Patio doors are always a great addition to any home, they let in a lot of natural light from outside, give you a great view of your garden and gently blur the lines between inside and outside. Not only are they stylish and practical, but patio doors can also increase the value of your home as they’re a very desirable feature in properties for most people.
The only struggle is knowing what type of patio door you want for you home, there are quite a few variations and types of patio doors, but for the most part they boil down to three distinct types of doors: French doors, sliding glass doors and BiFolding doors.
So, what patio door will be right for you and your home? Well keep reading as we’ve broken down all the advantages and drawbacks of each main type below!
BiFold Doors
BiFold doors are a relatively new variety of patio door, they are made up of multiple small window door panels that are connected on hinges. They open and close by folding and unfolding the doors along the hinges, so that they completely cover the doorway when closed and neatly stack up at the edge of the doorway when open.
BiFolds are currently incredibly popular, with a look you don’t get from other types of patio doors as they’re made up of evenly sized panels unlike sliding or French doors. BiFold doors also have the advantage of being compatible with click-fit door blinds which often aren’t compatible with other types of patio doors.
French Doors
French doors are an incredibly common type of patio door, that has unfortunately fallen out of favour in recent years. A French door is made up of two door panels with windows in that open outward like a normal door, they are often usually made with a large window on both sides of the door, essentially making it a doorway within a large window.
French doors are incredibly simple to install and use, but they aren’t the most effective in terms of how much space they take up and with a mix of the door panels and the larger windows they can tend to look a bit unsightly if not well maintained. However French doors tend to be very affordable making them attractive to homeowners on a budget.
Sliding Glass Doors
The last type of patio door is sliding glass doors, these patio doors are made up of two large glass panels, one of which will be on a track. The large window on the track can be moved side to side in order to open it. when the door is open, the movable panel will sit in front of the static window panel.
As these doors are made of mostly glass, you get an almost unobstructed view to the outside, with only the frame for each large window blocking the view. But these don’t make an excellent use of space as around 50% of the doorway will always be occupied by the static panel.
