WHAT ARE PATIO DOORS?

It is more and more common for Homeowners to want to "bring the outside world in", and why shouldn't you? Warmer Summers, increase in working from home, improvements in thermal efficiency and so on..

Patio Doors are designed to allow access to the Garden, Patio or outside space and are expected to be high quality, easy to operate and thermally efficient when fully closed.

At The Fenestration Network we can supply all types of Patio Doors.

There are numerous factors you need to consider, namely:

• What budget are you working with?
• How often will you use your doors?
• Are you removing existing doors and putting Patio Doors in?
• What size would you like your doors to be?
• Are you building an extension and would like Patio Doors?
• How would you like/ need your Patio Doors to operate?
• What sort of look are you trying to achieve?

Not all Bifolding and Sliding doors come with key access from the outside, meaning it would be hard to use them as important access points. Some of them do, so contact us for more information on those.

You can achieve an access point with a Bifolding door using one of them as a traffic door (will be hinged separately and is generally one leaf). It works like a normal door, and allows for it to be opened without the need for opening the rest of the bifold.

In a lot of cases it might be that a single door, or French door set (with or without side panels, and with or without Crittal style Heritage effect) will be best for you. 

Top Hung Sliding Doors, French Doors, Internal Bifolding doors...

Aluminium is often a good material to use, and the type of product will depend on the space available. 

If being used as a screen where you want minimal space taken up, a Top Hung Sliding door (no bottom track) could be an option - although you do have certain size restrictions due to weight. Contact us for more information.

French Doors (either Crittal effect or not) provide an aesthetically pleasing look. Depending on width you can have doors that go back 180degrees on themselves so they aren't in the way when open - contact us for more information on these.

Internal Bifolding doors are a relatively expensive option compared to those above, but do look very nice when installed correctly.

Simply answered? Space.

Sliding Doors run and operate on a track and therefore don't require any space internally or externally to open, meaning you don't lose any valuable space.

The big compromise here is that you won't be able to use the whole full door opening, as the panes stack at an end point. 

For example a two pane slider at roughly 3m wide will allow roughly 1.5m to be open at all times. A Bifolding door might allow for more of that space to be usable, BUT it would take up more of your internal and external space.