Sliding, Bi-Fold or Patio doors?
Hi all,
We really need your help in trying to decide which would be best going forwards?
We are having a kitchen extension done and need to decide whether we go with either sliding, bi-fold or french patio doors.
Initially, we were decided on a 3 panel bi-fold (total of 2.4m width) doors, however we have been advised by our builder to reconsider this decision and to go with either a 2 door bi-fold or sliding doors instead. His reasoning behind it was that as the opening is only 2.4m and the doors would be obscuring a lot of the view into the garden. Also, the 3 door option would mean narrower panels, making access/egress more difficult. One other important point is that the doors will be our only access into the back garden.
Having done more research and reading the forums on Houzz, we now think we should re-consider our initial idea of going with bi-folds. This is because of the following, (1) the rear of the house is north-facing so will not benefit from sunshine all day, (2) we will not have a seamless access to the patio and garden (we will have to step down onto the patio flooring) and (3) the view of our rear garden is not great - see plan below.
Our house is a 1980's build and we are in a residential area surrounded by houses. We want doors:
- That will not date
- Be in-keeping with the date/style of house
- To have maximum security (I believe some sliding door manufactures now have products meeting pas24? which we weren't aware of initially causing us to not consider sliding doors)
- Doors to be in aluminium to reduce warping
- Easy access into the back garden
Given the above, which ones would you go for?
Thank you for your help!
Comments (6)
lisafreedman71
6 years ago2.4m I feel will be too small an opening for sliding doors. Therefore it’s going to come down to personal preference - bi-folds vs patio doors.
We’ve just replaced patio doors with 3 panel bi-folds (2.5m opening). We can choose to open 1 door only rather than folding back all 3. Our garden is South-East facing and the house is almost 200 years old so the aluminium gives a good modern update on tradition. We’ve also got some good views, once we manage to persuade my daughter to ditch that mammoth trampoline!
Gavita Regunath thanked lisafreedman71Related Discussions
Bi-Fold or Sliding Doors on our extension - advice please??
Comments (15)There is no right or wrong answer - and as suppliers and installers of award winning versions of both bifold AND sliding door systems we have no bias towards one or the other. Our teams install nationally, from Shetland to the Channel Islands...and everywhere in between. When we get asked this question by customers there are a number of initial things we would ask to try and make some recommendations - and we have written a blog all about these. Probably the most valuable question is realistically how often are you likely to have the doors fully open. Our SF55 aluminium bifold doors can be manufactured up to 1.1m wide and have an industry leading narrow sightline of 115mm (the amount of frame visible when closed) and over a 29' 6" run of 9x1m panels you will have 8 intermediate frames totalling 920mm of aluminium. We do two aluminium sliding door systems the Grand Slider (83mm sightlines) or our award winning theEDGE (narrow 24mm sightline) - both can take glass sizes of up to 3m wide so over a 9m run of 3x3m panels you will have 166mm of intermediate aluminium visible with the Grand Slider and just 48mm visible with theEDGE. So if your doors are closed more often than open there is significantly less frame than glass in sliding doors - maximising your views - however the trade off is that unless you opt for a pocket slider you are not able to open a sliding door completely to create a total 9m opening like you are with bifold doors - you would only open 6m of the 7m (or 6.75m if you went for four sliding door panels). In terms of thermal performance both SF55 and the sliding door systems can be double or triple glazed and achieve pretty similar U-Values and in terms of price the SF55 and Grand Slider systems work out to be almost identical - although theEDGE is a bit more because of the advanced engineering required to create such a narrow profile. There is also the option of the SF75 bifold door which has a U-Value of 0.9W/m2K which is the lowest of any aluminium system on the market. Given your location and your views, my personal recommendation would be sliding doors, because you maximise your views even when closed - but it is whatever is best for you and it may well be a combination of sliding doors and fixed frames provide the perfect and cost effective solution. If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask and good luck with your project!...See MoreWill it be warm enough with large sliding glass or bi-folding door?
Comments (7)Hi Kelly, I see that you have not had a reply to your question. So I would like to help, New bi-fold doors and sliding doors have an excellent thermal value. Doors can be made of multiple materials but the best in look, durability is alimininum, with aluminium and double glazed glass zed glass units you will be more than comfortable in the summer and the winter. If you are concerned about the heat coming into the room, for example, if you are south facing, we have a product called thermal glass. We use thermal glass on our roof lights; it is a treated glass that has a tint and reflects heat, the double glazed units stop heat from escaping. I have attached a few pictures of our skylight showing the thermal glass and an example of large skylights and large bifolds, honestly you will not be worried at all with large amounts glass these thermal values. We are more than able to assist you if you still require product advice. Thank you....See MoreOpen plan flooring - transition between interior and exterior
Comments (2)Hi Guys, If You're thinking about concrete tiles, check out our website www.designerstone.co.uk we can manufacture tiles in various shapes, colours, polishing levels. If it's about outside tiles check their slippery, some polished concrete can be tricky... (I would recommend at least medium polishing)...See Moreslimline sliding doors or bi fold doors for 5080mm opining
Comments (3)I think slim line sliding doors look more modern and you'll get more view of your garden. We were going to have bifolds but have now decided on sliding doors. Our opening is 4m and planning to have 3 doors. As your opening is quite large, you could have 3 door and once they are opened, you will still get a good size opening. We're having 35mm profiles but I think you can get even thinner ones. Are you have a flat roof or pitched roof?...See MoreEllie
6 years agoGavita Regunath
6 years agoGavita Regunath
6 years ago
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