Basics Of Decorative Glass For Premium Entry Doors

Learn The Basics Of Decorative Glass
For Premium Entry Doors

We Always Help Homeowners Get The Right Glass
To Suit Their New Front Door System

Decorative glass (sometimes referred to as ‘leaded glass’) is an important topic for Orange County homeowners looking to invest in a premium new entry door system. We get asked about this topic on a very regular basis, so in this article, we’re going to look at the basics.

What Is Decorative Glass?

It means glass with some kind of design vs. basic privacy glass.

It can have multiple textures, it comes sandwiched between two panes of regular glass (making it triple-pane), and it’s combined with caming – a lined pattern – that’s either black, silver, or in some cases, gold.

Does It Dramatically Increase The Price Of The Door System?

To some degree, yes. Although it’s not necessarily on account of the decorative glass, but the amount of glass in the door in general. From there, it has to do with the type of glass. Typically, most folks keep the decorative glass on the minimal side.

Just remember, the more glass there is in the door, the more light that’s going to come through. And while it might be nice to get a lot of decorative glass, some folks have security concerns. They also don’t want the cleaning and maintenance that comes along with it.

  • Single Door: Generally $4,000-$6,000 installed. As you add more glass, you move towards the higher end of that price range.
  • Double Door: Generally $8,000-$10,000 installed. As you add more glass, you move towards the higher end of that price range.

What’s The Most Common?

Here at Today’s Entry Doors, we find that half-glass options are the most common. This is usually because people want to show off as much as they can without going full-glass. The other issue is that we do a LOT of special-sized double doors (30-inches), which is somewhat unique for our area. In the rest of the country, this size is harder to come by.

Let’s look at some examples from Our Entry Door Galleries. We’ll start with a three-quarter glass door.

An Example Door With Three-Quarter Decorative Glass

What we have there are classic 8-Foot Tall Fiberglass Exterior Double Doors. They’re from Therma-Tru, they have nice smooth skin, and they’ve been factory-painted Cranberry. The glass is Saratoga with crushed nickel caming and satin nickel hardware.

Now let’s look at a Craftsman Front Door with only the top 3rd of the door sporting decorative glass. This particular model is from Jeld-Wen, with an oak texture, “X” glass design and shelf, and it’s been stained Carmel with antiquing. We installed this one in Westminster, CA.

Craftsman-Style With Top 3rd Decorative Glass

How about full decorative glass? Sure thing! Below are more classic-styled double entry doors from Therma-Tru. They also have nice smooth skin that’s been factory-painted Vineyard. The glass is fullite Blackstone glass with brushed nickel caming. We installed these in Anaheim, CA.

Full Decorative Glass Example

The last example we’ll look at is half-glass. It’s a 60”x80” double entry door system from Masonite. The glass is Harlow glass with antique black caming, an oak grain, and antique oak factory staining. We installed these doors in Laguna Hills, CA.

Example Door With Half Glass

One Important Thing To Note About Manufacturers

All entry door manufacturers have extensive catalogs with sections covering their decorative glass where they’ll go into the details, show their patterns, and discuss the type of glass and caming options. They also give you a privacy rating that’s usually on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being completely clear glass and 10 being total privacy glass.

Here’s what you need to know: those ratings can be VERY subjective. Because in any decorative glass design, it’s going to include clear bevels – square, oval, or circular glass you can see right through.

Be wary of manufacturer ratings. In our experience, if it says 9, it’s likely not a 9. But don’t be too concerned. Just look at the design and decide how private or not you think it’s going to be. When we get a chance to chat with you and help you put the full design together, we’ll ensure you get the exact amount of privacy you want.

Bottom Line: Decorative Glass Is A Great Upgrade

Decorative glass is beautiful and can really help to transform your entryway just exactly how you want it to be. If you live in or around Orange County and have questions or you’re interested, reach out and Contact Today’s Entry Doors.

We know everything there is to know, and we have decades of experience. Our friendly office staff will be happy to give you all the information you need. Thanks for your time, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

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