Replacing patio doors-with what? Sliding, french or bifolds?

[Appuskidu]

We have old knackered single glazed patio doors that we want to replace but not sure what to replace them with. French doors (where two doors open out)) would seem to block a lot of visibility/light from what’s there now and sliding seem rather old fashioned. Bifolds are lovely but are they massively more expensive? Are there any downsides to them?

The door space seems non-standard so it’s difficult to look up eg Wickes and compare prices as there’s nothing the same.

I had the same dilemma and chose sliders in the end. The chap in the show room said sales of bi-folds had dropped off and sliders were now more popular. This seems to be the case. Modern sliders are nothing like the ones from the seventies. It all depends what you want though. We didn't have space to accommodate the stacked up doors in the kitchen space or on the patio and preferred the large glass expanse of the sliders.

Oh, thank you so much for replying! I know a fair few people with bifolds but they generally have a bigger expanse and like you say, have more space for the stacked up doors. I like opening the existing sliding doors just a few inches as well, which you probably couldn’t do with the bifolds.

I guess I need some quotes to find out the price difference. After lockdown!

I chose French doors in our last property as we couldn't afford bi folds, but we didn't account for the fact they swing closed all the time and block space on your patio. I would choose sliders if I had my time again

Had sliders at the old place and didn’t like them because the part that wasn’t a door was just dead space and got dirty more quickly (fitter said it was because we were opening it fully but surely that’s the point!) . We were always cleaning. Will be getting bifolds when we extend as we do open fully even in the winter (I cook Indian food so house would get smoky otherwise) and this time we have the luxury of a window cleaner who cleans bifolds and glazing too!

We have all three in our house, sliders in the family room, bifolds in the kitchen and french doors in the living room all in aluminium.

It depends what you want out of them. As people have said the sliders are best for a large expanse of glass and I was really impressed with how they have changed from the 70s version. They move so smootly and have a lovely flat profile at the bottom so you still get an almost seemless transition to the patio.

If you want to be able to remove a large wall though and open up completely go for the bifolds. They are however a lot more chunky than our sliders and are not as easy to open. They seem a lot more clumsy and not as well designed.

The french doors are nice becuase we have combined them with side windows which gives more opening options but again you loose a lot more glass to the frames.

All our 3 sliders open so there is no part that is not a door.

@weepingwillow22 where did you get your sliders from? And is it too cheeky to ask how much they cost?!

My 5m of sliding doors will be about £5k. There are three doors which all slide so you can have 2/3 of the space open anywhere you like, or just 1/3 if you want less.

We got them from a local fitter ( the manufacturer is aluk) They were £3450 plus vat but are very large and go right to the top of the ceiling (2.8m x 3.8m).

Great thanks!

We have French doors x 3 in our fairly traditional house. I think style of house really makes a difference regarding choices. Sliding doors would look awful here but I have installed them in my holiday house - in the top floor lounge! Stonking views! But no room for French or bifolds due to safety and only a Juliet balcony. These doors operate smoothly and are double glazed. They suit a modern house.

We don’t have bi folds. I would consider them in the right house. The idea of a large expanse of open wall appeals! Especially if it leads out to the garden.

We have both sliders and bifolds. I would have had all sliders but my husband has always wanted bifolds. We put the bifolds where we have most space as they do stick out quite a bit when opened.

I think bifolds need a big space. We replaced sliding patio doors with large French doors, the bifolds were just a bit too small.

age and style of house should drive your choice, and they should tone with the doors and windows.

Patio doors for us x

It also depends on the width of the space where you will fit the doors. Bifold panes have a width limit (I think our window fitter said it was about 1.2m per unit/pane) because of the weight, and if your windows are taller than standard, you might have to have narrower panes. You may find that you end up having to fit several narrower panes to fill the space, so you'll end up with a lot more frame than if you have sliders.

Do you want to have a garden access door if you have bifolds? Apparently, they work best with an odd number of panes.

@gettingolderbutcooler

Patio doors for us x

Are they not french doors?

I think of patio doors as sliding doors. It’s all very confusing!!

We have french doors and wish we had sliders.

@purpleproses

We have french doors and wish we had sliders.

Why’s that, @purpleproses?

What room is the door in and is there an alternative window or two that can be opened for ventilation? We had sliders in our bedroom going out on to the garden but swapped for French doors with a side panel containing an opening window as I hate a bedroom without ventilation, and couldn't convince my husband to sleep with the sliders open all night

Would people be able to give some recommendations of where to get modern sliders from? I’ve visited a few local showrooms (Norfolk) but they barely look any different to my ‘80s ones!

The patio doors have too much frame compared to the sliders, it really was noticeable when we had the sliders replaced with them. It seemed like a good idea at the time but it wasn't. Unfortunately the sliders were old and not of safety glass so we had them replaced.

was it the extra thickness of pvc compared to thinner aluminium?

btw, if glass is unsuitable, it can be changed. I had DG units with laminated glass for burglar resistance.

the glazing is manufactured to order anyway, but it was heavier and more expensive.

We had to go for french doors here the opening was only 1210mm , so not big enough for sliding or bifold , a single door would have been to big and hit the window or overhung the wall on the other side. They open flat to the wall ( except for the handle ) just need to put some stops on the hold them in place .