patio doors … practical and a good source of light, especially in semi-detached houses or older houses with small windows.
Today patio doors are available in a variety of styles and materials. They can be sliding panels, French doors or folding doors. Frames range from white pvc or wood effect, stained wood or powder coated aluminum in a variety of standard colours.
If you own a period property, you most likely want to retain its features or (heritage listings notwithstanding) opt for a contemporary makeover for a comfortable modern lifestyle with a ‘wow’ factor.
Many patio doors are available with Georgian style panels, in PVC, wood and aluminium, and some are available in an LED light design. Modern Tudor or Georgian houses look absolutely fine with white plastic frames, but many property owners with older characters find PVC too incongruous. Wood frames are preferred as wood has been used for centuries and is likely to be the original material in most traditional properties.
In fact, apart from the stately mansions with French doors opening onto their grand terraces, it was unlikely that the properties of the period had patio doors when they were first built. Its installation, therefore, has already moved away from tradition and, therefore, has opened the way to increase performance.
The cheapest form of wooden patio door is probably softwood French doors. More recently, wooden bi-fold doors have come to market through national DIY companies. These off-the-shelf kits are usually supplied in a variety of sizes and the hole must be adjusted to fit the doors by the owner or builder installing the doors.
Be bold, go for color
Alternatively, there are aluminum fold-outs that are custom made to fit the hole, often installed within a couple of weeks of ordering, by an experienced team from the manufacturer or supplier. There are many other advantages to choosing this option: Aluminum frames are strong but much thinner than wooden frames; aluminum folding doors are suitable for widths of 6 or 7 meters; Aluminum frames can be ordered in over 200 colors!
Styles include Georgian and lead designs, single door or with a horizontal bar. Other options include integral blinds housed within the double glazed cavity and a selection of glass styles including tinted, dark and more.
There’s another type of patio door on the horizon: the double-glazed glass curtain, a set of frameless doors that slide individually through the space and can pivot at the end of the track to stack against the wall. Glass curtains are currently available as frameless room dividers.