Internal sliding french doors

Yazmina

Hi 🙋🏿

I want to remove part of the wall between my kitchen and living room and have some doors installed to allow more light through to the kitchen. A builder has looked at the wall and thinks it will be safe to do the work.

Now I've got the builder's quote can anyone recommend anywhere that sells good quality internal doors? Wickes do some but I doubt they're the most reasonably priced. The doors need to be light enough to slide but heavy enough to keep cooking smells out of the living room.
Thanks!

Furts

I would try a different approach. Visit your local builders merchants and ask who they deal with and can then supply to you. This means the product should be acceptable to good quality, and there will be some sales support/guidance. Typically they may say "Jeldwen" or "Premdor", "here is a catalogue, and we will supply at list minus x%."

Also reassure yourself over your opening. Is it load bearing, what lintel is going in, and where do you stand with Buildings Regulations? Conversely, if it is only a lightweight/stud wall you may have problems with a sliding door being too hefty for the location.

cranford

You may need to source the doors first so that they don't need to be cut to fit the opening. If you are thinking of buying two single cheap doors then you need to factor in the door lining, door furniture, sliding gear and possible a door joining strip. Single doors don't normally come wider than 83.8 cm and the wood frames within the cheaper doors can normally be trimmed by 15mm on each side, top and bottom. Could still cost you £300 - £400 plus fitting cost if you are not going to DIY.

Yazmina

Thanks. I'm on hols until 4th Jan so will Do some more research.

Btw the guy who looked at the wall has been recommended to us. We've seen a refurb job he did on a house, but he wants £1800 to knock down our wall and install the doors. Does £1800 sound fair? (Maybe the question belongs in a different board...).

cranford

Depends upon the size of the opening and the quality of the doors. Some decent doors such as those in B&Q cost £690, 203.5cm wide. But you can pay £1000 or more for the same size. Plus consider the hassle and fitting costs if you get somebody else to fit them.