Choosing and installing glass door fittings

Glass partitions or doors are often used in interior design. The use of glass doors makes it possible to make the room fresher, as well as to significantly enlarge it visually. However, any door system cannot function without the use of specialized fasteners and parts. As a result, fittings for a translucent structure are its most important part, requiring a special approach when choosing.

The variety of auxiliary parts and parts (fittings) for doors made of glass is determined by the variety of types of these structures. For example, for all-glass, sliding (sliding) and swing doors, completely different fittings will be required, and this must be taken into account when choosing.

Consider the main types of fittings.

• Fastening. First of all, it includes various types of hinges, most of which do not provide for breaking the integrity of the glass, and are installed without the use of drilling. The canvas is fastened inside by means of a special clamping mechanism. To protect the glass, plastic, adhesive or rubber gaskets are installed in this place.

• Locking. Locks for glass sheets in most cases also do not provide for the use of drilling, and are fixed by means of clamps. Compared to doors made of other materials, glass doors are often equipped with peripheral locks, some of which are installed in the floor or in the ceiling. Their main distinguishing feature is inconspicuousness.

• Opening. Glass door handles come in the form of a bracket (mainly placed in rooms with intensive traffic) or a ball (another name is "knob"). Knobs, as a rule, are used for interior linens, they often have a locking device (latch) in the package.

• Protective. It is a profile mounted from the ends of certain types of glass doors, mainly sliding ones. Often a seal is fixed on it, designed to reduce shock loads, as well as latches (latches).

There is one more component of the fittings - these are door closers, they belong to an additional configuration, and are fixed to the leaves with the help of clamping profiles.

What are the features of glass fittings? Of course, in her design. It is created in relation to the specifics of glass structures. As a result, the design of hinges, handles or locks differs significantly from the design of identical hardware for doors made of other materials.

Designers of glass door fittings extensively use pure metal of various textures: aluminum, polished to a mirror-like state, or polished stainless steel.If the color scheme of the environment of the room or the tone of the glass itself requires this, then elements or parts made of brass made of gold by anodizing are used.

It is much more problematic to select auxiliary parts and details for a translucent door than for a metal or wood one, and, in addition, the cost for them deviates in a large direction. But this is due to several reasons:

• due to the fact that the elements are mounted on a transparent surface, they should look great from all sides;
• not all types of door accessories are suitable for glass;
• higher requirements are imposed on glass door fittings in terms of reliability, since these elements have to become an integral part of a relatively fragile structure.

If for wood doors you can choose the fittings yourself, purchase a canvas, and with the help of a specialist assemble everything into a common structure, then this will not work with glass doors. All stages, from the selection of auxiliary parts and parts, and ending with their installation on the canvas, must be performed by professionals. As a result, these doors are made to order.

According to the method of fixing for translucent doors, only overhead modifications are used. The most common are two types of locks.

• Central. Equipped with a lever handle, used for fabrics with a false bar.

• Corner. Used exclusively for swing doors, manually closed.

Glass door handles can be made from a wide variety of materials such as:

• wood;

• aluminum;

• stainless steel;

• brass;

• bronze.

The cost of hinges for translucent doors is significantly higher than for doors made of wood. The reason for this is the large mass of the glass structure - as a rule, it reaches 40 kilograms. In order for such a door to be reliably held for many years, the hinges are made exclusively from durable materials.

For quiet and smooth closing of the door, a door closer is installed on it. This component of the fittings should not be ignored, since the glass sheet without a closer will serve much less. The use of such a mechanism significantly reduces the wear of the door hinges and the rest of the door hardware. For showers, it can be hinged, for swing doors, on the floor.

The stopper is necessary so that the door does not hit the wall and does not swing wider than necessary. It is usually integrated into the door structure, but can be located on an adjoining wall or even on the floor.

You can install fittings in different ways, we will consider them below.

With your own hands, the most elementary thing will be to install fasteners that do not need drilling. A special plastic seal is included in the kit for auxiliary parts and parts of this type (for each canopy). The mounting process consists of the following steps.

• On the frame of the door structure, it is necessary to make a markup for the fixing points of the hinges.
• Fix fittings in accordance with the markings.
• Put the canvas with a translucent structure. In this case, the inner part of the components must be firmly pressed against the canvas, and the outer clamping bar of the canopy must be additionally fixed with screws.

To obtain maximum strength, it is necessary, among other things, to apply specialized glue along the contour of the fasteners. Then, it is imperative to check the correctness of the installation of the canvas and the fastening parts: the door leaf should be close to the box, and the door itself should move gently. This is how the auxiliary parts and parts are mounted without drilling.

If awnings with drilling were chosen for glass doors, and you have never done this work yourself before, it is better not to experiment, but to call experienced craftsmen for installation work. Glass is a fragile material that requires some careful handling. In addition, it is difficult to properly drill glass in a home environment. For these purposes, specialized equipment is practiced.

If you have experience in working with glass, then you can do this work with your own hands. You will need to mark the holes with a pencil, and then carefully drill them out.

To mount the mechanism on sliding doors, it is better to invite an assistant. The entire installation procedure can be divided into several stages.

• The doorway is thoroughly leveled, and, if necessary, the door frame is mounted. If desired, this element can be replaced with overhead decorative profiles.
• The marking of the place for fixing the upper guides (rail) of the structure is carried out.
• Holes are drilled in the wall and the rail for the sliding door mechanism is fixed. It is mounted exactly parallel to the floors.
• Carriages with holding rollers are mounted and fixed on the door leaf.
• The door snaps onto the rail.
• A supporting groove is installed at the bottom.

After installation, all fastening mechanisms can be adjusted with specialized bolts located on the body of the carriages or awnings. To do this, tighten or relax them with a screwdriver.

For doors made of glass, it is advisable to use overhead locks, since they do not require drilling unnecessary holes that reduce the strength of the glass. It is more rational to use latch handles, since they combine two mechanisms.

Additional elements such as corners and strips, which increase the strength of the door, are fixed with an adhesive, since there is no need for drilling holes and installing bolts.

For information on how to install glass door hinges, see the next video.