French doors enable a wider opening when both are open. WIndow treatment options are more attractive.

Sliders are more energy efficient.

Actually, no. You can get a four-panel configuration that gives you not quite 15'9" of door -- and the two middle panels both slide open, allowing an opening of 4'2" per door /8'4" total.

I forgot energy efficient. And we talked about that for some time!

I have had them for a few years. They are beautiful and give me a beautiful, expansive view. Since I installed them, I've noticed them in nearly every model home or custom home locally. They're fairly popular now... here.

I wouldn't call them energy efficient, though, as they are quite drafty in cold weather. However, I have not had french doors to compare to.

Hi MrsPete, maybe you could ask over on Windows, there are lots of experts there?

I suspect if you are looking at quality doors, either option is good. We were looking at French vs. sliders (or "gliders" as I guess they're now called?) last year, and decided on French. A few of our considerations:

-Better air sealing
-Did not want a track
-Larger openings. If your wall is only 10' and you want the 8' opening, you'd need to go French -- couldn't do what you show above.

-We got out-swing doors so I think some of your concerns about taking up space, window treatments, etc. don't apply.
-Can get retractable screens
-Security I think is a toss-up since if anyone really wanted to break in they'd just smash the glass
-I think "long lasting" also is probably a toss-up for quality doors
-Not sure that sliders are cheaper, you have to be sure to compare apples to apples. If you want an 8' opening, you'd be paying for a pair of French doors, or your 4-panel sliding set-up.

Oh . . . and our architect was not a big fan of sliders except for the kind that open up the whole wall (like the lift-slide, Nanawall-type doors), that also probably had something to do with it :-)

I just think back to my apartment days 15 years ago and remember how terrible the balcony sliding doors were. They were heavy, always got stuck, and were overall just a pain to use.

Maybe they're starting to make a come back? I would imagine the apartments had low-end doors, so that's why they did not function well. For some reason I still associate them in 80s and 90s homes/apartments with the hideous vertical blind coverings.

Ours are Pella. We got three sets for our courtyard.

Ours are Pella. We got three sets for our courtyard.

{{!gwi}}

We had French and replaced with slider. The French take up a lot of room for swing, and then the door can get caught in the wind, etc. I'd choose sliders over French any day, now.

Just make sure to add in some security hardware with them.

I love French doors and would like them between rooms or out to a porch...but for patio access, I would have a single patio door or slider. If sliders work for you, these sound like wonderful upgrades :)

Oh, those are beautiful! Those might be perfect for our application, though I do not know much about standard size doors. Right now we have two exits onto our "covered deck", one from our kitchen and one from our dining room. The designer currently has 2 sets of 60 inch french doors flanked by 2 foot windows on each side of the french doors. All doors/windows are to 8 ft tall. Does anyone know if the doors MrsPete posted will work in this application?

Here is a link that might be useful:

morselofjoy: You have 2ft+5ft+2ft... so the panel of four sliders would be 9 ft? Each panel would be 2.25ft... I think that would be too small to look right. Andersen's web site says you need a minimum of 117" for the four panel doors, anyway. That's 9.75 feet. I don't think you have room to go wider than 9ft, right? (You'd eat up any space for drapes.)

Musicgal.. how wide is your area for your Pella sliders? That might give morselofjoy some perspective on sizing.

Oaktown, the salesman who was working with my mom indicated that these new doors have a better air seal /better efficiency than French doors. Of course, when don't sales people say what works for them? You're right about the track.

RunnerGirl, I've also lived with no-good apartment sliding glass doors, but these were not the same -- perhaps that's why they've "upped" the name -- they want to separate them in our minds.

BeautyButDebtFree -- love your name! Yes, I HATE the swing of my French doors. It's a pain and prevents breezes from entering the house. My mom agrees, and we're both excited to see how these doors work in her house.

As for sizes, you'll have to do the math yourself -- after you're sure of your wall sizes. No one choice is going to be right for every house.

Bottom line for me: When I went shopping with my mom, I wasn't prepared to be so wowed by these doors. I thought the choices were old-fashioned sliding glass doors or inefficient French doors. These new doors seem to have the best of both options, while removing some of their problems. I'd recommend that any home buyer give them a look before making a decision.

I just replaced my 8 foot wide aluminum "sliders" (more like a full body yank with two planted feet) with Sunrise vinyl sliding doors ($2000). One finger opening for that huge 4 foot wide door and incredibly airtight ratings. The screen door slides wonderfully also. The new sliders are a completely different animal than the old ones. I also had a Provia dual outswing French door put in at the same time , about $2000 more than the slider. The French door dual outswing was needed for its location but the amount of glass in the slider lets in a lot more light than the Provia French door.

That is good to hear about the air sealing. Probably is somewhat dependent on the manufacturer. We were at 1 ACH on a blower door test pre-drywall, so I think French doors are pretty good too!
The Anderson sliders/gliders sure are pretty.

lolauren and morselofjoy- each courtyard wall opening is approximately 12 feet wide by 8 feet tall, although our framer was off by a few inches on each door. When we ordered the doors we were able to customize the size. Our doors are wood clad on the interior and have an enduraclad trim on the exterior, due to the demands of our climate. The action on the slide is really smooth, even with all the sawdust and grit in the air over there.
A funny story about one of the doors. My electrician was trying to open one of the doors for me from the outside on a walk through, and he kept pushing it in because he thought it was an inswing French door. He had an aha moment when I slid it open.
When closed, they present a beautiful wall of glass. Not as pretty as say, an accordion door perhaps, but much more affordable.