Northwest Bifolds specialise in the supply and installation of contemporary aluminium sliding patio doors for your home. What you may not know is that aluminium sliding doors are now highly desirable products, offering a host of features and benefits.
Modern sliding doors are entirely different from the old patio doors you may be familiar with. We have put together this guide to answer many of the common questions customers ask us about patio sliding doors.
Are aluminium sliding patio doors less popular than bifolding doors?
The latest generation of sliding patio doors are now as desirable as bifolding doors. However, sliding doors offer the same excellent security, energy efficiency and weather performance as our range of aluminium bifolding doors. If you are thinking about replacing your existing patio doors, renovating your house or building a new extension, the latest range of sliding patio doors is worth considering.
What is better? A bifolding door or a sliding door?
Choosing between a bifolding or a sliding door is down to cost, your property type and how you use the rear doors in your home. In our experience, if your house has a smaller garden or is a town or city property, bifolding doors open up your home by creating an entirely open folding wall, letting you transition between your house and your garden.
The advantage of aluminium patio sliding doors is that they have bigger doors and substantially bigger panes of glass. So if your house enjoys great views or a large garden, you usually want to make the most of your view, and sliding doors are ideal. A sliding door creates a bigger opening with the doors folded back. Sliding doors give you better views when closed.
What are lift and slide and inline sliding patio doors?
Lift and slide doors work with the sliding panel sitting behind the door frame, in the closed position. When you rotate the patio door handle to open the door, the sliding panel lifts the door up and away from the frame, ready to slide. Depending on the product, lift and slide patio doors can offer better ventilation, a tilt facility for air-flow and partially open locking. Contact us, and we can arrange a demonstration of a lift and slide patio door such as our advanced Reynaers sliding door product.
Inline sliding doors work like conventional sliding doors with the door panels sitting within the frame on all sides.
Do sliding doors come with a low threshold?
Bifolding doors come with the option of a low threshold, or the track can be sunk into the floor to achieve a very low, virtually level threshold. Patio sliding doors tend to have higher door thresholds, but it is possible to drop the door down to lower the threshold and achieve a lower detail between inside and outside levels. However, a bifolding door will always provide a lower threshold in height, than a sliding door. Contact us, and we can advise you further.
Is it possible to have a sliding door with an open corner?
Yes. If you are building a new extension, we offer a range of aluminium sliding patio doors with a movable corner post, just like our Origin bifolding doors. Open corner sliding doors tend to be designed with your new extension so it is worth talking to us early about your requirements. We can work with your builder or your architect to achieve the cornerless appearance you desire.
I want large sliding doors. Are they easy to slide?
The components used in today’s modern sliding doors are very sophisticated. You will be surprised just how effortless to slide even the largest sliding doors are. A typical large sliding door leaf can weigh well over 200kg, yet they are very light to slide with just one hand.
Do I need a hardwood subframe with new sliding doors?
If you have previously had an old aluminium patio door in your home, it is quite likely these came with a hardwood subframe. Today’s sliding doors do not require a hardwood subframe as they are all designed to fix directly to the structure. Sliding doors can fit into an existing opening or a newly built one. If you are replacing your old sliding doors, the hardwood subframe does not need to remain in situ.
What are minimalist and slimline sliding doors?
If you have come across sliding doors called minimalist or sliding, these are ultra slim sliding doors designed to offer a near frameless look. Minimalist slimline sliding doors tend to be manufactured around the glass, and they are usually much more expensive than conventional sliding doors. The best feature of these doors is their slim vertical mullions, some as narrow as 20mm. A regular sliding door has mullions ranging from 45mm up to 85mm or more.
These types of doors require specialist installation, which we can cater for if you are interested in these cutting edge, sliding doors.
Contact us for prices and more information about aluminium sliding patio doors.
At Northwest bifolds, we have carried out many installations with our premier range of contemporay sliding doors, to meet your budget, property type and requirements. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation quotation.
