Architectural designs around these designer-living additions tend to be contemporary in style but the design also has to take into account its environment close to a residential pool area.
When specifying sliding doors by swimming pools, there are many factors that need to be taken into account such as the frame finish, glass specification and threshold details.
KELLER minimal windows are used regularly by designers to the rear of properties leading onto an external pool, as sliding glass doors to pool houses, internally to separate a pool climate with the homes or as minimally framed sliding glass walls surrounding internal pools.
Thanks to the slim framing of the minimal windows sliding system, any internal pool can be expertly merged with the outside making the internal pool feel as if it is outside. The sliding glass walls can also be slid open in warmer months to create the illusion of an external pool area.
Steel vs Timber vs Aluminium Glazing by Pools
As the air in swimming pool environments has high levels of moisture, meaning choosing the right framing materials for sliding doors by swimming pools is essential.
Timber can warp due to temperature changes (similarly to uPVC) and due to moisture. This can be detrimental when used in any part of the building, but especially when it’s used for glazing frames and the deflection can damage the glazing.
When exposed to high levels of moisture, steel framed glazing can begin to rust. Steel frames require a great amount of maintenance as they must be treated and checked regularly in a normal environment.
When steel sliding doors by swimming pools are used, this must be undertaken more often to prohibit the natural occurrence of rust and corrosion that steel can be plagued with if not kept protected.
Aluminium has natural rust and corrosion resistant properties, making it ideal for high moisture environments, especially when the frames are pre-anodised and then finished with a polyester powder coating as this results in an extremely durable frame.
Marine Grade Glazing
When specifying sliding doors by swimming pools, due to the environment you also need to make sure that the frames are protected against the harsher climate of the pool. Whether you are creating a chlorine-based pool or a saltwater pool, there will be additional corrosive elements in the air.
The aluminium framing of the minimal windows is finished with a marine grade PPC as standard. This is a robust powder coated finish able to protect the aluminium frames from the harsher environments of home swimming pools.
For additional protection, you could specify the frames to be pre-anodised. We recommend this if the sliding doors are being used by a saltwater swimming pool.
Rules and Regulations for Glazing Around Pools
If the sliding doors by swimming pools are within 2m of the pool, it is best practice to use laminated glass for any poolside facing glazing.
This is to protect the pool filtration system. If the broken glass were to enter the filtration system it could cause damage.
For this reason, we do recommend the inclusion of a laminated glass pane in any minimal window near the swimming pool. It is completely up to the specifier whether they choose to do this or not.
If you are including a laminated pane into your minimal window installation, we recommend using the minimal windows 4+. The slightly deeper sliding door system has more space to include thicker glass units and allows for the additional thickness of a laminated glass pane.
Thresholds for Bare Feet
When using the KELLER minimal windows as sliding doors leading to an external pool their flush threshold track is an excellent design aspect. The shallow, flush base tracks are comfortable to walk over in bare feet giving easy access to any external pool areas.
You could also want to consider a completely flush sliding door threshold using the Freeway base option from KELLER. This base provides a completely flat threshold to the door with no sliding track visible on the floor. The result is a comfortable, step free transition from the poolside back inside.
Our minimal windows sliding door systems are certified for barrier free access, DIN 18040-1, DIN 18040-2.
Stop Condensation Build Up on the Glass
All number of modern, electrical glass solutions can be integrated into the KELLER minimal windows framing to ensure the performance required.
Heated Glass is a popular option for sliding glass doors surrounding pool areas. An electrically constructive coating is applied to the interior of the glass construction, when an electrical current is passed through the internal coating it created a radiant heat that warms the top surface of the glass.
This is a great option for pool designs as no condensation can build up on the warm glass surfaces.
Heated glass can be expertly integrated into a minimal windows sliding door system by our architectural glazing experts. Your minimal windows supplier (IQ Glass in the UK) will be able to advise on the specifics of including electrically heated glass into your poolside sliding doors.
Low Maintenance Glass Sliding Doors by Swimming Pools
Another addition to the specification that might be useful is a low maintenance glass coating, on the pool side of the glass sliding doors. This specialist coating created an extremely smooth surface for the sliding glass, making it more difficult for deposits to stick to the glass and making it easier to clean.
For pool environments where there are additional chemicals in the air, these low maintenance coatings can make sliding glass doors easier to clean and reduce the amount of cleaning required for the glass.
Are you interested in using the minimal windows system for your own swimming pool project?
Shannon Normoyle
As one of the Senior Marketing Executives, Shannon oversees the website and SEO management and can often be found working on SEO strategies or writing content for the websites.
