4-pane sliding patio door, made to measure

This door puts two sliding panes against each other in the middle, with a fixed pane at each end. The left sliding pane moves behind the left fixed pane, the right one behind the right fixed pane: the opening ends up in the middle, between the two panes that slide away. That is more track and more hardware than the 2-pane or 3-pane sliding patio door, and the widest of the three.

The standard size is 5,400 × 2,300 mm. If that is wider than you need or than your wall allows, the 2-pane and 3-pane sliding patio doors are the narrower options in the same lift-and-slide form.

At 5,400 mm wide, every fixed and sliding pane carries a good deal of glass, and that is exactly where the lifting mechanism earns its keep: it lifts the pane clear of the track before you start to slide, so you move a heavy sash with little effort. Without that mechanism, a door this wide would be hard work to open and would wear the track quickly.

This form is the logical choice for a wall that has to open right up, with the opening exactly in the middle — useful when the room is laid out symmetrically around a centre line. If you would rather have the opening at one side, the 2-pane or 3-pane sliding patio door suits better: they always slide to one side instead of parting from the middle to both sides.

At 5,400 mm wide, the floor build-up under the track is no longer a detail: two sliding panes together put considerable weight on the track, and an uneven or too light a base can lead to settlement over time. Have your installer assess how it meets the floor and how it drains beforehand, especially with a low or level threshold.

You choose colour and finish freely; with four panes side by side most people have everything in the same colour, so the difference between fixed and sliding shows only in the drawing and not in the colour. Maintenance is mainly in the two tracks: keep them clear of sand and dirt, because with two sliding panes there is more moving weight relying on a clean, smooth-running track than on the two narrower sliding patio doors.

When renovating a wide rear wall, this door often replaces a row of separate windows or an older, narrower patio door with one wide, symmetrical opening. In a new build, this width is often fixed early, because an opening of 5,400 mm affects the structure above it — something the architect and the structural engineer look at together.

For security, there are two sliding panes here, each with its own locking point — both deserve attention, not just the one you use most. Ask about extra locking points on both panes if you want to put more weight on this.

The weight of each sliding pane decides separately how heavy the lifting mechanism has to be there; the two fixed panes carry no hardware load. The configurator checks whether the glass you choose suits the profile and the size.

Still not sure? Use the comparison with the other layouts in this group, above, to see which arrangement suits your situation best.