Those of you who have sliding patio doors (rather than bi-fold)

[skinnyflatwhite]

please help!

Our builder is trying to persuade us against sliding patio doors. He's trying to talk us in to choosing bi-folds instead.

Do you have a high threshold (step over bit) to get out to the patio/garden? Is it annoying? He says if we get bi-fold they will be flush with the kitchen.

Skinny

I had planned to fit bifolds to a 4700mm opening in new extension. However after going to a showroom - opted for a sliding door.

You can see them here -
www.extendingmyhome.co.uk/1930-siderear-extension/4584058398

They are 3 panel (2 sliding) triple glazed Raynaers CP130. IMO a better looking and more flexible option than the bifolds that I had initially considered.

Threshold is flush.

Hi, if you are still looking feel free to message me and I can give you my number if you want to talk through all the options as we have just gone through the same process.
I started off thinking I wanted bifold as I like the idea of opening the whole wall up. Decided for sliding doors after going to Grand Designs show and looking at all the options.
First of all everyone's advise was do not go for a local joiner. After looking at some good local joiner's work and seeing some of the German doors I agree. The German doors cost more but the difference is obvious. Frankly I couldn't tell much difference from the mid-top range of companies. We looked at Sunflex, Express bi-folding, Solarlux, Fineline, Kloeber, etc. We went with SKG who do Sunflex doors.
Our doors are 5m wide and we went with 3 doors so 2/3 can be opened up and when closed the center (where most people tend to look out) is a wide expanse of glass rather than a post.
Our terrace is not huge and bi-folds requite a meter of space left clear all the time so the doors can be opened out.
Bi-folds also have a lot more frame then sliding doors, less if you go for very expensive doors but still more. Sliding doors are more glass to frame so you see the garden more than the doors. Seeing that there are more days of the year when the doors are closed I thought it was important to have more glass.
Sliding doors let you open the door as little or as much as you want.
We had sliding doors that were put in by previous owner but they were cheap ones and were 2 wide panels with a very wide post in the middle so when you walked into the room you just saw the wide post and not the view out into the garden.
I have learned far too much about door, and tiles, and extractor fans then I ever thought I would but I wanted to make sure we made the best decision after knowing all the options. Happy to answer any more questions if you haven't fallen asleep yet!

I prefer the bi-folding doors to sliding patio doors - aluminium ones are slimline and just look better in general. But this depends on your home and lifestyle - I think if you use your garden a lot and like to open your home to fresh air then bi-folds are great as they fold back right to the point of opening.

Sliding patio doors can actually look just as stylish - it just depends on the manufacturer and style you go for.

Ok recommending a list of sites for you now!

www.doubleglazingontheweb.co.uk/ - you can get online quotes

www.rightmove.co.uk/home-ideas/patio-doors.html - some patio door inspiration

Hope this helps.

Joey, that online quote will only go to a 4.2 metre opening. Do you know any websites that'll do similar for a larger opening? Thanks.

Ah ok, thats annoying! Sorry I don't know of any other sites as I always use this one as a go to!

Maybe contact them and they can help you? Their number is: 0800 954 8085 they were quite helpful when I was trying to work out measurements for bay windows as I couldn't quite work out how to do it on their system either.

Hopefully they can help :-)

When bifolds are closed they can make the room much darker than sliding patio doors as there is much more frame than sliding doors. We have one room with bifold doors and another with two opening doors and I really regret both of them since they both take up much more light than when we had sliding patio doors on both of them.

My builder had the opposite opinion to yours and talked us out of bifolds into sliding doors - his reasoning being that there is more of the year when you have them shut than open, iyswim, and with big sliders we only have one "vertical" in the wall of glass compared with three for bifolds in the same space.

One month on just wanted to update to say that we love our sliding doors . Am glad we didn't go with folding as the sliding ones are much more glass and much less frame. SKG were brilliant, best price and fab customer service, very accommodating and friendly. Highly recommend them, well worth the money!

Just an update. Very pleased with the sliding door option.

The finished project is shown here:

www.extendingmyhome.co.uk/1930-siderear-extension/4584058398

Always preferred sliding patio doors as I like fresh air so can have them open a few inches even when it's raining and in winter.

I just had what I call french door s fitted to replace sliding door patio

They are great can open just the one or both. I hated the sliding door . The track wore out as the door is opened a lot for the dog. Burglars love sliding doors they lift them out of the track. I had a locking security bar that was no good if you wanted to enter by the rear. Opening doors are best IMO

Thanks for sharing that munger, it looks fab !

Things to consider before choosing bi-fold, sliding folding (basically bi-fold but with more than 2 panels), sliding or French doors are: location - do you really get enough sunny days to justify the extra expense of large opening areas of glass? Is it really windy where you want to install them - if so, don't think about bi-fold or sliding-folding - the sales folk will tell you they are held by magnets and wont bang about but we live by the sea - and yes they do -so do standard French doors but they are easier to secure with hooks or doorstops and less expensive to fix if they get wind damage. Any type of door can be fitted flush with the floor but it takes work to dig out the channels and builders being builders will whinge about having to do it. But if you are exposed to the elements you will need a slightly raised threshold or go to the extra expense of installing a small drainage channel just outside the doors otherwise rain will get in.
Bi-folds/folding-sliding doors are very heavy and need to have a strong lintel or steel beam to take the weight - if you want to have an airy wall of glass effect with glass above the door you will have to install a fairly hefty steel beam above the opening panels - but French doors or ordinary sliders don't need such high spec (and thick and ugly) lintels. Modern sliding doors can be made with much wider panels of glass than folding-sliding or bi-folds and also can have thinner glazing bars or mullions- they are top hung and the bottom channel just needs a vacuum every now and then to remove grit etc. From what I can see, bi-folds and folding-sliding need more maintenance and are more expensive to fit. Finally if you have a period property I would be doubtful about fitting any kind of modern sliding or bi-fold door as I feel they just don't look right (depending on the age of your house)