Aluminium sliding patio doors

Frame depth against insulation

The aluminium sliding doors in the row above have one big advantage that no other page shows as clearly: frame depth. 59 and 77 mm, against 194 mm for uPVC. In a renovation, where the floor build-up is already there, that's the difference between fitting and not fitting.

Sightline and maximum sizes

There's an honest drawback against it, and we'd rather tell you than have you find out: both aluminium sliding doors sit at Uf 1.80 W/m²K, against 1.10 for uPVC. That's not because aluminium insulates worse — our best-insulating profile is aluminium, at 0.57 — but because these two systems were chosen for size and slimness. On a large sliding door that 1.80 is a real factor in the energy calculation.

MB-59HS or MB-77HS?

Sizes: up to 6,500 mm wide and 3,000 mm tall, with sliding panels up to 2,200 mm. That 3,000 mm is the greatest height we have in a sliding system; uPVC stops at 2,700 mm. The sightline is substantial: 152.5 and 188.5 mm, the widest we carry.

What you need to measure

Between the aluminium in the row above, only size decides. If 6,500 × 2,700 mm and sliding panels of 2,000 mm are enough, take the MB-59HS: 59 mm frame depth against 77, and a 152.5 mm sightline against 188.5. If it has to be taller, or the sliding panel wider, there's only one — the MB-77HS, up to 3,000 mm tall with panels up to 2,200 mm. You pay for that with 36 mm more profile in view.

Threshold and hardware in the configurator

You're already two steps further than where the configurator starts. It first asks what the door is made of and then which profile, and that's exactly what you decide on this page. What it then asks of you is the size and the layout, the glass and the colour. For the size, measure the structural opening at three heights and three widths — an existing opening is rarely square, and the smallest figure is your size. The floor build-up is far less critical here than with uPVC: 59 or 77 mm instead of 194. That's why in an existing floor this material is often the only one that fits.

Buy aluminium sliding patio doors

The opening you see is not the size you order. You order the outer frame size, and that's the structural opening less a fitting tolerance on every side, which depends on how the door is fixed and finished into the wall. With aluminium that's forgiving — 59 or 77 mm of frame depth leaves room where a uPVC door has none — but the size you order is still what's left after the fitting tolerance, not the structural opening itself.

Aluminium sliding patio doors with triple glazing

On a sliding patio door the most important of the nine choices is the threshold, and on aluminium that's a different conversation from uPVC. The threshold is where weathertightness, insulation and floor build-up meet, and it's also where you step over every day. The lower you want it, the more the detail beneath it has to do. We supply the door, not the floor, so this is the point where your builder needs to look at it before you order — after that the size is fixed. The other choices that count here are the handle and the cylinder; glazing bars and an insect screen are rare on a sliding door.

Aluminium lift and slide doors

You buy aluminium sliding patio doors from us online and made to measure: you choose the profile, layout, glass and colour, and request a quote. You'll have it within three working days.

You choose the glass per door, triple glazing included. Mind the weight: triple glazing is heavier, and on large sliding panels it can set the maximum size. The frame itself insulates less than uPVC, with a Uf of 1.80 W/m²K.

Both our aluminium patio doors are lift and slide: the MB-59HS and the MB-77HS. The panel comes off its seal when you turn the handle and settles back when you turn it back.