Sliding Doors Glossary of Terms

With a modern design, world-class engineering and unparalleled style, a latest-generation, a slimline sliding door can transform your home.  However, as you do your research to find the perfect sliding door you may get confused by some of the terminologies.  So we’ve put together this glossary of terms.

Sliding Doors Glossary of Terms.

Our sliding doors glossary of terms explains all the different features found in modern aluminium sliding doors, covering the product, the system and some specifications.

Sliding Door Systems.

Most sliding doors are designed by “Systems Companies”.  The systems company designs extrudes, tests and bring to market the sliding door you will have in your home.  The Systems Company is responsible for the design and engineering of the products. Aluminium bars with all the hardware and accessories are supplied to aluminium manufacturers (fabricators) who then make the product.

The majority of systems companies do not manufacture their products.  The most noticeable exception is  Origin.  Origin sliding doors are unique in that they are designed and made by the same entity.

Inline Sliding Doors.

An inline sliding door work in the traditional sliding door style, with each panel set within the frame and the track.  An inline sliding door slides along its track and comes with a choice of pull handles to use when you operate the door.

Lift and Slide Doors.

Lift and Slide patio doors comprise more sophisticated gearing than an inline sliding door.  The door handle on an inline sliding door does more than just slide a door open and shut.  The handle on a lift and slide patio door raises the door panel from its closed position, ready to slide.  When you close a lift and slide door, a reverse operation on the handle lowers the door panel down into its frame and locking it.

Sliding Door configuration.

The term sliding door configuration explains how you design your doors. Configuration covers the number of sliding door panels, the direction they slide in as well as whether the door is a lift and slide or inline model.   Sliding door configuration also covers colours, hardware and handle options and extras such as trickle vents, additional tracks and glass specification.

Sliding door interlock.

The sliding door interlock is the vertical mullion you see when the doors are closed.  Each door panel is designed to lock into the adjacent one. Interlocks prevent the doors from being prised or lifted off as well.  The sliding door interlock is one of the most important visual components in your new sliding door. The slimmer the interlock, the more aesthetically pleasing the door, the bigger the glass area and the less visible aluminium frame you see. Our Smarts Visoglide sliding door offers one of the thinnest interlocks for standard sliding doors on the market at just 35mm.

The Origin Inline Sliding Door offers an interlock of 20mm making it one of the thinnest and most advanced aluminium sliding doors on the market with a near frameless appearance.  We are one of only a few showrooms in the Surrey area showcasing this latest minimalist aluminium sliding door for your home.

The sliding door track.

The sliding door track is the bottom of your doors where the panels sit and slide.  Underneath the sliding door are the door rollers or lift and slide mechanisms.  The sliding door configuration determines how many tracks you have with your door.  Two, three and four panel doors can come with double or triple tracks depending on the direction they slide in.  The more tracks you have, the deeper the doors will be.

Multi-point locking.

A quality aluminium sliding door should feature several locking points to keep it secure.  Whether inline or lift and slide, multi-point locks come as standard with every sliding door from Aspire Bifolds.

Our multi-point locking systems suit all sliding doors in all configurations and styles.  At the locking point of your door, four or five separate bolts engage into special keeps securing the door and your home.  Added to the multi-point locks are security rated door cylinders as well.

Polyester powder coatings.

One of the benefits of choosing an aluminium sliding door is the huge choice of colour.  PVCu windows are foiled or wet painted to achieve a colour.  All aluminium is polyester powder coated.

The powder coating process gives you a choice of over 150 different colours as well as the option of a different colour inside and out.  Powder coating also gives you great paint guarantees from 15 to 25 years depending on the finish and the application.  Powder coated aluminium doors give you more colour choice, protection and long lasting paint finishes than any other method of colouring windows and doors.

Patio door Trickle Ventilation.

For sliding doors going into new extensions, current Building Regulations dictate that adequate ventilation must be provided in habitable rooms.  One way of ensuring ventilation is to fit a trickle ventilator to your sliding doors.  A slimline component housing a controllable or permanent vent is fitted to the top of the doors allowing a consistent, but unnoticeable airflow to enter your home, prevent condensation and mould.

Sliding door low threshold.

It is possible to sink a sliding door into the floor to achieve flush floor levels inside and out.  This is called a flush floor or low threshold. If you are considering a new extension with sliding doors, talk to us today about how we can create a seamless link between the inside and outside of your home.  A sliding door low threshold gives you easy access inside and out, with no loss of weather performance.

Sliding door survey.

Once you have chosen us to improve your home, we will send our trained surveyors to carry out a survey.  The survey is critical in ensuring that your new sliding doors are manufactured to fit your structural opening.  We can work with your builder, your architect and with you to establish floor levels, special requirements, sliding door configuration and other features of your new doors.  A survey can only be carried out to an existing or prepared new opening.

Sliding door experts for London and Surrey.

At Aspire Bifolds we offer the finest and latest sliding doors on the market, designed to add value, style and a wow factor to your home.  Thanks to the large glass panels, effortless sliding and high security, there has never been a better time to fit a modern sliding door.  Contact us today or visit our showroom for a free, no-obligation quotation.