To consider sliding patio doors

[lucylockett27]

I have posted before about my hatred of my current the naff UPVC french doors in my lounge. They are badly installed, have a broken handle and sidelight that are about 5cm wide. The side lights just increases all the plastic lines and make the doors horrible. Anyway I am really want wood doors but they are just too expensive. So I ve looked into better quality UPVC, with a grain type and they are a possibility. But I am not thinking maybe a sliding patio door, as this will have a lot less plastic frame and more glass. It’s an east facing room. With have garden access through french doors in the kitchen/diner so I doubt need them for access, it’s all about making the lounge look nice. I have mentioned sliding patio to my husband and a few friends and there seem to think sliding is out of fashion. Dh said it was 1970s. The point in tall but only 6ft side so bifold isn’t a goer. All thoughts appreciated.

I rented a house with them once and it was just irritation to have this big expanse of glass that you could only ever half open.

Plus you need to put stickers on there (or keep them grubby ) if you have children or child visitors, to prevent children running full pelt into the glass. That was quite a commonplace type of childhood accident in the 1970s.

Good point. My kids are older now so should be okay but something to consider

We are ordering a 6m run of three sliders so 2/3 can be opened. There seems to be a renewed interest in sliders as bifold doors are apparently "on their way out"

We’ve got sliding doors - they’re fine ( and grubby)

We have wooden sliding doors at the moment. They are ok but I do miss being able to open up the lot on nice sunny days.

We have 6m of sliding doors facing east and I love them! Windows all wonder but easy access to the patio if it’s warm.
When we did our extension we were going to put in bifolds but there was so much plastic! I am delighted with them and only get positive comments about the nice view to the garden.
We have dogs & it’s great being able to open them just enough to let them come and go as they want when it isn’t that warm😊

Great feedback everyone thanks. I especially was pleased to hear that maybe bifold are on the way out. I was thinking of when we had a sliding patio when I was a child and we also had Venetians. No Venetians have made a resurgence, maybe sliders will too! Too be honest the view is not great out of the window from the lounge, but I could spruce it up with a few pots, eventually (when I win a lottery) I want a orangery in the space the doors will lead too. X

If you don't need to open them, what about just full height windows? Like a conservatory wall?

I would never have sliding doors. They are probably better than before but are easy access for burglers. In addition you have a large white pole in the middle and can only open half way. My aunthad issues with the slider as well so they didn’t slide properly. Go with proper doors, or if you already have access to the garden why not consider a large window?

I might like to have a conservatory type thing eventually, so as much as I like the aesthetics of a large window, I don’t think it would work. Plus dh would never agree to a window as I made a fuss (albeit 20 years ago to have the original window removed and the doors put in- what was I thinking!)

I’ve a feeling he security aspect has improved, but maybe I just have not heard of break in coz people just don’t have them now!

Love out ancient sliding doors. To me they are less of a hazard than French doors as my kids broke their grandparents when they slammed them back. But ours are more for light in the sitting room, we don't.use them much to access the garden.

Sliding doors can be a better design choice than bifold

I’d like them but I do have a toddler

We were going to replace our French windows with sliding patio doors, but then half of furniture would not ever be able to get out of the house, so we are getting new French windows instead.

I hate our sliding door in every way. It’s a pain to open and close, seems very insecure, grubby and only opens halfway. We’ve been here 5 years and I’ve always hated them. However, they work and we might extend at some point, so they stay for now!

Sliding doors are back in!
I have some very fancy huge ones on a very high end project currently on site.
They have improved the security on them which was a reason that they went out of fashion so check what measures any ones you buy have.

Thank you sounds positive about them being back in fashion. I think I might go to a showroom and see if I can have a look at some. I think we are ok with furniture as we have the other french doors.

They have really advanced since the 70s. They are now very secure with great thermal properties . All the ones we looked at could be moved with two fingers and they glide nowadays rather than slide. You can also get very slim frames which is in stark contrast to bifold with all that upvc.

We have chosen Air600 ones which have a concealed track (no place for leaves, grease, crumbs,etc) and they are being installed with a virtually level threshold so nothing to step over.

There is a renovation show on at the NEC in a couple of weeks if you can get there. We saw several at the show in Excel just before Christmas.

I personally would just get french doors and have a window that can open next to them. Sometimes you just want some fresh air without a huge draft that open doors would create.

Gosh those air600 look fab. I am sure we’ll out of my price range unfortunately x