Can double-glazing avoid curtains/blinds on bifolds?

Hey all, we're building with Metricon and have a floorplan where the alfresco joins the kitchen, dining and lounge. We've decided to pony up for beautiful bi-fold doors 4-pane + 5 pane, wooden frames and so we'll have 9 frames of glass.

This should look fantastic with a dark stain on the wood. My question is about blinds / curtains. We obviously want to avoid ugly curtain tracks / blinds on the corner bilfolds and wondering if anyone has done double-glazing and if that is enough to keep the temperature at bay.

Price quoted for the double glazing is just north of $5K.

In terms of insulation, bare double glazing is fairly similar to single glazing with decent curtains. However if you have direct sun on it, the double glazing won't stop that much at all, unless there are films/coatings to reduce radiant heat.

You may also want to consider what to do about insect screens if there are any airborne insects in your area that you want to keep out while maintaining ventilation.

Thanks for that.. wont get direct sun as the roof extends over a fairly sizable alfresco.

Have considered fly screens.. from what we can tell.. flies shouldn't be too bad.

So we ended up ponying up for the double glazing.. certainly not cheap to double glaze 9 panels of glass, but something you can't do late and would have big impact on heating/cooling costs.

Has Metricon taken into account the extra weight of that glass and the beam above that will carry it?
They may hit you with an extra cost to move up a size.

Stewie

I don't like to destroy reputations, but I have encountered some pretty bad flies...