Five types, from the sliding door that opens your living room to the front door people knock on.
Doors are the highest-visibility and highest-ticket part of most jobs, and the part where the difference between a good and a bad install shows up first: in how they seal against water.
The highest-visibility and highest-ticket product in a typical job. It uses the same X and O notation as the windows, and the details that decide whether you are happy with it in five years are the rollers, the sill track and the threshold.
One or two swinging glazed leaves. Where a slider always keeps half of itself in the way, a French door opens the opening almost completely — at the cost of the space the leaves need to swing through.
The door people knock on is also an opening in the building envelope, and it has to be protected like any other. What changes with an entry door is the material, and how much that choice depends on how far you are from the water.
Engineered aluminium frames whose panels concertina to one side. Where a slider always keeps half of itself in the way, a bi-fold gets nearly all of it out of the way — and unlike a pocket system it does not need a wall cavity to hide in.
An entrance meant to be noticed. Because the leaf turns on a pivot set into the floor and head rather than hanging from side hinges, it can be far wider and heavier than a hinged door of the same construction.
At a glance
Cost is relative between these types, not a price. Every one is available impact rated.
| Sliding glassThe Florida default | FrenchHinged, fully glazed | EntryThe front door | Bi-foldFolds and stacks | PivotStatement entrance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How it opens | Panels slide on a track | Panels swing on hinges | Single swinging leaf | Panels fold and stack to one side | Rotates on a central or offset pivot |
| How much of the opening clears | About half | Nearly all of it | One doorway | Around 90% | One wide leaf |
| Relative cost | Low to moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High | High |
| Construction work involved | Direct replacement | Direct replacement | Direct replacement | Usually direct, wider openings vary | Frame and floor detail matter |
| Where it usually goes | Living room to patio | Bedroom or dining to patio | Front and back entrances | Wide openings, restaurants, high-end homes | Front entrances that are meant to be seen |
If the opening already has a slider and you like how the room works, replacing it like for like is almost always the sensible spend. Bi-fold and pivot are worth it when the opening is the point of the room — not as a default upgrade.
These three answers do not change with the operating type. They are what tells an approved unit from one that only looks like it, and they are worth checking on any quote — ours or anybody else’s.
Design pressures, U-factors and acoustic ratings belong to a specific model at a specific size and come from its Notice of Acceptance. We give you the ones for your openings with the quote.
The type decides how the door opens. The glass decides what it does about heat, noise and fading, and the packages are the same four the windows are quoted with: laminated, laminated with Low-E, insulated laminated and acoustic laminated.
A door is where that choice is felt hardest, because a door is mostly glass. A slider is usually the largest single expanse of it in the house, so heat gain in August and traffic noise at night arrive through it before they arrive anywhere else — and the same package that is a refinement on a bedroom window is the difference between a room you use in the afternoon and one you do not. The four are compared side by side, with what each is for and what it costs relative to the others, on the impact windows page.
Every line we sell carries Miami-Dade approval. Which one suits your job depends on the openings and the budget, and we will tell you when the cheaper line is the better buy.
They are the most impressive thing you can do to an opening and they are not a straight replacement. The wall the panels slide into has to be non-structural or be redesigned, so it is a remodelling job rather than a door swap. We supply them — we would rather tell you what it involves before you fall in love with the idea.
In-swing generally seals better against water, because wind pressure pushes the leaf onto its weatherstripping instead of away from it. Out-swing frees up interior space and needs non-removable hinge pins because the hinges are outside. It is a real decision, not a preference, and we will walk you through it at the estimate.
It looks better and it is easier to walk over, and it is harder to seal against water, which usually shows up as a lower water penetration rating. We will show you both options rather than quietly quoting the one that is easier for us.
For the insurance credit, yes. Opening protection is all or nothing, and the garage door is the single largest opening in most homes. We do not sell garage doors, and we will still tell you this before you spend money on everything else.
Tell us which door bothers you and we will quote that one first.
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