We purchased our home three years ago. The one thing that drew us to the home is the doorwalls. We have two large doorwalls on the main wall leading in to our home. One is in the living room and one is in the dining room. They are opposite a large french door. The light in the home along with the openness of the space and a large deck were all we needed to determine we could make this place a home. The only thing that could have made it any better is if the existing doorwalls featured blinds between the glass.
There are benefits and drawbacks to any home. The same is true with any feature within the home. Doorwalls are one of those features people either love because of the advantages they provide or hate because of the disadvantages. One thing I know is that doorwalls offer the features of windows and doors which add to their attractiveness to me.
Benefits
- Space Savers: Doorwalls use less space than doors because they eliminate the area needed to open and close the door. This means that things can be placed close to the doorwall without interfering with the function of the door. This is great for living spaces when you need all the space you can get out of the room.
- Illusions: Sliding glass doors make your space appear larger and give it the open air feel smaller living areas need and bigger areas room to breathe. Doorwalls also lets the natural light in which gives a warm feel to the space.
- Doorwalls are very easy to keep clean. You need just a bottle of Windex and some paper towel unlike regular doors which require maintenance in the form of weatherization. This could include caulking, staining or painting.
- Doorwalls also do something no other home feature can do without sacrificing the homes efficiency and that is bringing the outdoor feel in. The large open doorwall lets the scenic view of your landscape in without losing heat or air conditioning.
Drawbacks
- Window Treatments: This is in the drawback category for me only because I have animals. The main type of window treatment is vertical blinds. The animals love to run into them, bending them all up, just to look and see what is outside. At night we close the shades so this always poses a problem. The solution would be to purchase doorwalls featuring blinds between the glass if you have pets living with you and you want to avoid this problem.
- Sun Damage: Often if doorwalls are left open and you are in an area that gets a lot of sun the furniture in view of the door will fade. This is also an issue for the flooring. The best thing to do if this is the case with the placement of your doorwall is to use throw rugs and to place furniture out of direct sunlight.
- Replacement Parts/Maintenance: Screen doors off of doorwalls often need to be replaced and if the seal in the actual doorwalls break or a crack develops it is costly to repair.
- Cleaning doorwalls to me is a benefit but for those of you that live in states with unbearable cold and heat might not agree. You do have to physically go outside to clean them. Also, it is sometimes difficult to completely clean out the tracks. They can become littered with debris ranging from dead bugs to dirt debris and will need to be kept clean.
There are many benefits and drawbacks to the different features within your home. Doorwalls are no different. When choosing the features within your home you really need to consider your wants and needs. Your family will be the ones to live in it and enjoy the benefits and drawbacks to your choices so you need to be happy with them. In the long term I would like to purchase replacement windows and doorwalls featuring blinds between the glass. I would totally love the luxury of not having to worry about my kids and cats tearing up the window treatments.