ᐅ Tilt-and-slide door: PVC or aluminum?

Hello dear forum,

I would like to ask for your expert advice:

We need a lift-and-slide door as an exit to the garden for our extension. It should be fitted into a rough opening measuring 2510 mm (99 inches) by 2260 mm (89 inches).

Our architect strongly recommends using an aluminum lift-and-slide door (Schüco profiles). From a purely financial perspective, I personally lean towards uPVC windows. At the moment, however, I have no preferred manufacturer or experience regarding the quality of uPVC windows. Our architect’s argument is that uPVC windows, especially with such large surfaces, tend to warp over time and that we would likely face issues within a few years.

I believe, though, that thousands of homeowners install even larger uPVC sliding doors (the sliding sash is only about 125 cm [49 inches] wide) without problems. We do not want wooden windows due to the increased maintenance effort.

Could you recommend window manufacturers you have had good experiences with in this regard? Or should we bite the bullet and accept Schüco profiles at about a 25% higher cost? Maybe there are other alternatives?

We would really appreciate your help!

Best regards,
Brufi

We have a lift-and-slide door here as well – also 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in) wide – made of uPVC. No one advised us against it. Much larger sliding doors are still made from uPVC. If there were any significant problems, it would have become known by now. And 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in) is still on the smaller side for sliding doors. I would be more concerned about the ease of operation when opening an aluminum door.

Even plastic windows have a metal core inside, so warping is theoretically possible. However, I have white windows, and the sliding door leading to the terrace still works perfectly, even though they were installed in 1980. I can’t say if dark-colored plastic behaves differently, but I would assume metal can warp just as well. Metal tends to expand more under heat than plastic does—at least that’s the case with the metal (blue) windows at our company, where some windows do occasionally stick a bit.

My windows and those of my parents are from Darolet, but as far as I know, the company no longer exists. My uncle sold them to us back then, and we haven’t had any problems with warped frames, fogged panes, or severe yellowing. The only downside is the black “mourning edges” around the panes. These still stain when cleaning the windows, but otherwise they are still in good condition.

We have a sliding door that is 2.70 meters (8 feet 10 inches) wide and 2.30 meters (7 feet 7 inches) high. It is made with Schüco elements and plastic. It works perfectly.

@ Koempy

Do you mean you have two sliding doors, one made of Schüco aluminum and one made of plastic, and both work perfectly?
Is the plastic door easier to open than the aluminum door?

Brufi schrieb:
@ Koempy

You mean you have two sliding doors, one made of Schüco aluminum and one made of plastic, and both work perfectly?
Is the plastic door easier to open than the aluminum one?

No, just one door. It is 2.30 m (7 ft 7 in) high and 2.70 m (8 ft 10 in) wide, although about 18 cm (7 inches) of the height is hidden in the floor.
The lift-and-slide door is very easy to open. Not to be confused with an awning-slide door.