Difference Between an Aluminum and a Vinyl Patio Door

Posted by Heiwhite on August 16th, 2023

You can easily allow your dog into and out of the house with an insulated dog door for sliding glass doors. However, before purchasing a pet door patio panel, you need to know the difference between aluminum patio doors and vinyl patio doors.

You can choose between aluminum or vinyl frames for your sliding glass pet door, so you can choose the material that's right for your home. A vinyl panel, such as the Endura Flap Severe Weather Vinyl Sliding Glass Dog Door and its custom height version, is more compatible with vinyl sliding glass doors, whereas an aluminum panel is more compatible with aluminum sliding glass doors.

This might seem like an obvious idea, but it's not always clear what kind of sliding glass door you have! Below, we'll outline how to choose the right dog door for aluminum sliding patio doors and vinyl sliding patio doors:

Sliding doors made of aluminum or vinyl

Differences and similarities between vinyl and aluminum pet doors

Pet doors with Endura Flaps for patio panels

Slider pet door installation guides

How to Identify Your Sliding Door Material

Identifying whether your sliding glass door has an aluminum or vinyl frame is the first step in choosing a patio pet door.

You can identify the material of your slider by tapping it with your fingers or a pen. The noise will tell you what material it’s made of. If it makes a panging noise like a frying pan, it is aluminum. If it makes a muted thunk, it is vinyl.

Another way to guess the material is by measuring the track and looking at the wall thickness. Vinyl frames will have thicker tracks and will be wider. Due to the different thicknesses and measurements of different door brands, this method is less accurate than tapping. There is no standard sliding glass door, but this may indicate which frame material yours uses. Get more info about best aluminum windows factory China.

Aluminum vs. vinyl sliding pet doors

You need to know the material of your sliding door frame before choosing a pet door panel. Vinyl and aluminum patio doors have a 1" thick panel, while vinyl panels have a 1.5" thick panel.

If you want to guess at the material, you can measure the track and look at the wall thickness. It is less accurate than taping because different door brands will have different thicknesses and measurements. Vinyl frames will have thicker frames and wider tracks. Standard sliding glass doors do not exist.

Sliding doors made of aluminum are more common and standard, especially in older homes, where aluminum doors are cheaper and require little to no maintenance over a long period of time. The track width of aluminum sliders is usually smaller than the track width of vinyl sliders, which are thinner.

The vinyl sliding door is a plastic-based material, but is just as strong as aluminum, and is lighter than aluminum. Due to the fact that vinyl does not transfer heat as much as aluminum, it tends to be more energy efficient. Vinyl sliding doors also tend to have thicker frames and wider tracks than aluminum sliding doors.

Can you use a vinyl panel with your aluminum slider?

Your sliding door track might be 1.5 inches thick. You could install a vinyl panel pet door since the track width would accommodate it. However, the thick vinyl framing wouldn't match the slider material, making it less appealing.

Although a vinyl sliding door track could accommodate an aluminum pet door panel with the right track width, the framing would not match and the pet door panel would not fit as securely. For more info about aluminum windows factory.

Vinyl panels only max out at 80.25", so we may recommend aluminum panels for vinyl sliders if you have an unusually tall track height.