Indoor-outdoor living is an increasingly popular trend amongst homeowners. Particularly in harsh climates, moving glass walls make the integration of indoor living space and nature possible.
Designed with large movable panels, moving glass walls open interiors up to warm daylight, gentle breezes and beautiful views. Aluminum is a popular material choice for moving glass wall construction because of its durability and attractive aesthetic qualities. Architects and builders have specified aluminum for its narrow sight lines and low-profile frames. The clean lines of aluminum, combined with the design of moving glass walls, create the illusion of a larger space, bringing together divided areas and expanding the peripheral view. Many homeowners choose aluminum because of the feel of the material and because it may not require painting.
Tacoma, Wash.-based Milgard’s Moving Glass Wall Systems seamlessly integrate your home’s interior and outdoor living space. This innovative line of moving glass walls is available in three design options, each with a different operating style to provide a unique entrance experience.
Multi-Stacking. A wall of glass panels that offer sweeping outdoor views and floods the room with natural light. These multi-stacking glass walls neatly stack on top of one fixed panel to open. Milgard multi-stacking doors are available in two or three moving panel configurations with one fixed panel for opening widths between 9 and 20 feet.
Bi-Fold. Milgard Bi-Fold doors open wide to connect indoor-outdoor spaces or expand into another room. The door employs a bottom-loaded operation which eliminates the need for a structural header. Panels are connected by hinges and each door panel simply folds on top of the adjacent panel to open. Choose from three panels up to six panel openings to add style and elegance to the space.
Pocketing. Pocketing door panels, when fully open, slide into the wall and completely disappear from view. Because of this operation feature, pocketing doors adds more floor space than hinged doors. By concealing the open door panels into the wall, the design allows for completely unobstructed space to maximize views and air filtration. Pocketing doors offer a seamless transition from room to room or close off areas by acting as a wall.
Milgard Moving Glass Wall Systems seamlessly integrate with the other Milgard windows and patio doors in your home to provide a complete, unified look. Clear anodized, bronze anodized, white and tan frame colors are popular and used for a variety of design treatments. Milgard Moving Glass Walls interiors feature aluminum or clad wood with Clear Vertical Grain Douglas Fir or Pine.
In the past, moving glass walls were only a custom option in high-end homes. Milgard Moving Glass Walls are available in standard sizes, which brings affordable luxury to nearly any home. Even in tract homes, moving glass walls can add a touch of elegance and enlarge the amount of perceived space. As the trend for smaller, more efficient homes grows, moving glass walls can expand the square footage in smaller homes by creating new indoor-outdoor living spaces.
It is important to note aluminum is not recommended for salt air environments or coastal applications. Traditional aluminum windows and doors are best suited for milder climates, though Milgard has a line of thermally broken aluminum that is used in projects as far north as Alaska. To minimize corrosion in salt-air climates, Milgard offers a stainless steel hardware system. Thermally broken aluminum features high-performance insulating glass, which provides improved energy efficiency in cooler climates.
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Karen Davis is an architectural specifications representative at Milgard Windows & Doors, Tacoma, Wash. For more information, visit www.milgard.com.