We did not expect patio door grilles to start an argument.
Grilles are the bars that divide a pane of glass into smaller sections. Whether to put them on a new patio door sounds like a small decision. But it’s not. Grilles change how a door looks against your house, how much you see through it, and how much work it takes to keep clean. Neither answer is wrong, but one of them is usually right for your home.
What happened
We posted a before and after of a patio door replacement we did in Holly Springs. The old door had traditional, colonial grilles. The new one has clear glass, with no grilles.
The post has gotten about 3,200 likes so far, which is a lot for a window and door company. It also got a comment section that split right down the middle. Half the commenters preferred the new door. Half preferred the old one.
Everyone was arguing about taste. But taste is actually not what led the homeowner to choose to skip the grilles on the new door.
Why that door does not have grilles
The old door was poorly built and poorly installed. It leaked air, and the homeowner had been paying for that in her energy bills every month for years.
Once she was choosing a new door, she wanted blinds between the glass. You can see them in the after photo, stacked at the top of each panel.
Homeowners may want blinds between the glass for a variety of reasons. You may want them because you have pets, or because you have small children. Or, you may just want to never worry about dirty or broken blinds.
Blinds between the glass stay clean and don’t break because they sit inside the sealed glass unit. So do grilles between the glass. That means you can’t have both in the same unit.
This homeowner knew she wanted blinds between the glass. She could have added grilles applied to the outside of the glass, but she didn’t want to clean around them for the next twenty years.
What most people don’t know before they order
That trade-off surprises almost everyone. People come in thinking grilles are a style decision they can make at the end, once everything else is settled. Quite often it gets decided for them by something else they already wanted.
If blinds between the glass matter to you, decide that first. Everything else follows from it.
Why people like grilles
They match the house. Colonial, Cape Cod, and traditional homes usually have grilles in the windows. A patio door with clear glass sitting beside windows with grilles can look like it wandered in from somewhere else.
They break up a big blank pane. A large sheet of glass with nothing in it can feel flat. Grilles give your eye something to land on.
They hide what’s behind them. A grille pattern disguises a cluttered porch better than clear glass does.
Why people like clear glass
You see more. No bars across the view. If you’re looking at woods or a nice backyard, you have a lovely, unobscured view.
More light gets in. Grilles block a small amount of daylight. Not much, but not nothing.
It’s easier to clean. This is the practical one people forget. Grilles between the glass sit inside the sealed unit, so there’s nothing to wipe around. Grilles applied to the surface are a different story, and you’ll be cleaning around every bar for as long as you own the door.
Cleaner lines. If your house leans modern, transitional, or farmhouse, clear glass usually looks right.
Five things to weigh before you decide
1. Do you want blinds between the glass? Settle this first, because it settles the grille question for you. Blinds between the glass and grilles between the glass can’t go in the same sealed unit. However, you can still have grilles applied to the outside of the door glass.
2. What do the rest of your windows look like? Matching your own house beats following a trend. If your windows have grilles and you’re not replacing them, a clear glass door may stand out.
3. What are you actually looking at? A patio door facing mature trees is a different decision from one facing a fence six feet away. If the view is good, clear glass protects it. If there isn’t much to see, grilles take nothing away from you.
4. Who’s cleaning it? Be honest with yourself. If grilles applied to the surface are going to annoy you every spring, either choose grilles between the glass or skip them.
5. What will the next owner think? Grille patterns go in and out of style. Clear glass tends to age better, so it’s the safer choice if you might sell in the next several years.
If you want some of both
The choice isn’t always permanent. Some patio doors are offered with removable grilles, so you can live with the look for a while and take them off if you tire of it. Availability varies by manufacturer and by door line, so ask us to check before you count on it.
If privacy is what’s pulling you toward grilles, blinds between the glass solve that better, and they add nothing to clean.
What we tell homeowners in Holly Springs
We don’t push one look over the other. We’ve installed plenty of both, and the doors we’re proudest of are the ones that homeowners are happy with.
If you want us to walk your home and look at your doors with you, schedule a visit using the calendar below. No pressure, no hard sell.
See more of what we do on our door replacement page.
