Not being able to open window just the door for air

[Tams1234]

Hello,

We are remodelling the back of our house to create an open kitchen, diner and family room. We have had an architect design it and the design has a 4m floor to ceiling sliding doors and then either side a floor length window. Due to the length of the window it means you can’t open it and would need to be fixed. We can change the design and get a window with an opening but wouldn’t look as nice as a full uninterrupted view. I just find the thought of not being able to open the window and having to open the door for air a bit strange. Wondered what other people’s thoughts would be, would it bother you having to open the door and not being able to open a window?

I have glass across the back of my house (it's open plan kitchen/diner) and it has double doors in the middle, fixed glazing on either side. It's fine - doors are usually open all day (I have four pets).
But when I did have a room with doors and windows I never opened the windows, just the doors.

I would look into tilt and turn doors. They can open like a normal door, but also hinge from the bottom to tilt inwards and open a small amount at the top.

I'm not sure if you could get them in a 4m size, but you could have a fixed panel above.

Like this: https://www.chinaropo.com/product-item/tilt-turn-door/

We have a skylight and I love it, but that doesn't open either.

And the first door of the bi-folds is a door, so a window is a huge missing piece.

We have large sliding doors with no opening windows in our extension. This was a concern for me so we added a Velux to the roof and it opens with the press of a button. It also has a rain sensor which means it's shuts automatically if it starts to rain.

Wouldn’t bother me now, but what about people trying to keep pets or toddlers contained?

My living room just has patio doors and no widows and I hate it. Having to keep the door shut in summer when it rains and having to open it in the winter to get some fresh air in is not good. I'm having a "hit and miss" air vent installed next week as the ventilation at the moment is deemed to be inadequate. Get the window even if it means compromising a bit on the view.

@CindersAgain - you just open the sliding doors say 2cm then on ours pull hand back down and it locks it closed. Safe to stop toddlers or pets escaping.

I work in architecture and I'm so confused by this. Of course the window needs to open.

It'll be like a greenhouse otherwise - ask your architect about solar gain.

We have a door and a window in our kitchen and I open the door daily as I can't reach to close the window as it is above the sink. The rain does splash in at the bottom of the door though so we have a door mat that can be put in the machine.

Ah yeah. Good point.

I’d think they’d be whining to get through it though? Maybe not. Maybe they’d learn. Maybe buyers wouldn’t notice anyway.

I don’t know, but our cat sits outside ours waiting to be let in when it’s locked on 2cm mode. Just his little nose poking through. ( he has an open cat flat about 2metres away!)

My kitchen only has patio doors and I can't say it's ever bothered me. In fact I hadn't even thought it might be a problem for anyone. I just put the extractor fan on when cooking and open the door if I want to (not that often).

Always get the window. You don't have to open it but you will miss it if it is not there.

We have sliding doors only in our kitchen. The sliding doors are a total of 7m across and 8m wide kitchen/diner. We have no other windows but just this enormous wall of glass facing the garden so plenty of light summer and winter. It's really no hassle opening the door for air. Often I have it open a couple of cm if it's stuffy or I'm cooking something smelly. It really looks amazing and opening the door a tiny bit really isn't the issue you think it is.

I think that I might enquire about the medium size for a tilt and open window and see if that is an option. They can’t be full length anyway as need a bit of wall underneath for a cat flap!