Helping homeowners make the right choice

Victoria Brocklesby, COO and Co-Founder at Origin, explores sliding doors and their increasing popularity amongst homeowners

In recent years, there has been a noticeable change in consumer behaviour, with more buyers than ever purchasing sliding doors. This doesn’t mean the more traditional bi-fold is declining in popularity, in fact, they are still so highly sought after that our sales continue to increase every year. However, the demand for the sliding door is also surging fast.

This is largely down to the ongoing trend for homeowners wanting to maximise glass and increase the level of natural light coming into their home wherever possible, especially after months of lockdown where homeowners have had the opportunity to revaluate their space.

As a result of this demand, in 2021, we continued to innovate and launched our brand-new sliding door option, the OS-29, which features ultra-slim sightlines for heightened aesthetics that are so coveted by homeowners. Let’s explore why some homeowners may prefer sliding doors over their bi-fold counterparts…

Safe and sound – With the ever-decreasing sightlines and increasing expanses of glass, it would be easy to assume that the safety and security of the sliding door plays second fiddle to aesthetics to incorporate these technical innovations. At Origin, this is simply not the case. As far as we are concerned, safety and security is paramount, and it is something we as a business take very seriously.

When it comes to security of the home, sliding doors must come with high quality locking and security systems installed. For example, we offer an ultra-secure multi-point locking system that has a minimum of six points of locking. We also offer the option of only specifying a handle on the inside, so there would be no lock for intruders to pick on the outside.

To ensure a safe operation, our sliding doors have a concealed track which reduces the chance of fingers and toes getting accidently caught during the opening process. Additionally, our OS-20 comes as a bonded system with the glass integrated with the frame upon delivery. The glass offered on this system is incredibly secure. Constructed with two toughened sheets – 6mm on both the inward and outward facing panes with an 18mm spacer – it is very difficult to break.

Thermal efficiency – With such large panes of glass, homeowners may be worried about the thermal efficiency of their property. However, that needn’t be the case with high-quality products. Our sliding doors can have a low thermal efficiency rating of just 1.2 W/m2K for our OS-29, OS-44, and OS-72 varieties, and 1.4 W/m2K for our artisan OS-20. This ensures homeowners benefit from year-round efficiency and prevents too much heat entering the home during the summer months and valuable warmth escaping in the winter.

Aesthetics – Sliding doors tend to offer the best views when closed as the panel sizes are larger than bi-folds so there are fewer frames obstructing the view, offering homeowners that all-important widescreen view of the outdoors when closed. The Origin Sliding Door is available in two, three, four or six door configurations and with maximum panel sizes of up to 3m tall by 2.2m wide (or 6m2 overall), sliding doors are a great way to create a large, panoramic view.

From an internal perspective, sliding doors effectively link the inside with out and take up minimal space as they don’t open inwards or outwards, making them a great option for homes with limited room. Aluminium also gives homeowners more colour options as the frames can be powder- costed in any RAL colour to suit their taste.

In summary – Being part of the decision-making process for any home is a tough job. There are so many elements that need to be balanced to produce a functional and aesthetically pleasing home. When it comes to sliding doors, the process is no different, having the right knowledge and doors available puts you in good stead when speaking to customers about their project.

Tel: 0808 239 1984