A sliding door buys you the view. Two or three very large panes, an interlock of 20–50mm where they meet, and no folding frames breaking up the glass when the doors are shut — which is how they spend most of their life.
Ask one question: will you actually open them? If the doors will be shut for 90% of the year and what you are buying is the view from the sofa, take the slider — a bi-fold puts a frame in front of your eyes every 900mm even when closed.
If you will genuinely throw the wall open in summer, the bi-fold wins, because a slider can only ever open half (two-pane) or two-thirds (three-pane) of the aperture.
A standard slider runs on rollers and brushes past its seals. A lift-and-slide sash sits down on a compression gasket when you turn the handle down, and lifts a few millimetres onto its rollers when you turn it up. Two consequences: it seals dramatically better when closed, and a very heavy pane glides with almost no effort.
On big panes — anything over about 2.5m wide — lift-and-slide is worth the extra. On a modest two-pane set it usually isn't.
| Job | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Sliding patio door, 2 panes, approx. 3m supplied & fitted | £3,000 – £4,500 |
Ranges include VAT and installation. Final price depends on size, spec, access and site condition — a survey gives you a fixed number.
Around £3,000–£4,500 supplied and fitted for a two-pane door of roughly 3 metres. Very large panes, lift-and-slide gear and slim-sightline premium systems push it higher.
Standard systems run around 40–50mm at the interlock. Premium slim systems get down to roughly 20mm, at a significant price premium.
Yes — motorised lift-and-slide systems exist and are common on very large panes where the weight makes manual operation tiring. Budget accordingly.
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