Complete Guide To Sliding Doors
In order to best understand sliding doors and which type might be the right choice for you, it’s good to know what makes the different types of PVC and aluminium sliding doors unique, how their components work and their specifications. In this helpful guide we aim to demystify the various terms related to sliding patio doors and clear up any confusion!
Sizing
Brickwork Opening Size – this refers to the size of the opening that is required in the wall of your property in order to accommodate the sliding door.
Sizes we supply
- 1500mm (W) x 2100mm (H)
- 1800mm (W) x 2100mm (H)
- 2100mm (W) x 2100mm (H)
- 2400mm (W) x 2100mm (H)
- 2700mm (W) x 2100mm (H)
- 3000mm (W) x 2100mm (H)
- 3600mm (W) x 2100mm (H)
- 4200mm (W) x 2100mm (H)
- 4500mm (W) x 2100mm (H)
Outer Frame Size – this is the dimensions of the entire outer frame of the sliding door once it is fully put together.
Sizes we supply
- 1490mm (W) x 2090mm (H)
- 1790mm (W) x 2090mm (H)
- 2090mm (W) x 2090mm (H)
- 2390mm (W) x 2090mm (H)
- 2690mm (W) x 2090mm (H)
- 2990mm (W) x 2090mm (H)
- 3590mm (W) x 2090mm (H)
- 4190mm (W) x 2090mm (H)
- 4490mm (W) x 2090mm (H)
Cill Size – the cill size of a sliding door is measured as how far the cill along the bottom extends from the property.
Colours
- Our PVC sliding doors are available in white
- Our aluminium sliding doors are available in black, white and grey
Glass Panels
- The glass in our standard sliding doors features low E toughened double glazing
- Our part Q compliant sliding doors feature laminated security double glazing
Guarantee - Both our PVC and aluminium sliding doors hold a 10-year guarantee.
Sliding Door Terms
Here we will break down and define the terms that are used when discussing sliding doors.
Slide & Fixed Doors – These two words are commonly seen when shopping online for sliding doors and they are also used on our website to describe our products. So, you may have come across a door described as “left hand slide & right hand fixed” for example, what this means is that when looking at the door from the outside of the property, the door on the left is the one that will open and slide (to the right) and the door on the right is fixed into place.
Opening Style – This is more or less what is explained in the above paragraph but essentially, this is which way the sliding door slides when looking in from the outside of the property, so either slide to the left or slide to the right.
Double Sliding Door - Some of our largest PVC sliding doors feature a double sliding door, which is four doors in one frame, two fixed at either end and two in the centre that slide to the left and right to create a large opening. These are described on our website as “2x sliding & 2x fixed doors”.
Rail or Track – These two words are used interchangeably to describe the bar that the door slides along when it opens or shuts.
Specifications
Part Q compliant: this means that the door is approved to Document Q which contains guidance on security in new dwellings, including measures taken to avoid any unauthorised entrance to dwellings and flats within a building.
PAS24 locking system: Publicly Available Specification is a minimum standard which means doors - and now windows - are tested to the standard specifications with a fail or pass, as there are no higher or lower grades of security.
Multi-point locking system: These are key operated locks that bolt the door into the frame for extra security and locks at multiple points when the key is turned.
U-Value
U-Value is a measurement of the insulating properties of glass such as how much heat flows through the glass or how much heat loss occurs. Generally, the lower the U-Value a window or door has, the better it is at insulating. Both our PVC and aluminium sliding doors have a U-Value of 1.6W/m2K.
If you require any additional help or information regarding our sliding doors, please don't hesitate to get in contact with our friendly expert team who are happy to answer and questions you may have!