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Who doesn’t like a good patio door? They’re a great way to connect your home and garden, giving you a delightful view from the inside of your home and creating a good flow from your home into your garden come Summertime.
While all patio doors essentially do the same job (act as a big window and doorway) there are a few different types of patio doors that all have their own advantages and drawbacks, so before you jump at the idea of installing patio doors in your home, let’s look at all the different types of patio doors available to you and look into their pros and cons.
There are three main types of patio doors that we’ll be looking into today: Sliding glass doors, French doors and Bi-folding doors. So let’s get into it!
Bi-Folding Doors
Bi-folding doors are a relatively new type of patio door, which has become very popular over the past 10 years. A bi-folding door is a wide doorway made out of multiple window panels, which are all connected to each other, this allows you to open and close the doors by folding and unfolding the individual panels up on each other.
Bi-Folding Door Pro’s
-As all the door panels fold up to one side, you get the entire doorway open, whereas other patio doors will occupy more space when open.
-As each panel on the door folds, you have a great deal of control over how ‘open’ your door is.
-Bi-folding doors can use specialist Bi-Fold door blinds which fit in each door panel, whereas other patio doors need window dressings installed over the doorway.
-Bi-folding doors have more security features than ither patio doors.
Bi-Folding Door Con’s
-Bi-folding doors are typically more expensive than other types of patio doors.
-As the door is made up of multiple panels, your view of the outside is somewhat obstructed.
Sliding Glass Doors
Sliding glass doors are a classic patio door design, made up of two large panes of glass, one which is static and another which is on a sliding track, allowing you to open the door by sliding the movable pain in front of the static pane.
Sliding Glass Door Pro’s
-As sliding glass doors are typically made from only two panels, you will have minimal obstructions of your view of the outside.
-As you only need to move one panel to open the door this is the simplest patio door to open and close.
-Sliding Glass doors are often relatively cheap and affordable for patio doors.
Sliding Glass Door Con’s
-If you want window coverings, you will need to install them over the doorway rather than on the door, which may impede the doors accessibility.
-As only one panel in the door moves to open, there is a lot of wasted space and you don’t get full use of the space.
French Doors
French doors are the most common type of patio door and are made up of two doors with large window panels in them which are surrounded by static windows. This means you just open the door panels like a normal door, but have extra windows in the area.
French Door Pro’s
-These doors are very secure as each door panel has it’s own locking mechanisms, which will help secure your home.
-As the door panels work as a normal door, they’re more familiar for most people unlike other patio doors which have unique opening and locking systems.
-French doors are considered rather stylish and add some extra style points to your home.
French Door Con’s
-As only the door panels open and they are surrounded by static windows, they have a lot of wasted space.
-As these doors have a lot of hardware connecting the doors and static windows, your view of the outside will be obscured.
