Large upvc sliders
Discussion
We've been getting quotes for aluminium sliders and they seem to be out of budget.(I'm an optimist).
We can go for 2.4m and 4.2m standard sizes which I was hoping would keep the cost down
I thought the bulk of the cost would be the building work for the 4.2m one which is replacing French doors and a window - beam, calcs etc
Anyone fitted modern upvc sliders? I only really have experience of 90's bulky things - is this a cheaper option?
Maximum light into the rooms is the priority as we are North facing and in a dip with woodland to the rear, so the rooms are dark
We can go for 2.4m and 4.2m standard sizes which I was hoping would keep the cost down
I thought the bulk of the cost would be the building work for the 4.2m one which is replacing French doors and a window - beam, calcs etc
Anyone fitted modern upvc sliders? I only really have experience of 90's bulky things - is this a cheaper option?
Maximum light into the rooms is the priority as we are North facing and in a dip with woodland to the rear, so the rooms are dark
Big_Dan said:
We can go for 2.4m and 4.2m standard sizes which I was hoping would keep the cost downk
There aren't really such things as 'standard sizes' as we found out when doing our house renovation. So just build to the dimensions you want rather than worry about opening sizes. From memory UPC was at least 1/2 the price of aluminum if not more. A few % different glass area from a thicker or thinner frame won't change the light in the room so you'd notice.
I think of sliding doors as good windows, but poor doors.
My Mum's last house had a ~3m upvc sliding patio door. The fact that it opened at the side was wrong for the room layout if you wanted any furniture, and it was quite hard work to open, due to the sliding seals. Also after a couple of years it made a fair old rumbling noise as it opened or closed, which was every time the poxy cat wanted to go in or out.
It's probably not a popular view among the Audi drivers, but I'd prefer French doors in most circumstances.
I think of sliding doors as good windows, but poor doors.
My Mum's last house had a ~3m upvc sliding patio door. The fact that it opened at the side was wrong for the room layout if you wanted any furniture, and it was quite hard work to open, due to the sliding seals. Also after a couple of years it made a fair old rumbling noise as it opened or closed, which was every time the poxy cat wanted to go in or out.
It's probably not a popular view among the Audi drivers, but I'd prefer French doors in most circumstances.
OutInTheShed said:
A few % different glass area from a thicker or thinner frame won't change the light in the room so you'd notice.
Agreed.The front of our house is North facing, even in the middle of summer sometimes we needed turn the light on in the corridor. What made a difference to getting light into the room was putting in sky lights, and a glazed vaulted celling. Just making the windows/glazing bigger at ground level wouldn't have changed things that much.
The amount of difference nature light from above makes to the room is almost like night and day, and really obvious when you contrast the bits of the hallway that is lit by light from above versus areas with an unlit celling. But getting light in from the above isn't cheap, and anything that's vaulted means you loss 'usable' upper level floor space.
We were hoping that replacing the thick French doors with diamond lights in the lounge (I estimate 50% of the light is blocked by plastic frames / fake lead) and removing half the wall in the kitchen and replacing with mostly glass and thin frames would improve the light noticeably
I guess the question is more about modern upvc sliding doors vs aluminium and whether it's a cheaper solution, or if do it once is the answer
I guess the question is more about modern upvc sliding doors vs aluminium and whether it's a cheaper solution, or if do it once is the answer
Big_Dan said:
We were hoping that replacing the thick French doors with diamond lights in the lounge (I estimate 50% of the light is blocked by plastic frames / fake lead) and removing half the wall in the kitchen and replacing with mostly glass and thin frames would improve the light noticeably
I guess the question is more about modern upvc sliding doors vs aluminium and whether it's a cheaper solution, or if do it once is the answer
Do aluminium sliders actually last forever?I guess the question is more about modern upvc sliding doors vs aluminium and whether it's a cheaper solution, or if do it once is the answer
I think not!
IIRC the upvc doors at my Mum's replaced ali ones which lasted about 20 years.
Essentially the same issue with seals and moving parts as the plastic stuff.
Originally, there were Critall type galv steel French doors there, with half-height windows to the sides.
Single glazed and draughty.
Your eye's response to light is logarithmic. A 50% increase in light is not much more than the smallest increment you will notice.
Big_Dan said:
We were hoping that replacing the thick French doors with diamond lights in the lounge (I estimate 50% of the light is blocked by plastic frames / fake lead) and removing half the wall in the kitchen and replacing with mostly glass and thin frames would improve the light noticeably
I guess the question is more about modern upvc sliding doors vs aluminium and whether it's a cheaper solution, or if do it once is the answer
What colour are the frames at the moment? Changing from a dark colour to a light colour also makes a big difference to how dark the room appears.I guess the question is more about modern upvc sliding doors vs aluminium and whether it's a cheaper solution, or if do it once is the answer
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