ᐅ Is two meters wide enough for a lift-and-slide door?

Hello,

we are about to take measurements for the windows.
Here is the current topic:
From the kitchen to the terrace (southwest side), we have planned a 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) double door with a fixed mullion as the patio door.
During the kitchen planning, we reconsidered this. The doors will probably always be in the way later on.
Now the idea is to possibly upgrade to a lift-and-slide door.
The window installer advises against it, saying that at a total width of 2 m (6 ft 7 in), the passage would be too narrow. He estimates it would be around 80-85 cm (31-33.5 inches).
Do you have any experience with this? Do you have examples yourselves? What would you do?

He is right. At least 3m (10 feet). Either make it wider (if possible) or ask him if he can install outward-opening casement windows (requires special fittings and seals).

Thanks for the feedback.
What I don’t quite understand is where that argument comes from. In the end, the passage is as wide as a normal interior door anyway.

I have a wide sliding door to the terrace and would prefer a standard outward-opening hinged door every day. That is much more practical. The sliding door feels quite heavy to me, and the motion goes against the direction I find comfortable, which bothers me. It’s also not very convenient to operate one-handed when my arms are full of things. I’m definitely in favor of the hinged door.

With standard interior doors, you usually don’t carry large trays with dishes and barbecue food. Standard interior doors are also not meant to extend living rooms (for that, you’d typically have double doors). And the 86 cm (34 inches) width is quite small compared to the 1.8–2 m (6–6.5 feet) of a double door with a mullion.

A rough opening of 2.01m (6 ft 7 in) with a double door with a mullion results in a clear passage width of about 85cm (33.5 inches). I just measured it here. The mullion leaf is not typically opened in everyday use. With a lift-and-slide door and a rough opening of 2.01m (6 ft 7 in), the passage width is significantly smaller and not recommended. However, from 2.5m (8 ft 2 in) rough opening onwards, it works well.