Patio, French and Bi-fold Doors

What is the difference?

The main difference between the two types of doors is how each opens.  

FRENCH DOORS 

French doors open outwards/inwards on a hinge whereas patio doors slide along a track and open to the side rather than on a hinge.

French doors opening outwards have the advantage over opening inwards as the French Doors require space and may limit the options of where furniture is placed if opening inwards.  It also depends on the size of your patio as to whether you choose French Doors or Sliding Patio Doors.

The French Doors may not be the ideal choice for space-saving however they compensate with their ease of access. While French Doors require far more clearance to fully open and both doors can be opened whilst sliding patio doors can only open to the left or right as much as their frames will allow.  This allows for more ventilation from the French Doors.

Depending on the width of the opening for the French Doors as they have a maximum size matching side panels can be added to fit the opening.

Our French doors come with a full length 5 point high-security locking mechanism with shoot bolts and Brisant anti-snap locks.  They have a left-hand door and a right-hand door using traditional hinges.

ALL OUR FRENCH DOORS ARE FITTED WITH TOUGHENED ‘A’ RATED GLASS WITH A WARM EDGE SPACER BAR, ARGON FILLED AND ‘K’ GLASS WHICH IS MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT THAN STANDARD GLASS.

To ensure the doors cannot be flung open against walls by strong winds we can fit opening hook and eye catches.

Our uPVC French Doors come in a range of styles and colours to match with the rest of your home.

SLIDING PATIO DOORS

Sliding patio doors slide along a track and can be installed into much wider openings than French Doors.

They work on a non-friction sliding basis.

The only thing to bear in mind with Sliding Patio Doors is that they work on an overlapping basis you can only gain access to 50% of the aperture area as one of the doors will always be in the closed position blocking that space.

Although sliding patio doors have large glass panes we use TOUGHENED ‘A’ RATED GLASS WITH A WARM EDGE SPACER BAR, ARGON FILLED AND ‘K’ GLASS the size of the glass unit is highly energy efficient.

One of the big advantages of sliding Patio Doors is they do not open outwards or inwards like French Doors so they are more suitable if you have restricted space.

Our Sliding Patio Doors come complete with Avocet ABS 3 star anti-snap locks to prevent anyone levering the doors open and an anti-lift device comes as standard to prevent them from being lifted off the tracks to gain entry.

Our sliding Patio Doors come in a  range of colours to match with the rest of your home.

All our French Doors & Sliding Patio Doors come with a 10-year guarantee.

So whether you choose French Doors or a Sliding Patio Door we are here to advise you and offer a free no-obligation quote.

ALUMINIUM BIFOLD DOORS

Aluminium Bifold Doors can be fitted into a standard size opening of 1.4 metres up to 7 metres where as sliding patio doors & french doors are restricted to the width of an opening.

The larger the opening you have available the more your home is opened up to your garden.

Our Bifold doors are made of Aluminium and can come in various colours.  

The most popular colours are Anthracite Grey and White.  

They come with toughened glass which can be either clear or tinted and Avocet ABS Euro 3 star TS007 anti snap locks.

Our Aluminium Bifold Doors come with a full length 5 point high security locking mechanism.

ALL OUR ALUMINIUM BIFOLD DOORS ARE FITTED WITH TOUGHENED ‘A’ RATED GLASS WITH A WARM EDGE SPACER BAR, ARGON FILLED AND ‘K’ GLASS WHICH IS MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT THAN STANDARD GLASS.

MAKING YOUR HOME MUCH WARMER IN THE WINTER AND COOLER IN THE SUMMER

A bifold door is made up of leaves that concertina and the one thing that you have to bear in mind is that you have to allow space for the width of the leaves when the doors are opened inside your home.

The leaves run along tracks at the top and bottom.

They can be designed to either fold on the inside or outside of your home.

Depending on the size of your Aluminium Bifold Doors determines the size of the leaves. 

One advantage of Aluminium Bifold Doors is that you can vary how many leaves you want to open.

You can have them either one single leaf open, a few leaves opening or fully opening varying on how much you want to open up living space in the summer.

All our Aluminium Bifold Doors come with a 10 year guarantee.

So whether you choose Aluminium Bifold Doors,French Doors or a Sliding Patio Door Reliable Windows & Doors Ltd are here to advise you and offer a free no obligation quote.