Patio doors - what type?

[romic]

I need new patio doors. My current ones are sliding aluminium - one fixed glass panel, one sliding door. Currently, the fixed pane is misted and the sliding door has to be dragged because the wheels have had it.

My option is either a similar setup, with one sliding door, or two double doors opening outwards. Both types have their pros and cons, such as two doors opening provides more of an opening when both opened, but they will obstruct the patio to some degree. Sliding door/fixed pane should end up with less "plastic" in the middle to obstruct the view, but it will only give me half the opening width.

What are the best type from a reliability point of view. If I get sliding doors, I don't want to have problems with the wheels in a few years time. With two doors opening, as the opening is large, it means that the two doors will be wider than normal. Does this mean more strain on the door / support leading to sagging etc. in the future?

How do the two types compare cost wise - is there a lot of difference between the two?

Thanks

Roger

[A.Lee]

2 opening doors is the only good option imo. There are some folding doors available, which look good, but they are really expensive - Magnets do them. Basic white patio doors start at £200, they are pretty good too, I fitted some last year, not much difference from a £500 set I fitted to my own house. It depends on the door size, and how much you want to pay. I wouldnt go for sliding doors myself. Alan.

[romic]

Thanks

That is what I'm leaning to, although as I've never fitted double glazing, I would have to have someone in to do it (probably the people who did previous work).

Roger

[Peter Johnson]

When I had my sliding doors replaced by outward-opening French doors last year the salesman said that they were now much more popular than French doors [1]. The fitter said that the price was about the same. [1] In my case it was the opening segment that was discoloured.

[romic]

My opening segment was originally discoloured, but that was replaced about

9 years ago. At the time, the fixed pane was OK. The unit is about 30 years old. I don't know if the sliding door puts more strain on the fitting as a whole, although obviously it is taking more knocks now that I'm having to manually drag the door backwards and forwards rather than a smooth glide.

Roger

[Pete Verdon]

...whereas I would never fit them in this house. Sliding doors are fairly idiot-proof, but it's too easy for said idiots to leave opening doors swinging in the breeze to damage themselves (and possibly people).

As well as the intended occupants, it does also depend on the style of the house. The sliders are in keeping with mine, but I can imagine some settings where they'd look odd.

Pete

[Dave Plowman (News)]

How old? Mine are over 10 years and still slide just fine. The sliding bits are stainless steel.

[Man at B&Q]

Have you considered having the existing ones repaired?

MBQ

[romic]

I did, but the I thought that by the time I'd had the fixed glass replaced, then wheels on the sliding door replaced, I might just as well start again and go for a complete replacement. Another factor which also helped me make my decision was that the wooded step that the fixed pane / runner is fixed to is starting to split and the cement fillet at the side is starting to come away. By replacing everything, at least I'll end up with everything UPVC.

Roger