How often do you keep your patio doors open?

We are putting an extension onto our brownstone with an all-glass back wall, about 9’H x 15’W.  We want to put in either sliding glass doors or the bi – fold accordian-style doors you see at nanawall.com.  My question is to those of you who have this kind of door or large windows without screens — How often do conditions permit you to leave those doors open?  We imagine there are times in Spring and Fall when weather permits and the mosquitos are not bad.  We want to have parties or playdates where we would be able to just leave them open and not have to worry about being eaten alive.  They will open from our main living area to the backyard, and we do plan on having a veg garden.  There will be screened windows either above or to the side, so we aren’t worried about ventilation.  How often we can leave unscreened doors open will help us decide what kind of door to buy.  Anyone want to comment?  Thank you.

lilireno

in Doors & Windows 13 years and 5 months ago

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NeoGrec | 13 years and 5 months ago

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Our situation is slightly different — just an oversized door out onto the deck from the rear parlor. We have always been plagued by mosquitoes in the back yard and I hated how stuffy our parlor floor could get in summer. Last fall we installed an Eclipse retractable screen door (retractablescreen.com), supplied by LWP on 3rd Ave. It runs in a track — imagine a roller shade turned on its side. It sits between the actual door and the gate so we can leave the door open with the gate locked and ventilate the parlor floor even when we’re not in the house. So far, it’s been terrific. I’m slightly nervous about how the track will hold up and other wear and tear issues but I guess we’ll see over time. Perhaps not the solution for everyone but worth checking out. Thanks to DIBS for pointing us in this direction.

renoishard2 | 13 years and 5 months ago

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I have similar setup from Marvin: 2 fixed panels (4′ W) on the sides, 2 sliders (4′ W) with screens in the middle.  Cost $12-15k I think. They work well.  The glass is very good (noise and sound insulation, UV, etc).  Tiny bugs can still get through on occassion.  There’s no way I could leave the doors open without screens at any time of the year.   When the sliders are open, it looks and feels kind of like the room is open (8′ W) to the outside.   I hadn’t heard about retractable screens.  Sounds interesting but I wonder how they’ll stand up to constant opening and closing.  So far, the sliding screens have given no trouble (3 years, not heavy use).   If you have 9×15′ of glass that can open, do you really need windows on the sides too?  Maybe make it the glass a full 9×20?   Prob cheaper.   Good luck.

Silvermax | 13 years and 5 months ago

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Not just mosquitoes, but squirrels, stray cats, June bugs, maybe even creeping charlie, if you’re truly unlucky. You’re going to want some kind of screen, retractable or otherwise.

marie-helene | 13 years and 5 months ago

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I have a double set of 4-panel sliding doors (2 x 10″ w x 9′), and I usually leave at least one set open (with the screen) unless I am running the AC.  The first year we didn’t put the screens, and then we got a squirrel in the living room.  Although it was a one-off, it cured us of leaving the doors wide open without the screens. It’s really lovely to have a cross-breeze, but not so nice to go hunting for mosquitoes.

wyckoff | 13 years and 5 months ago

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What Putnam said.  There are no good times to leave your house open on the ground floor without screens. Asian Tiger Mosquitos are relentless.   Probably the first time you leave those doors open for a party will also be the last.

Putnamdenizen | 13 years and 5 months ago

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Honestly we get attacked by mosquitos all the time.  I think any opening needs to have screens.  You can always leave them open for those big parties where you just don’t care.

jockdeboeraia | 13 years and 5 months ago

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Keep in mind you can get a retracting screen for the entire opening so you get the best of both.

Augustiner | 13 years and 5 months ago

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I had to make the same decision.
Nanawall is very expensive, you can inquire a quote on their website. I think they quoted me 28k for a parlor wall opening, excluding install.
Sliding doors were not an option, I personally find most of them uncomfortable and unsafe.

I went with a triple glazed wood tilt & turn bifold. These are tilt& turn and have insect screens included, so that you can tilt them and the bugs stay out.
My 6’x7′ bifold with one side tilt function will cost less than $ 3.000 inc. shipping and screens.
If you are interested let me know and I get you in contact with the manufacturer to make you a quote for the whole 9’15’ wall according to your architectural plans.