We need multiple 9′ tall, 6′ wide sliding glass doors for a remodel. I can not find anything other than ridiculous pricing. How dumb am I to and get them from Alibaba? They will even deliver them by balloon.
MikefromtheMountainsofUtah
| Posted in General Discussion on
I got some quotes from manufacturers that I could see have 10+ years of operating and it looks like 4 of the doors would be around $1500 / door shipped to us.
I’ll say, the quality of the doors look excellent. Thermally broken, aluminum framed. Lift and slide like the fancy ones in Europe.
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Lot more to windows than those factors. All "thermopanes" have those characteristics. Go to the Cardinal glass company website and you'll see the technology that allows them to give a 20 year warranty to window companies. (Many window companies buy their glass from Cardinal and simply put a frame around it.) Coatings, Argon filled, etc are also very important for energy efficiency.
Yes, that's about the price. Windows are expensive.
surely you've made a typo and meant to say $15,000/door correct? That would be a reasonable cost to choke on and reconsider. $1500 for a 9x6 lift and lock is a fantastic price, and anything less than is going to end up costing you considerably more down the road because it simply wouldn't be built right.
For comparison, we installed similar sized doors for a client before the current market inflation we're seeing and they were $65,000 installed (in canadian pesos). Now, these were higher end, triple glazed and had a bi-fold mechanism so little bit apples to oranges here but you get the gist.
If $1500/door seems ridiculous one should reconsider needs vs desires and refocus finances towards more realistic goals. One option might be to install a single door, and install fixed windows to match and make up the rest of the space. Could even design it in such a way that you could upgrade to the doors later on and resell the windows.
Doors built in the USA were around $10k each. The doors from alibaba are $1500 each. The problem I have found looking in the USA is that although I can go 6’wide and 8’ tall easily, 9 feet tall goes to some super custom side that makes the price jump. It sounds like the manufacturers in china custom make the door either way so going 9 feet tall is no big deal.
There are things to think about down the line.
Parts.
More than glass (thickness, spacers and films, rollers, hinges if “special”, window glazing parts, etc.
American jobs.
How about a transom window above the doors to get 9' of glazing?
We considered that but prefer to go full glass if possible to maximize the view
Shorten the doors to standard and increase the transom’s height. Same amount of glass roughly but MAYBE lower cost?
You know what plasticizers are? They make plastic, well, plastic. You know how some Chinese products turn brittle and crack shortly after putting them in use?
Think cost - they're expensive. They outgas and are exposed in a high-UV environment; that window you expected to last 30 years, the frame shattered after 3. Rememember dropping a toy part and have it shatter upon impact? That's a plastic that became less so due to choices made on the quality/materials front at manufacture.
I'd guess *some* of the Alibaba windows are just fine. Finding them may be a crapshoot.