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Thread: Who makes the best sliding doors and french doors

  1. #11

    Re: Who makes the best sliding doors and french doors

    Thanks for the information.
    I am located near the Ohio/West Virginia border(I live in/on planet West Virginia)believe me I am listening to everyones advice and experiences.

    Regards

  2. #12
    Senior Member
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    SouthCentral Oklahoma
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    Re: Who makes the best sliding doors and french do

    Hey Walrus, Koo koo kachoo! There are frequently exceptions to most generalizations but... I submit to you that from an energy conservation standpoint, spending equal dollars on a slider vs a French will result in better performance from the French. Stated another way, you will have to pay more for a slider of equal performance to a French.

    If you want the light and the look but don't actually need to open both sides of the French door, you can mount the "fixed" side of the French pair as a truly fixed, i.e. inoperable door. As it is permanently affixed it contributes essentially zero infiltration resulting in much less infiltration than the typical French double door installation. You wouldn't use hinges but for "the look" you might consider putting some hardware on it.

    Patrick
    "I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"

  3. #13
    Senior Member
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    Central Ohio
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    Re: Who makes the best sliding doors and french doors

    Here are the doors I used........look good, so far they have performed well. No below zero temps yet this year though. The doors have not been trimmed out as yet.
    web page
    Jerry

  4. #14
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    Oct 2002
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    Texas
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    Re: Who makes the best sliding doors and french doors

    I haven't tried the french doors, but Andersen makes fine windows. I put a 5' casement window over a tub in an add-on to my old house in 1986. When I moved out in 2000, that windows was as perfect as the day it was installed. Even with a north wind in the wintertime, sitting in the tub was perfectly comfortable, my wife says (I'm a shower man myself).

    When I build my new house, all the windows will we Andersen.
    Alan L. - Texas
    North of Mustang
    South of Bugtussle
    On the Banks of Buck Creek

  5. #15

    Re: Who makes the best sliding doors and french doors

    Folks,
    I am still listening...

  6. #16

    Re: Who makes the best sliding doors and french do

    Hey Pat::::I am the walrus, goo goo goo joob goo goo goo goo joob

  7. #17
    Senior Member
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    Sep 2002
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    Northern Michigan
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    Re: Who makes the best sliding doors and french doors

    I've installed a lot of sliding doors. Andersens (before they came assembled), Pella, American Craftsman, Peach Tree, etc.....If you decide on the Andersen, go with the Frenchwood, it has a heavier frame, heavy window frame. It's their top of the line. American Craftsman is vinyl. Pretty well constructed, heavy duty frame, has welded seams, but not sure how well it will hold up after it's been pulled on a thousand times. Peach Tree builds a solid unit. I've heard positive and negative feedback on them. Pella builds an absolutely supreme unit. What makes their's unique is the width of air space between the glass. I'm not sure of the exact dimensions, but they made it wide enough to install a set of blinds between the glass. The wider the air space, the more insulating factor of the window. Another unique feature of the Pella is the screen. It opens to the inside of the frame rather than the outside. A nice feature if your going out in the winter and theirs an ice build-up in the track. They are a massive well constructed unit. Another one I've looked at but haven't installed is mfd. by Atrium Door Co. Just looking it over I would put it on a par with the Andersen Frenchwood. A well constructed heavy duty door. That said, if I were to go out today an purchase a sliding door for my home, it would hands down be a Pella.

    But as with any of these units, proper installation is the key. They need to be plumb and square in the opening they're going in. They need to be fully supported across the bottom, insulated around the entire frame and flashed at the top so as not to let any of the elements in. The best test you can give any door is after it is installed, is to stand buck naked in front of it on a sub zero day with a 40 MPH gale and not get a shiver. [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] And, oh yeah, make sure your neighbors are not out in their yards..... [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img]
    Argee [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

  8. #18
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    Re: Who makes the best sliding doors and french doors

    That is a good test you described. One I use regularly (almost every night while adding a stick of wood to the wood stove, but not always in the buff) and one that will let me attest to the high quality of the Marvin sliding doors and windows. Not a shiver with the 40+ mph, 15 below, wind from the NW. No neighbors that can see me either.

  9. #19
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    Oct 2002
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    Tarentum, PA
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    Re: Who makes the best sliding doors and french doors

    We just replaced most of the windows in our 1877 farm house and added 2 french doors. Decided to go with Semco . They offer a great extruded aluminum/wood window with many features offered by the larger window manufacturers. Easy tilt for cleaning, nice hardware, low E, tinting, good variety of exterior colors, etc.

    The french doors are really nice. They have all of the above window options and three-point locking mechanisms on each working door of the unit. See a variety of pictures of the windows and doors here. Go to the House folder.

    Our gas bill has been reduced dramatically since the window install and the blown-in cellulose.

    - Gerald

  10. #20
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    Oct 2002
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    Tarentum, PA
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    39

    Re: Who makes the best sliding doors and french doors

    I just realized that I have no shots of our doors on that site. If anyone's really interested in seeing them, let me know and I'll bring some in from home. I may even have close-ups of the windows too...

    - Gerald

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