Surrey Homes | SH43 | May 2018 | Restoration & New Build supplement inside

Vision ultra slimline sliding doors
Total transparency
A feature glass wall is the great home aspiration of our times, but the choices
can be bewildering – so we’ve asked some experts to explain the options
Here and above: bifold doors
Tom Ellis of YES Glazing
What are the main options for glass
doors? Sliding doors and bifolding
doors are the two most popular options
for large expanses of glass doors. More
conventional French-style patio doors
are another option - and indeed the
only option if you want Crittall steelframed
doors - but for larger openings
that can really provide a seamless link
between outside and inside spaces,
sliding or bifold doors are the favoured
choice.
What are the relative advantages
of the different kinds of doors?
The choice boils down to the type
of opening required and the amount
of visible frame taking up the view.
French style patio doors swing (usually
outwards), so there will need to be
adequate room outside for the doors
to swing open. They are also restricted
by the possible width of the opening,
which is restricted by the weight of
the doors - double doors in Crittall for
instance can have a maximum width of
1830mm - although surrounding panels
can be fitted so at least the ‘wall of glass’
effect can still be achieved, even if not
all of it can be opened.
Bifold and sliding doors can have
massive openings, but bifold doors also
need adequate room on the opening
side for the folded panels of the doors
when opened. There must also be
room to stack the panels of doors once
opened (on both sides on a double
opening setup). Spans of up to 25
metres of bifolding doors are possible
with our Sunflex bifolding doors so you
can really open properties up to the
outside world.
Sliding doors allow the least
interrupted view. The sightlines on
our Ultraslim VISION sliding doors
system are just 24mm and panels can
be 3000mm wide – that’s three metres,
or nearly ten feet of glass. With a threepanel
system covering an area of nine
metres, that means just two visible
upright sightlines of 24mm (less than
an inch) each will be visible with the
doors shut.
In comparison, our slimmest
bifolding doors have sightlines of
115mm and a maximum panel size of
1200mm, so for the equivalent nine
metre opening, an eight-panel system
would be needed, and over 10 percent
of the glazing area would be sightlines.
So sliding doors really do offer the
Crittall windows and doors
23 surrey-homes.co.uk