How are you finding the heatwave if you have south-facing sliding / bifold doors

[Bizzle123]

We’re about to move our kitchen from the front of the house to the back and have large glass sliding doors onto our south-facing garden.

Is that a bad idea in terms of hot weather? Will we fry or will blinds be enough to keep out the worst of the heat? Are there any better glazing options?

would love to hear people’s experiences, thank you!

Thanks, great advice.

It was installed in 2009, sorry can't remember.

We have a SW facing lounge with a window and patio doors. They have perfect fit pleated black out blinds it’s absolutely boiling hot. I pulled the blinds up about 8pm. I was shocked to find the glass very hot to the touch, never noticed before. Anyone else ?

Just answering questions from pp about our awning

It’s electric, remote control, attached to the outside of the house above the doors. No pillars. Cost about £4k I believe, but about 7 years ago. It’s 4m x 4m when fully out which is on the larger end and we had to get a more expensive model due to the size.

Made by Markilux and supplied/installed by a local company specialising in electric blinds pergolas etc. There’s another similar awning company, Weinor (??sp).

Manual ones which you wind out by hand are a lot cheaper. Shade sails cheaper still.

I know my MIL had a window crack when she left black blackout material stuck to the glass on a hot day. I think you need to be careful with black

We couldn’t afford an awning so we bought 2 huge IKEA parasols and use those to shade the back of the house, means we can actually sit in the kitchen diner without baking, and it helps keep the lounge cooler. Can angle them depending on sun, and swing them round to sit under as well.

This is the mistake I made today. Our house is usually good at staying cool but I opened all the windows and it was an oven by early evening - cooler outside than in!

Same here, south facing garden, kitchen at the front.

I used to think a front kitchen was wrong but it’s a godsend in hot weather. It stays cool and the butter doesn’t melt! I hate hot kitchens especially when the oven needs to be on. We have our living room and TV room at the back, I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it would be having the kitchen there.

North facing kitchen every time.

This has been really helpful as I plan our extension. Had not thought of an awning at all!

We used to attach a shade sail to the pergola. Was a pain in the bum to have to keep putting it up and down, but did an okay ish job of keeping the house cooler. Still had to shut the door and close the blinds on really hot days.

A couple of years ago, we added an American style porch across the back. Wooden roof with a couple of velux windows to avoid cutting out too much light inside in the winter. It is, without doubt, the best money we have spent on this house. The back door can stay open whether it’s 33 degrees like yesterday, or pouring rain, and the washing can stay out in all weathers.

We've done exactly the same as @Milliways with a giant IKEA parasol.

I agree with PPs who said that stopping it before it hits the glass is better (and also the room isn't dark). We will probably go for an awning at some point too.