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 had similar size drapes made for my MBR and used JCP made-to-measure drapes. They not only made the length I wanted, but also the panel width I needed.. You'll need to call your local JCP to see if they still offer the option but, from experience, I've found it's best to walk in and talk to someone face to face. I always get vague answers over the phone.

Wow, great photos. Such a simple device. And "smooth as silk" too. The last pic shows a minor movement where the strip might pull away from the panel door since the other part is more rigid, fixed to the fridge door. Since this strip is screwed at one end only, it can flex a little and pull away a 1/16th of an inch as the two doors open. This is an advantage since it can assure the two parts remain better aligned than if the strip were bolted at both ends. I'm looking for a White plastic slider like this. I have already seen it on Liebherr (HC-1001 and HC-1050) and on the Blomberg BRFB-0900 and on old Miele fridges. Today I don't know where to order the white ones as a kit (unless I go through the parts distributor for these fridges). The Hafele slider is made in Brown plastic, so I haven't followed through with ordering a box of ten. -david

Thanks for the suggestions! For posterity: Eurowall has a max-panel width of 96" or a whopping 8' per panel (although there's some weight limitations that might make this not work for 2 panel applications). It looks like the 2 panel depth is < 5". Arcadia has a lift-slide door (tsx6000) allowing up to 6 ft per panel (covers 12' total w/ 2 panel) and can work with ~5" exterior walls. Weiland looks like they got bought by Andersen. Andersen has a max of 108 for a 2 panel with their e-series gliding door. So they're out for this width. Fleetwood supports 76" panel width (6.3') with their 3 series sliders and looks like it'll fit with "standard" exterior walls. Now off to get some quotes ...