Patio Doors. Bi-fold-v-Sliding?
Discussion
A sliding patio door will cost you about £750 in upvc.
Bi fold doors will cost you about £2000 in upvc but they are rubbish, too flimsy. The best ones to go for are aluminium, and they will cost you about £2700.
Patio doors give you one opening side, bi fold doors give you one big opening when fully open. So I would go for French doors for about £750.
Bi fold doors will cost you about £2000 in upvc but they are rubbish, too flimsy. The best ones to go for are aluminium, and they will cost you about £2700.
Patio doors give you one opening side, bi fold doors give you one big opening when fully open. So I would go for French doors for about £750.
Edited by Roy E6 on Thursday 14th April 19:45
A year after our purchase I'm happy to recommend http://www.1stslidingfoldingdoors.co.uk/mov02.html
It's not always easy to get hold of Marcus but his doors are the best out there. The whole mechanism seems better designed than competitors, good tracks, handles and locks, the price was very competitive (around £1K/metre fitted) and great service. Our doors open out onto decking at almost the same height as our kitchen floor, and when open, the garden and house merge into one space, worth every penny...
It's not always easy to get hold of Marcus but his doors are the best out there. The whole mechanism seems better designed than competitors, good tracks, handles and locks, the price was very competitive (around £1K/metre fitted) and great service. Our doors open out onto decking at almost the same height as our kitchen floor, and when open, the garden and house merge into one space, worth every penny...
With big-ish folding doors, the size of the opened and stacked panels needs to be thought about - note they only stack at 90 degrees to the wall.
Cost-wise the sky's the limit on both types.
We've just fitted (we - the royal we) foldingslidingdoors.com doorsets - the bottom of the market pricewise, but they go together ok and seem smooth enough once fiddled with.
Longevity remains to be seen, but a 2.7m, 3.0 and 2.8 set for just over 5k all-in we couldn't justify anything more expensive.
Personally, I'd stick with aluminium - upvc does have a reputation for flexing, plus the sightlines on upvc folders are huge. Timber would be a nightmare if it started warping. They need to be stable and rigid for the doors to seal properly.
If you have a 'view' you do really need full-width opening - as above, french doors would be a cheaper and possibly more reliable option.
Cost-wise the sky's the limit on both types.
We've just fitted (we - the royal we) foldingslidingdoors.com doorsets - the bottom of the market pricewise, but they go together ok and seem smooth enough once fiddled with.
Longevity remains to be seen, but a 2.7m, 3.0 and 2.8 set for just over 5k all-in we couldn't justify anything more expensive.
Personally, I'd stick with aluminium - upvc does have a reputation for flexing, plus the sightlines on upvc folders are huge. Timber would be a nightmare if it started warping. They need to be stable and rigid for the doors to seal properly.
If you have a 'view' you do really need full-width opening - as above, french doors would be a cheaper and possibly more reliable option.
Pcot said:
Roy E6 has obviously experienced some cheap and nasty s
t!
Rehau Upvc bi-fold doors are excellent. They are not as cheap as a direct sliding patio door, but well worth the extra money in my opinion.
For a 2100mm wide opening, expect to pay around £1500 plus installation.
I have experienced them all, been in the trade for the last 20 years. Aluminium are the best, fit them and forget about them. They work all the time, upvc just isn't upto the job in my opinion. t!Rehau Upvc bi-fold doors are excellent. They are not as cheap as a direct sliding patio door, but well worth the extra money in my opinion.
For a 2100mm wide opening, expect to pay around £1500 plus installation.
andy43 said:
If you have a 'view' you do really need full-width opening - as above, french doors would be a cheaper and possibly more reliable option.
Now you see, wifey and I have discussed this at great length over the last year or so, and came to precisely the opposite conclusion - we have a 9m opening we want to glaze and have the choice of bi-foldy or slidy. Totally agree that when open, the view is unobstructed, barring the heap of panels stacked at either end, which with a 9m opening would be something over a metre thick.However, this is not South Africa or the Cote d'Azur. So 99% of the time those doors will be closed. I do not want to look at small stripes of window broken by endless interrupting frames. With slidey-foldy, depending on the manufacturer / greasy salesman quoting, we are somewhere between 12 and 18 panels. That's a heck of a lot of stripes and frames to stare at.
With sliding, we can have four panes. Four. When open we still get a 4.5m opening, and when closed for the other 364 days of the year we have only 3 sets of frame intervening in the view, with four lovely 2.25m wide panes of glass...
RedLeicester said:
Now you see, wifey and I have discussed this at great length over the last year or so, and came to precisely the opposite conclusion - we have a 9m opening we want to glaze and have the choice of bi-foldy or slidy. Totally agree that when open, the view is unobstructed, barring the heap of panels stacked at either end, which with a 9m opening would be something over a metre thick.
However, this is not South Africa or the Cote d'Azur. So 99% of the time those doors will be closed. I do not want to look at small stripes of window broken by endless interrupting frames. With slidey-foldy, depending on the manufacturer / greasy salesman quoting, we are somewhere between 12 and 18 panels. That's a heck of a lot of stripes and frames to stare at.
With sliding, we can have four panes. Four. When open we still get a 4.5m opening, and when closed for the other 364 days of the year we have only 3 sets of frame intervening in the view, with four lovely 2.25m wide panes of glass...
Sliders all day long! We have a six metre opening with six 1m panes on a three track slider. This gives an enormous opening, without the bundle of folded doors at each side. Coated aluminium was chosen over UPVC for extra strength over such a large span. The frame profiles are not bulky and square, but like the edge of an aeroplane wing (if you know what I mean!) so not obstructive at all. My wife was of the same opinion that they would only be open once or twice a year, but she was so wrong! You'd be surprised how often you have them open for a bit of fresh air - it doesn't need to be hot outside. However, this is not South Africa or the Cote d'Azur. So 99% of the time those doors will be closed. I do not want to look at small stripes of window broken by endless interrupting frames. With slidey-foldy, depending on the manufacturer / greasy salesman quoting, we are somewhere between 12 and 18 panels. That's a heck of a lot of stripes and frames to stare at.
With sliding, we can have four panes. Four. When open we still get a 4.5m opening, and when closed for the other 364 days of the year we have only 3 sets of frame intervening in the view, with four lovely 2.25m wide panes of glass...
RedLeicester said:
andy43 said:
If you have a 'view' you do really need full-width opening - as above, french doors would be a cheaper and possibly more reliable option.
Now you see, wifey and I have discussed this at great length over the last year or so, and came to precisely the opposite conclusion - we have a 9m opening we want to glaze and have the choice of bi-foldy or slidy. Totally agree that when open, the view is unobstructed, barring the heap of panels stacked at either end, which with a 9m opening would be something over a metre thick.However, this is not South Africa or the Cote d'Azur. So 99% of the time those doors will be closed. I do not want to look at small stripes of window broken by endless interrupting frames. With slidey-foldy, depending on the manufacturer / greasy salesman quoting, we are somewhere between 12 and 18 panels. That's a heck of a lot of stripes and frames to stare at.
With sliding, we can have four panes. Four. When open we still get a 4.5m opening, and when closed for the other 364 days of the year we have only 3 sets of frame intervening in the view, with four lovely 2.25m wide panes of glass...
Fair point
I've only got sub-3 metre wide openings for doors here, so the difference when closed between a two panel slider and three panel folder is minimal - but I understand compltely about filling 10% of the opening with window frame. We've built a conservatory thing here to take advantage of the view of the garden, and in the end on the front we've used 5 bits of commercial double glazing with silicone butt joints to almost eliminate the mullions. Would have gone for three panes but cranes and road closures were mentioned...
That Fineline Aluminium system I mentioned above would be the answer for your 9m metres - the mullions are literally millimetres wide.
Mullion width is inversely propertional to pound notes though I fear.
tobeee said:
Sliders all day long! We have a six metre opening with six 1m panes on a three track slider. This gives an enormous opening, without the bundle of folded doors at each side. Coated aluminium was chosen over UPVC for extra strength over such a large span. The frame profiles are not bulky and square, but like the edge of an aeroplane wing (if you know what I mean!) so not obstructive at all. My wife was of the same opinion that they would only be open once or twice a year, but she was so wrong! You'd be surprised how often you have them open for a bit of fresh air - it doesn't need to be hot outside.
Who did you end up using if you don't mind me asking?Sorry, I did rather over egg the pudding, I'm sure they would be open at every available opportunity, but the issue for us was evaluating how they would look closed too - we'd still rather "give up" a bit of the opening for maximising the view when closed.
RedLeicester said:
Who did you end up using if you don't mind me asking?
Sorry, I did rather over egg the pudding, I'm sure they would be open at every available opportunity, but the issue for us was evaluating how they would look closed too - we'd still rather "give up" a bit of the opening for maximising the view when closed.
I used London based company, Duration. My builder had used them a few times before and so was treated well both in terms of delivery times and price.Sorry, I did rather over egg the pudding, I'm sure they would be open at every available opportunity, but the issue for us was evaluating how they would look closed too - we'd still rather "give up" a bit of the opening for maximising the view when closed.
Another thread here which might give you some more ideas...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=798...
I recently fitted Oak 8ft / 3 door/ bi-fold doors. They came pre-finished. I paid around £1700 from a company called vufold & go between house & conservatory. Builder & glazer praised the quality. A bit fiddly to fit as we had to fit hinges etc to pre-marked template. It would be easy if I did it again, but takes a while to get the hang of it if you know what I mean.
ShredderXLE said:
I have got a Jeld-Wen catalogue in front of me, its a year old so may not have the 20% vat rate in but their timber folding doors (wellington with 3 folding leafs) at 2100mm wide is about £1800.
I've got the latest Jeld-Wen catalogue here as I ordered the windows for our extension this morning.Wellington 3 door (1800 x 2100) in unfinished hardwood is £2635; prefinished in white using softwood the same size set is £3007.
OP - if you have an Arnold Laver (or similar) timber merchants, they should be able to drastically cut that price - work on at least 55% off the listed price.
Steve
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