The sliders may be more of a security risk than a back door would be. I wouldnt worry much about that. Just put the best latches on the doors, and maybe an alarm system on them. If you like having a single back door, and have the space for it, and its not in an inconvenient location, then keep the single door too. I wouldnt worry what other people say. If I liked having the door, it would stay.

Redundant maybe (I'd have to see a floor plan). Security risk? Nope.

If you'd need a keyed entrance at the back, then a separate door might be better. I can't imagine the security on a keyed slider is as good as a deadbolt on a regular door.

Otherwise, what advantage is there to a regular door? My house only has a slider in the back.

Add the back door if it fits into your plan. Sliders are enough but an extra door is great if it doesn't get in the way.

In my remodel/addition, I replaced a planned window with a glass door into the side yard even though there is a big slider on the adjacent wall.

My doggie door is my biggest security risk but I figure anyone who is willing to go in a doggie door that size is brave enough to...steal my dog.

All we had for the back of our house were sliders (family room and Master bedroom) that opened to the pool area.

I would double check with your building inspector - in our municipality, our sliders couldn't be "counted" for egress because they weren't wide enough. (For example, the slider on a 60" doesn't open fully to provide a 30" opening.) If it's a renovation, you may be required to follow current code, not code when your home was built. But you may not, depending on what exactly you're renovating and whether or not the drywall is coming down, etc. If in doubt, and even if you're not, get sign off from the inspector. Much cheaper than having to redo.

Sliding door latches are often flimsy. I always cut custom wood fillers I can slip into the track at the bottom whenever I'm away.

What is your plan for using the back door? Is it the main entry point into the house then keep it as a slider generally is more for unlocking from the inside and allow you to walk-in/out and then lock again from the inside. If you don't need a locking/unlocking ability from the outside then the slider should be fine.

Basically, we would have the sliders locked from the inside with rods and other items and they would not have a keypad. The idea of eliminating a back door makes me nervous. There would be many ways to get out but then, just one way to get in....

The idea of eliminating a back door makes me nervous. There would be many ways to get out but then, just one way to get in....

In an emergency (where you have to get into a house?!?), a well thrown rock will get you in through the slider or a window.

We have both. We never (ever) use the keyed door. We thought we would let the pets out that way. We don't. Thinking of taking it out.

Which room does the conventional door open into? I would like a door that didn't enter directly into the living room or bedroom, so if it's located elsewhere (like into a utility/laundry room) I'd definitely keep it.

A 'back' door often accesses a garage. And then there's a door to the rear yard from the garage. I wouldn't give that up.

A slider can get you to the deck off a space near the kitchen. Often a dining area. That's convenient to bring food out to the deck. I wouldn't give that up either.

We have a detached garage with its own back door. Our sliders are in dining and bedrooms. Backdoor is in hallway at end of house.

I would keep it then. If I were in the backyard doing yard work for example, I would not want to have to traipse through the living or bedrooms.

You can get a key for the slider if you want. We opted not to but no regrets. We also have a latch and a second lock that you click in with your foot. Works great

This house has sliders in the dining.living room and all three bedrooms going out to the yard. They are all in a row. But the hinged door would be in a hallway between the bedrooms, not going through a bedroom or food area. Since all the doors are in a row along the back of the house, that prompted advice that we have too many doors --but isn't it nice for a bedroom to have a slider out? Also, functionally, there is nothng else one could do with the space where the hinged door is except put a window there instead, or a picture. It is in a narrow hallway/vestibule....

Everyone has different needs/tastes/expectations. I hate sliders - harder to open and close, a track to worry about/step over. Glass that is awkward to cover. I was just at our in-laws and they have a slider as their only back door - so annoying.

I also dislike too many doors - cost, air infiltration (which is also noise), more to worry about being locked at night.

But you apparently have the old school bar to lock and don't mind that. If I never have to move one of those annoying bars the rest of my life - I will be happy. So, everyone is different.

I am one of those that will give my opinion and sometimes it looks like I think everyone should share that. I don't. So to each his own. But I will still point out the downsides from my perspective....

David, It is a Midcentury modern. They don't come without sliders.

You have 5 sliders and a back door leading to your backyard and you called it a small house? I think your definition of a small house is probably very different from mine. :)

Pamela I can picture your lovely bright home. I bet it’s great!

Can you replace one slider with French doors and that would meet both needs?

We would need to search for proper styling that suits your home of course.

Something along these lines.

Greg--It is 4 (FOUR) sliders and a back door. It is a long thin house --the front hinged door is quite a distance from the back door. This is an MCM make of glass walls all along the back. It is 2000 square feet, that is not big.

@Pamela - an alternative to all the sliding doors is large picture windows which also works well with mid-century modern. If there is no need to have an exit path from the house where a door currently is then using a picture window to replace it might be a good idea assuming code will allow this.

Interesting. I have seen MCMs without 5 sliders. The argument still flys - sliders in rooms/areas that aren't open often - sure. But for primary back yard access, I would prefer a swinging door.

DS wanted to install doggy door, but only had sliders, so had to go through interior & exterior walls vs. a door. Will be more difficult to close off doggy door if next owners don't want it.

I read it that you had sliders in the dining and living rooms (which to me meant 2 different rooms and therefore 2 sliders). But I see now that dining/living room is one and it has one slider there.

I stand corrected and you are right, 2000 sqft could still be considered on the small side of houses.

Obviously, I'm having a hard time picturing the layout of this house but since you are saying that the regular backdoor is occupying a space that wouldn't be useful for anything else, I see no reason to get rid of it.

But without pictures or a floorplan, it's hard to give a definitive opinion.

David --four sliders, not five. four. One in each bedroom and one in living/dining room. It is a long, skinny house and the front door at one end is a long distance from the back. But I agree with you on the question of function.

Lyfia --I can see from this discussion that it is a matter of function. Sliders are in the bedrooms, to give each person their own private access to a bit of the yard with a concrete landing for a little table. The place where the hinged back door is planned is in a hallway off the bedrooms and would be the only place to have access to the yard without traipsing through the living room or bedrooms.... The hinged door would also allow, in the future, a true separate apartment or a separate office. A big picture window in that area would actually damage privacy in that end of the house, where hallways connect to bedrooms and people are walking to the bathroom.

It is really a question of function and not esthetics. I am dealing with people (not here, in the real world) who keep coming back to esthetics --to the eye. The door would not match the windows in the rest of the house is one complaint but is that an issue? Do we really need a back door and windows to be a perfect match? The door breaks the esthetic of the wall, but the wall is just a small corridor in back, so who cares. They do not live there. I think in terms of function, a hinged door will offer more privacy, more cleanliness, more convenience, and more versatility. It will not be as beautiful as a big picture window... but this is not a house in need of more windows.

So the only access to the backyard would be through this door or are there other doors that are not in a bedroom that lead to the backyard. If not then absolutely keep the door. Having to walk through a bedroom to the backyard is less optimal than having an extra door. Just make it an all single swing glass door and it will be similar in style to the sliders. A single door vs. the double look of the sliders would be different anyways.

ETA: I was not suggesting a picture window instead of the single door. I was offering it as an option if you felt you had too many sliders.

Lyfia --There is a slider in the living room --it is actually near the front door and quite a distance from the other end of the property. If you are at that end of the house you would never go back to walk through the living room --it is a trek. I know --but we have already ordered the sliders, that ship has sailed. I like the idea of a glass door with a security door in front of it.