Sliding vs. French Patio Doors: Which Is Better?

Patio doors are generally divided into two categories: French doors and contemporary sliding doors. Each group has its unique advantages, but you need to assess your home improvement goals to pick the right one that fits.

To choose the right patio door for your home, Renewal by Andersen® of Atlanta shows how these doors stack up against one another in key areas:

Glass Area

By and large, contemporary sliding doors provide more glass, and therefore more view, because they have narrow framing. On the other hand, French doors boast the traditional craftsmanship of mortise-and-tenon joinery and the classic stile and rail construction.

Then again, the quality of the panorama depends on your chosen glazing option as well. We recommend choosing products with spectrally selective Low-E coatings, like Renewal by Andersen doors, to reflect unwanted solar rays and still get adequate daylight.

Operation

French doors are usually hinged, which is why they swing either inward or outward. Swinging doors need room to open and close, which can be a concern if you lack floor space. Thanks to modern innovations, though, some French door models glide like their contemporary sliding counterparts. As a result, they now save space and allow different furniture arrangement possibilities.

Access

The amount of access you can get from your patio doors depends on the total size of your wall opening. To maximize the aperture, we recommend a multiple-panel configuration. This way, your hinged or sliding patio doors can have at least two operating panels to accommodate more people and move bulky items.

Security

Since sliding doors can be pushed off their tracks, hinged units are intrinsically more secure. However, innovative locks have resolved this typical weakness of sliding glazed patio door systems. An excellent case in point is our sophisticated Andersen® reach-out locking mechanism, which pulls the active door panel snugly into the jamb. With the addition of our optional auxiliary foot lock, our sliding patio doors are virtually impregnable.

Let Renewal by Andersen of Atlanta help you retrofit tough, energy-efficient, attractive and low-maintenance patio doors to your home. Call us at (866) 609-5033 today to schedule your FREE, in-home consultation in Atlanta or Marietta, GA, and tell us your ideas.