Two-panel sliders
One fixed, one sliding. The most common domestic configuration and the most cost-effective.
Overview
What you need to know
The point of a slider is glass. Where a bifold gives you a folding stack of frames, a sliding door gives you two or three enormous panes and an interlock you barely notice — which is why sliders suit a view and bifolds suit an opening you want completely clear.
Modern slim systems have brought sightlines down to around 20mm to 35mm at the interlock, so even when the doors are closed you are looking at glass rather than aluminium. The panels run on stainless bearings and, correctly adjusted, a 250kg pane moves with one hand.
Weight is the thing to get right. Large sliding panes need a properly supported structural opening and a track bedded dead level; get either wrong and the door will drag within a year. We check both at survey and will tell you if the opening needs work first.
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Options
Styles and specifications
Three-panel sliders
Two sliding panes stacking behind one fixed, opening roughly two-thirds of the aperture.
Four-panel and pocket systems
For wide openings, including panels that slide back into a wall cavity so they disappear entirely.
Corner-opening sliders
A moving corner post that slides away, opening two elevations at once. Structurally demanding and worth planning early.
Flush threshold
The track set into the screed so the floor finish runs unbroken from inside to out.
Colour and finish
Any RAL powder coat, dual colour inside and out, with matching or contrasting handles.
Benefits
Why customers choose this
- Maximum glass area for the opening — more daylight than any folding system
- Panels stack rather than swing, so no floor space is lost inside or out
- Fewer moving joints than a bifold, which means fewer seals to fail
- Excellent weather performance on exposed elevations
- Thermally broken frames with double or triple glazed units
- Multipoint locking and laminated glass options for ground-floor security
Applications
Where it works
- Rear extensions opening onto a garden or terrace
- Apartment balconies where swinging doors are not practical
- Garden rooms and outbuildings
- Replacing tired 1980s patio doors in the same aperture
- New builds with wide structural openings
Gallery
Sliding Doors we have installed
Sliding Doors 1
Sliding Doors 2
Sliding Doors 3
Sliding Doors 4
FAQ
Sliding Doors questions
If you want the opening completely clear in summer, choose bifolds. If you spend more time looking through the doors than walking through them, choose sliders.
Individual panes up to around 3m tall and 2.5m wide depending on the system and glass weight. Multi-panel runs can span well beyond 6m with the right structural support.
Modern systems with brush and gasket seals and thermally broken frames perform well. The old aluminium sliders people remember had no thermal break at all.
Usually yes, though the head needs checking. Slim systems are heavy and the lintel above has to be adequate for the load and free of deflection.
Vacuum the bottom track a few times a year and keep it clear of grit. That is genuinely most of it — grit in the track is what wears the rollers.
Related services
Often specified together
Bifold Doors
Folding door sets from two to seven panels, in any RAL colour.
View bifold doorsDoors
Composite, aluminium, French, patio and fire-rated doors built to PAS 24 security standards.
View doorsRoof Lanterns
Contemporary lanterns and flat rooflights that lift daylight into extensions.
View roof lanternsGet a price for your sliding doors
Free survey, itemised written quote, and a 10-year installation guarantee.