If you have a pet, then you know how annoying it can be to constantly open and close the door to let him or her in and out. However, you don't want to leave your dog or cat stuck outside, especially in inclement weather. A pet door can be a great solution. Don't want to cut holes in your front door or wall? There are sliding glass door pet doors for this very problem.
Also called patio pet doors, these doors are manufactured as part of a panel that has been sized to fit into the track of your existing sliding glass door. Pet doors of this kind are simple to install, requiring few to no tools. Some, called temporary installations, are spring loaded and can be simply placed into the space they need to fill. You can get this type of patio pet door in three and four season varieties. Four season pet doors are intended for use all year round, and the panels they sit in have double paned glass for insulation. Three season pet doors have only a single pane of glass, and are meant to be taken out once it gets cold.
You can also get installations of this type of pet door that are meant to be a little more permanent. While all pet doors for sliding glass doors are removable, semi-permanent doors install using bolts or other hardware, and stay put until you remove them. This makes them a bit more secure than the temporary kind, although they do require more time and energy to install. You'll find that most of the doors of this type are four season doors, as it's easier to leave the pet door in the door track than to remove it once a year.
Remember to measure your pet and your sliding glass door carefully before you buy. While most pet door panels are adjustable, they can only fit a certain range of door tracks. Be sure that the model you buy will fit snugly into the space you require. In addition, buy a sliding glass pet door that has neither too much nor too little space for your dog or cat. If the door is too high, your pet could trip going out. Too small, and you could find that your large pet shakes the door on the way outside, or even gets stuck!
One big benefit of sliding glass door pet door inserts over conventional through he door or through the wall pet doors is that they are less expensive. They generally run twenty or more dollars cheaper than regular pet doors, and are easier to install. However, they can be less secure than an ordinary pet door, as the panel is also easy to remove. If you're going on a long vacation, or are worried about intruders, it might be a good idea to remove your pet door for the duration.
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