Hi I'm about to replace a set of outward opening French doors with set of Upvc. I think I'd prefer the new set to be inward opening, but most of the ones I've seen open outwards. Is there any advantage to either method or is it purely down to personal taste and the internal / external setup? Cheers
Personal taste!!!. Doors that open outwards may block pathways unless they can be swung right back, also talking from personal experience wind can catch outward opening doors and rip them off the hinges.
Open out in order to maximise internal floor space. Open out are better weather proofed - if you think about it any high winds will push the doors against the weatherstrip where-as a pair of open in doors are pushed away from the weatherstrip, if you see what I mean..... Most uPVC doors can be fitted with an opening restraint in the top rail that prevents the door opening past 90 degrees so minimising potential wind damage - these restraints can be over-ridden so that the doors can fold back almost flush.
Thanks for the replies guys. There's pros and cons either way, so definitely something to think about. I hadn't considered the weather proof aspect, so thanks for that Jules. Cheers
Weatherproofing may not be too much of an issue if the wall in question is not too exposed. We have inward opening french doors on two of our properties. Space is not a huge problem as the walls on both houses are some 18 inches plus thick. As the doors are installed near to the outside of the wall the open doors take up little more than the thickness of the walls.
Open in wherever possible, wind is the problem with opening out doors, and the argument that inward opening doors take up valuable space is silly, would you put stuff in front of the doors whichever way they opened?
We chose outwards onto a patio, though I can see that on other locations, inwards may be better. Two things I wish I had known before I ordered them:- I am disappointed that it is not posssible to open the doors flat to the wall and secure them with a hook. This is because the frame, and thus the hinge, is set inside the outer brickwork. Yes, they have a restraint that holds them open at 90 degrees, but it takes away some of that openess I had imagined. I also regret having had handles fitted on the outside. I feel that they spoil the symmetry from outside and possibly give a would-be burgular more to get hold of. These are not big issues I know, but as we would never use these doors to actually gain entry to the house I would prefer the handles to not be there. BTW , we have recently ordered a single, fully glazed door for an extension and it has been possible to get an almost-flush threshold, they told us this wasn't possible before. Good luck