Aluminum Patio Doors Continued...

If you have indoor-outdoor pets that may scratch at your patio doors, then aluminum may not be the best solution for patio doors. However, a scratching pet can be a problem for any type of patio door material. Wood will eventually splinter and wear away.

I, personally, have three dogs that regularly use the backyard. The dogs are in the habit of scratching at the patio doors when they are ready to come back in. They also scratch from the inside when they want to be let out. We've found a solution for both sides of the patio doors that is effective and simple enough to implement.

Simply purchase sections of Plexiglas that are wide and tall enough to cover each of your patio doors that pets have access to. You can use an electric drill to affix the Plexiglas pieces to your door with screws. You may find it easiest to place slim wood pieces between the doors and pieces of Plexiglas. These can be either squares with at least half an inch clearance around each screw, or strips that run along the top and bottom edges of the Plexiglas pieces.

We've found the Plexiglas solution to be a wonderful way of dealing with the dog scratching problem. It only took a few minutes to fix up each patio door, and now we don't have to worry about damage to our patio doors from our dogs. There is one door to the garage from the backyard that we did not protect with Plexiglas, and it is clearly worn and needing replacement soon. It's amazing how quickly scratching dogs can tear through a wooden door.

If you don't want to bother with covering your patio doors with Plexiglas, and aren't worried about minor dents and dings, then perhaps aluminum patio doors are still the best option for you. Though even aluminum patio doors will probably require repainting eventually, they will certainly last much longer than traditional wood patio doors. You may not have to repaint for several years.

There are also patio doors made of alternative building materials. Some of these materials are mixtures of wood fiber, recycled shopping bag plastic, and some type of plastic or resin that binds the entire mixture together. These types of patio doors can be a great alternative, as they don't use up natural resources, do incorporate recycled materials, and are much more durable than particle board or comparable patio doors.

As with most home improvement projects, researching on the internet can really help you find out which products are likeliest to complete your individual project, and comparison shop, but in the end only you know which products are go into fit your budget, lifestyle and particular concerns.