Vertical blinds are one of the best things you can put on a sliding door, because the vanes stack to the side and you walk straight through without lifting anything. Most of the trouble people have with them comes down to two things: the stack on the wrong side, and a track that sits too close to the door handle.
Why verticals work on a slider
A sliding door gets opened all day. A roller blind has to go right up before anyone can get through, and on a door that is a long, heavy drop.
With a vertical you draw the vanes back as far as you need, sometimes just wide enough to step through, and leave the rest closed. The vanes also turn, so with the door shut you can angle them to take the glare off the glass and still see out to the yard.
A roller only goes up or down, so the only way to change the light is to move the whole blind. We compare the two in roller blinds vs vertical blinds.
Stack the vanes on the fixed panel side
Most sliding doors have one fixed panel and one that moves. The stack belongs over the fixed panel, so when the door slides open the walkway is clear and nobody is pushing through a bundle of vanes on the way to the clothesline.
Get it backwards and the stack sits in the doorway. It sounds obvious, but it is easy to miss when a blind is ordered from a sketch.
Stacker doors and doors that open from the middle are different. On a stacker, the vanes go to the same side the glass panels stack to. Where two panels part in the centre, a centre split works better, with the vanes parting in the middle and stacking to both ends.
The stack takes up room. On a standard door expect it to cover a few hundred millimetres of glass, a little less with wider vanes because there are fewer of them. If there is wall beside the frame, the track can run past it on the stack side so the bundle sits over the wall instead of the view.
Clearing the handle and the frame
Sliding door handles stick out further than people expect. A vane that catches the handle every time it turns will be creased within a few months, so on most doors the track is face fitted above the frame and set far enough off the wall for the vanes to swing past.
When the vanes turn, each one swings through half its width on either side of the track. A wider vane needs more room in front of the handle, which matters on doors with a chunky pull handle or a deep frame.
At the bottom, most fitters leave the vanes about 10 to 20mm off the floor. Closer than that and they drag on carpet or catch the door track. Higher and you get a line of light along the floor.
Bottom chain or chainless
Fabric vanes usually carry a small weight at the bottom and a fine chain linking them together. The chain keeps them in a straight line and stops them flapping when the door is open on a windy afternoon.
On a busy door that chain has a downside. Kids and dogs push through the vanes instead of walking around them, and a chain can snap or tangle when that happens. A chainless finish lets each vane swing back into place on its own, at the cost of more movement in a breeze.
Here is how we decide it. If the door cops a southerly or a sea breeze, keep the chain. If it is the dog’s way in and out, leave it off.
Wand or cord and chain controls
A wand control does both jobs with one stick. You twist it to turn the vanes and walk it along to open or close the stack, and there are no loops hanging near the floor.
Cord and chain controls are the traditional setup, with a cord to draw the blind across and a chain to tilt the vanes. Under the Australian safety standard both have to be tensioned or fixed to the wall, which matters on a door where children play. Our guide to child safe blinds explains the rules.
Controls normally go on the stack side, so they are out of the walkway when the blind is open.
Picking a fabric for a door
Living room sliders usually suit a light filtering fabric that softens the light without making the room gloomy. A bedroom slider wants blockout, though even blockout vanes let a little light past the edges and where the vanes overlap.
West facing glass doors take the worst of a Sydney summer. Turning the vanes against the low afternoon sun makes a real difference to the glare, and in winter the thermal insulation option helps keep the heat in.
PVC vanes wipe clean and suit a door off the kitchen or the laundry, where wet hands and splashes are part of the day.
We make our vertical blinds in our own Sydney factory, so the track is cut to your door and the stack side, vane width and control side are set at the measure. For rough sizes first, read how to measure for vertical blinds, or browse the vertical blinds range and our other window blinds. When you are ready, Book a free measure and quote and we will sort the stack side standing at your door.
Common questions
Which side should vertical blinds stack on a sliding door?
Over the fixed panel, so the side that opens stays clear. On stacker doors the vanes stack to the same side as the glass panels. Doors that open from the centre suit a centre split that stacks to both ends.
Will vertical blinds hit my door handle?
They will if the track sits too close to the door. The vanes swing out half their width either side of the track as they turn, so the track has to sit far enough off the wall to clear the handle. We check the handle at the measure for exactly this reason.
Can a dog get through vertical blinds?
Yes, and most dogs learn fast. Ask for a chainless bottom so the vanes swing back on their own after the dog pushes through. A bottom chain on a door the dog uses every day will tangle or break sooner or later.
Should vertical blinds go inside or outside the door frame?
On most sliding doors they go outside, fixed to the wall or the frame head above the door. Few door reveals are deep enough for the vanes to turn past the handle, and a face fit lets the stack sit clear of the glass.
Do vertical blinds blow around when the door is open?
They move in a breeze, especially without a bottom chain. If the door stays open for long stretches, draw the stack right back or keep the chain on. Leaving the vanes fully open, edge on to the breeze, also helps.