Sliding plantation shutters may sound like an appealing option to go over a sliding patio door, however they are the most challenging to install and are not available for DIY measure and installation.
With sliding plantation shutters, you also lose the ability to open the slats unless the panels are completely closed, and one half of the doorway will always be blocked by the shutters. This is the just the nature of the bypass track system allowing one half of the shutters to tuck behind the other. The track system also has to protrude several inches into the room in order to have bypass sliding panels.
We have several DIY-friendly shutter options to cover sliding doors for an affordable and simple installation. We can also provide the shutter panels to fit your own third-party sliding track system, but there are a few key details to keep in mind for your project.
DIY Plantation Shutters to Cover a Patio Door
How to Order Shutter Panels for a Sliding Track System
Sliding plantation shutters rely on a tracking system that the shutter panels are mounted to so that they can bypass one another like a sliding door. This track system is challenging to install, even for experienced DIY’ers and difficult to measure for to ensure the panels are the correct size and thickness to fit and glide on that track.
Some of our handier customers or those utilizing a professional installer / handyman will obtain a track system to be installed independently of their shutter order and will order the shutter panels only from us. This is a great option so that you can match all the shutters throughout your house with our stunning product made of 100% solid, quality materials.
Rather than entering the full width of your patio door and selecting the total number of panels across, as you would for a window shutter, in this particular case for your special project you would want to order each panel individually. This way, the panels will not have the standard rabbeted edges for bi-folding hinged shutters, or the astragal lip intended cover the gap between left and right hinged shutters.
You will provide us with the overall width and height for each panel. In the special notes section, you will want to add a note request no hinges and no recessed magnets, which come standard on our DIY shutters, but can be omitted to accommodate your special project.
Our standard installation guides and videos will not be applicable as you or your installer will be responsible for mounting the panels to the track system. Be sure to check our spec sheet for your chosen material to find the panel thickness, so you can ensure the track system will accommodate our shutter panels.
We have had other customers get creative and create their own barn door style shutters using our framed shutter units. If you are doing a creative special project like this, we always love to receive your before and after pictures! Email your pictures to
help@theshutterstore.com and let us know if we can feature them on our page!
Easier DIY Alternatives – Plantation Shutters for Patio Doors
We offer great DIY options with shutters that are framed and shipped with all hinges pre-installed to the shutter frame and panels, and with all necessary hardware and instructions needed for a smooth and straightforward DIY installation.
Most patio doors require an Outside Mount with an L Frame to push the shutters away from the glass and door handle enough so that your slats can fully rotate open and closed.
After mounting the shutter frame around the left, right, and top sides of the doorway, you will use the pre-installed hinges to align the shutter panels to the frame and drop in the hinge pins to secure the panels.
Check out our outside mount measuring and installation guides and videos to see how simple this measure and install is for even a DIY beginner.
We also have a full blog dedicated to installing shutters on patio doors, giving you design tips for the best framing, panel configuration, and style options for your patio door shutters, with a section dedicated to sliding glass doors.
If ever in doubt on the best style to choose or how to configure your order online, reach out to our shutter experts for advice. A great start is to email us a picture of the doorway so we can make our best recommendation.
This post was brought to you by Yasmeen, one of The Shutter Store USA's experienced shutter consultants. Get in touch today for more advice on finding the perfect plantation shutters for your home. Our friendly team of shutter experts are a call, chat or email away! Upload a picture of your window with your order or send it in to our support team for help designing your perfect shutters. We are here to help!