s not as much surface that you’ll have to paint over.

Conclusion

Slim sightlines are the best way to create a folding door system that looks ultra-modern and contemporary. The smaller your doorframe is, the more light will get in your home and the more connected you’ll feel to the outside world. By choosing a strong, lightweight doorframe material like aluminum, you’ll have the high-tech, futuristic folding door system of your dreams!