The Home Upgrade Co. supplies and fits patio doors across Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow: French doors that open out or in, and sliding doors with a glass panel that glides past a fixed one, in uPVC or thermally broken aluminium. They are measured and quoted alongside your windows, priced per opening, and fitted by our own team.
What types of patio doors do you fit?
We fit French doors, hung to open outward or inward, and sliding patio doors, in uPVC or thermally broken aluminium frames.
A French door is a pair of glazed doors hinged at the sides that meet in the middle. Open both leaves and the whole width of the frame is clear. A sliding patio door has a panel that slides along a track past a fixed panel, so nothing swings into the room or out onto the patio.
Both are measured opening by opening and quoted alongside any windows you are replacing, because the doors out to the garden are part of the same job. The door in the photos on this page is a white sliding patio door we fitted in Dublin.
If you are not sure which type you have now, or which you want next, that is what the free measure is for. We look at the opening, the room and the patio and tell you what we would put there.
Should you choose French doors or sliding patio doors?
French doors give the widest opening and the most air, but need room to swing. Sliding doors need no swing space but open only partway.
For most homes choosing between French doors and sliding doors, the deciding question is space. If an inward opening door would hit the kitchen table, or an outward opening door would catch a step, the bins or a narrow side passage, a sliding door takes the problem away. If you want the whole opening clear on a warm day, French doors give you that and a sliding door does not.
| What matters | French doors | Sliding patio doors |
|---|---|---|
| Space to open | Clear floor or patio in front of the leaves, inside or outside depending on which way they open | None beyond the frame, because the panel slides along its track |
| Clear opening | Both leaves open, so close to the full width of the frame | One panel slides past the other, so roughly half the width |
| Ventilation | The most air when fully open, though an open leaf needs holding back in wind | Easy to leave open a little or halfway |
| Security | Multipoint locking on the main leaf, with the second leaf held closed at top and bottom | Multipoint locking on the sliding panel |
| Suits | Patios with room to open onto, and rooms where you want the whole opening clear in summer | Tight patios, smaller rooms, and anywhere a swinging door would get in the way of furniture |
Not sure whether French or sliding suits your opening?
Send us a photo of the opening on WhatsApp and we will tell you what we would put there and why, before anyone calls out.
Should a patio door be uPVC or aluminium?
uPVC suits most houses and insulates well for less. Thermally broken aluminium gives slimmer frames and more glass, which shows most on a wide opening.
The reasoning is the same for a patio door as for a window. uPVC is a poor conductor of heat, needs no painting and handles a wet climate without complaint. Aluminium is stronger for the same section, so the frame can be slimmer around a larger pane, and the powder coated finish holds a colour, including dark colours.
A patio door is often the biggest area of glass at the back of the house, which is exactly where a slim aluminium frame is easiest to see. We only fit thermally broken aluminium, because an aluminium frame without a thermal break would be a cold bridge straight through the wall, with condensation on the inside face in winter.
A common approach is to put aluminium on the back, where the big opening is, and uPVC elsewhere. The full comparison is in our guide to uPVC vs aluminium windows, and our uPVC windows and aluminium windows pages cover each frame in more detail.
Should a patio door be double or triple glazed?
High performance double glazing suits most patio doors. Triple earns its place on exposed or noisy elevations, but adds weight to the door.
A modern double glazed unit with a low emissivity coating and an argon filled cavity already performs well. In a typical Irish house the bigger heat losses are the walls, the roof and draughts, so a third pane is not automatically the best place to spend.
Triple glazing is heavier and thicker. On a door you open every day, that weight sits on the hinges of a French door or the rollers of a sliding panel, so the door has to be specified as a system to carry it rather than having a heavier unit dropped into a frame designed for double.
We do not publish performance figures here, because they depend on the exact unit and we will not quote numbers we have not verified against a manufacturer spec sheet. The specification goes in writing with your quote. Our page on double vs triple glazing goes through where the third pane is worth it.
How secure are patio doors?
Modern patio doors, French and sliding, come with multipoint locking as standard, which locks the door into the frame at several points, not one.
An old patio door with a single lock, worn hinges or a panel that rattles in its track is a weak point at the back of the house, out of sight of the road. A modern door with multipoint locking closes that gap.
Security also depends on the fit. A door that is not square in its opening will not engage its locks properly, and it gets harder to lock over time. Setting the frame square, fixing it properly and sealing it is the part our own team does, and it decides whether the locks work as designed. The locking and handle hardware is part of the specification we put in writing with your quote.
Can a patio door go in where there is a window now?
Usually, but it means taking the wall down to floor level and often widening the opening, which is structural work for a builder.
Turning a window into a patio door means removing the wall below the window and, if the door is wider than the window, widening the opening. A wider opening needs a new lintel above it to carry the wall and whatever sits on it. That is structural work, and depending on the wall and what is above it, you may need a structural engineer's advice before anyone starts.
The Home Upgrade Co. does not do the structural part. Your builder forms the opening, puts in the lintel and sorts out the floor level for the threshold, and we measure and fit the door once the opening is ready.
If you are not sure whether your opening can be changed, ask at the measure. We will tell you straight whether it is a simple replacement or a job that needs a builder first.
Are patio doors in an extension any different?
The door itself is no different, but the timing is. The builder forms the opening around the door, so choose it at drawing stage.
In a new extension the patio doors are part of the plan rather than a replacement. The opening, the lintel and the floor level at the threshold are built to suit the door, so the type and size need settling before the walls go up. Your builder does the structure and we supply and fit the doors, the same split we use for kitchens. Our guide to kitchen extensions in Ireland covers where glazing at the garden end helps the room and where it does not.
One thing to know before you count on a grant: the SEAI windows and doors grant covers extensions built before 1 January 2011, and extensions built after that date do not qualify. Our guide to SEAI window and door grants explains the rest of the rules.
Can you get an SEAI grant for patio doors?
Possibly. SEAI's windows and doors grant covers external doors in homes built and occupied before 2011, paid only when a registered contractor does the work.
The SEAI windows and doors grant pays €800 per external door, for a maximum of two doors. That is SEAI's published figure, and you can apply for windows, doors or both. Check with SEAI or the registered contractor that your patio door counts before you plan around it.
Eligibility rules apply. SEAI's rules require the house to have been built and occupied before 2011, the attic and walls to be well insulated, and the new doors to reach a U-value of 1.4 W/m²K or lower, confirmed on the declaration of works. A post works BER is needed, and you must wait for the grant offer before any work starts, because work already done is not backdated.
The work has to be carried out by an SEAI registered contractor, or arranged through a One Stop Shop, so check the register before you rely on the grant for any quote, including ours. Our guide to SEAI window and door grants goes through each rule and step.
How much do patio doors cost in Ireland?
Each patio door is priced per opening on an itemised quote after a free measure, because size, type, frame and glazing all change the figure.
We do not publish a price list for patio doors or French doors. A figure given without seeing the opening is a guess, and the things that move it are specific to your house:
- the width and height of the opening
- French doors or a sliding patio door
- uPVC or thermally broken aluminium, and the colour
- double or triple glazing
- the locking and handle hardware
- a straight swap for an old door, or a door going into an opening your builder has formed
So the honest answer to what French patio doors cost in Ireland is the same as for windows. We call out, measure the opening, and the door goes on the quote as its own line next to each window. You can take it out, add it or leave it for later and see exactly what changes. The visit and the quote are free, with no obligation. Our guide to what new windows cost explains why quotes for the same job vary so much.
Fitted alongside your windows, in one job
Patio doors and French doors are part of the same job and the same quote as your windows, so the whole back of the house is measured, ordered and fitted together. Roughly twelve weeks from order to delivery in Ireland is a general guide. Your order confirmation carries the schedule we commit to, and we plan the fitting dates around it.
We work through the house opening by opening rather than taking everything out at once, and we clear up behind us. Frame colour, glazing and hardware can be specified to match across the doors and windows, which is simplest when they are ordered together. See all our windows and doors.
Patio doors carry the same ten year warranty against defects as our windows, and it is written on your quote.
How it works
We call out, measure the opening and talk through what you want. You get one complete itemised quote within two working days, with each door and window listed separately. Nothing is ordered and nothing is charged until you say yes.
One team for this and the rest of the job
The same team that measures your doors fits them, and we also do kitchens, fitted wardrobes and internal doors. If more than one thing needs doing, it is one contractor, one schedule and one point of contact rather than four.
Frequently asked questions
Do patio doors open in or out?
French doors can be hung to open outward or inward, and sliding patio doors do not swing at all. Which suits is decided at the measure, based on the space inside the room and on the patio.
Can I replace just the patio door and not the windows?
Yes. Every opening is priced separately on the quote, so a patio door can be done on its own or together with some or all of the windows.
Can new patio doors match my windows?
Yes. When they are quoted together, the frame material, colour and glazing can be specified to match across the doors and windows.
How long does it take to get new patio doors?
Roughly twelve weeks from order to delivery in Ireland as a general guide. Your order confirmation carries the schedule we commit to, and we plan the fitting dates around it.