Patio door - 4m x 2m (sliding or bi-fold)

Zulu

Looking to convert a garage into an office.

As part of this, I'm thinking of knocking out the side wall and inserting a large sliding door to let in light and open access to the garden. I was thinking of a 4M wide lift and slide or bi-fold, but they are looking pretty expensive. (Approx 6-7K for the door alone).

....so I'm thinking of looking abroad. Is there anywhere I should be looking? Can anyone advise? Recommend anyone?

listermint

With such a task you are going to need structural steel put in above and both sides of the opening. Quite a substantial cost excluding the door itself. Have you factored that in? There is a UK company that do bifold doors and deliver for a lot less than what you've indicated there half in fact. Search bifold uk.

One thing to note bifold can be notorious for not being fantastic for Eir tightness and can cause draughts after some time. So if you value warmth in the room year round also consider this.

Zulu

ah yeah, I know there's an RSJ/I beam needed over the door to support the roof, but I'm just focusing on the door itself as the biggest ticket item.

TBH I'm gone off the bi-fold and am really only considering a life and slide. It appears that in Ireland thats coming in around 2K/M which I'm guessing I can get cheaper with some foot work.

listermint

Zulu wrote: »

ah yeah, I know there's an RSJ/I beam needed over the door to support the roof, but I'm just focusing on the door itself as the biggest ticket item.

TBH I'm gone off the bi-fold and am really only considering a life and slide. It appears that in Ireland thats coming in around 2K/M which I'm guessing I can get cheaper with some foot work.

For me I'd go with the slide as they are easier to maintain and hold airtight better than bifold

judgefoozle

listermint wrote: »

For me I'd go with the slide as they are easier to maintain and hold airtight better than bifold

Have a 3m bifold and heard a lot of the stories about them not being airtight or reliable. Two years later and not one single problem - and it's on a West facing side of the house that gets heavy rain the odd time.

Went with triple glazed aluminum and was around 4500 fitted - cost at the time was approx 1.5-2k per metre when shopping around.

Might be overkill if you just want light coming in - but we can use one panel as a door which is handy too.

AltFact

judgefoozle wrote: »

Have a 3m bifold and heard a lot of the stories about them not being airtight or reliable. Two years later and not one single problem - and it's on a West facing side of the house that gets heavy rain the odd time.

Went with triple glazed aluminum and was around 4500 fitted - cost at the time was approx 1.5-2k per metre when shopping around.

Might be overkill if you just want light coming in - but we can use one panel as a door which is handy too.

Hi judgefoozle,
Can you PM me supplier?
Thx

katseye

You may have already made your decision but to add there are alternatives to lift and slide in the normal sliding door ranges that move quite well.
I found the L&S's very expensive so after a lot of research went with a PVC (alu inside) slider designed for larger openings and so far I'm impressed with the rollers and sliding mechanism, I stuck with double glazing. A local supplier was offering this:
http://www.deceuninck.com/uk/monorail-sliding-door.aspx

also looked at this option as a cheaper L&S from Kommerling
https://www.koemmerling.com/en/products/sliding-systems/lift/sliding-systems/premidoor-70/standard-6/

Zulu

Super thanks.
Was it much cheaper?

katseye

Zulu wrote: »

Super thanks.
Was it much cheaper?

Yes. It was by far. It came in nicely under 2k.
The cheapest lift and slide quote (supply only) was ~3700k (inc vat) for just under 3m opening (although it was taller at 2.4m high). All other L&S quotes for this size were 5k+.

The same company with the cheap L&S above offered a regular Alu slider but when I inspected one in person I was not impressed. It was very heavy and difficult to open, but I suspect it may have been triple glazed, which is something to bear in mind.

It can be hard to get a decent quote when you are buying only 1 thing. I found most of them couldn't be bothered with a small fish deal like this. They'd rather have their people and vans out with a full load!

dubext

Hi there
could i get pm for supplier also please

katseye wrote: »

Yes. It was by far. It came in nicely under 2k.
The cheapest lift and slide quote (supply only) was ~3700k (inc vat) for just under 3m opening (although it was taller at 2.4m high). All other L&S quotes for this size were 5k+.

The same company with the cheap L&S above offered a regular Alu slider but when I inspected one in person I was not impressed. It was very heavy and difficult to open, but I suspect it may have been triple glazed, which is something to bear in mind.

It can be hard to get a decent quote when you are buying only 1 thing. I found most of them couldn't be bothered with a small fish deal like this. They'd rather have their people and vans out with a full load!

Ceady

dubext wrote: »

Hi there
could i get pm for supplier also please

Could you pls pm me supplier also
thanks

Ceady

katseye wrote: »

Yes. It was by far. It came in nicely under 2k.
The cheapest lift and slide quote (supply only) was ~3700k (inc vat) for just under 3m opening (although it was taller at 2.4m high). All other L&S quotes for this size were 5k+.

The same company with the cheap L&S above offered a regular Alu slider but when I inspected one in person I was not impressed. It was very heavy and difficult to open, but I suspect it may have been triple glazed, which is something to bear in mind.

It can be hard to get a decent quote when you are buying only 1 thing. I found most of them couldn't be bothered with a small fish deal like this. They'd rather have their people and vans out with a full load!

Could you pls pm supplier also
Thanks

Zulu

Folks, so my supplier for the aluminum door fell through - gutted that he waster so much time. And now I'm back to square one, but with a big effin hole in the wall.

Got a quote for a similar price, but its pvc.

Is this a problem?

Whats the issue with PVC? Why is Alu better? Is it?

mp31

Sorry to hear that. What happened?

BryanF

Pvc frames will be chunkier

Zulu

mp31 wrote: »

Sorry to hear that. What happened?

In short, once deposit was paid - lots of "no-shows" with no notice.

Lots of broken promises.

Not taking calls and promising a "call back" which never happened. Communication only over text.



Long story:

They told me 2 week after final measurements were provided. When I provided that, they stopped answering the phone, and would only communicate very occasionally via text. Lots of excuses of being busy, ok I put up with that - somewhat expected. I was eventually given a fitting date 3 weeks after final measurements so I arranged the builders for 4 weeks later. They were a no show (no call, no nothing) to that (somewhat expected as no calls were being answered, no texts returned).


I was then promised the Monday of the 4th week. No show again; no call; no text.


Then I was promised the weekend of the 4th week. No show again; no call; no text. I cancelled the builder. No idea when it might be ready.


The weekend of the 5th week I was advised almost everything was ready, just a hold up on a "vent gasket", but no date for fitting.



Finally I got a text saying they'd return the deposit as they couldn't give me a date.



Got a text yesterday to say deposit returned. Not in my account today, but it's across banks so hopefully tomorrow.

BryanF wrote: »

Pvc frames will be chunkier

Any idea by how much?
If the frame it's the difference of 5cm Alu and 10-15cm PVC I can live with that. If it's a lot more I'm in for a disappointment.

Richohags

Emmet by any chance ?

Zulu

Got it in one.