Alternatives to Panoramic Slide and Turn Doors

Homeowners and the trade often contact us asking about alternatives to Panoramic slide and turn doors. The slide and turn Panoramic product is one solution for those looking for an alternative to a concertina door. However, some of the reviews around Panoramic doors are not favourable and you may struggle to find doors with the same design and operation, but in a different brand and system.

Here we provide some of the slide and turn alternatives to Panoramic doors available from other suppliers, with a brief explanation of the products.

Aluminium alternatives to Panoramic Slide and Turn Doors

The main difference between slide and turn doors compared with folding sliding doors, is their method of opening and operation.

Bifolding doors come with all the panels connected together and operating in a concertina fashion. Slide and turn doors have a design where each panel is independent. At the end of the door set is a master door, just like a bifold acting as a traffic door as well as providing the main locking point for security.

Unlike bifolding doors, slide and turn doors don’t have the intermediate locks and handles securing the other panels. Instead, each door slides to the closed position. Then, the final traffic door locks in position, compressing and securing the other leaves together.

There is no better product when looking at the concertina method of opening or the slide and turn operation. Each provides a different user experience. For instance, slide and turn doors such as the Panoramic and other brands allow independent moving panels. The advantage of these is ventilation. The image above shows the traffic door hinged open and the panels separated one by one, creating slats for airflow. Bifolding doors don’t provide this feature.

Another advantage of slide and turn doors is it’s only at the ends of the door set (either opening towards the left or right) that these doors take up any space. As a result, it’s possible to place furniture inside or garden furniture outside, right up to the glass. Opening the doors does not encroach on the space and many people like this feature. Therefore, arguably slide and turn doors are better where space is more limited.

Other brands to consider as alternatives to Panoramic slide and turn doors

We are not here to comment on the reviews of Panoramic doors, merely to answer the question of what alternatives there are to this product. Indeed, some people simply want slimmer doors than the Panoramic model, offering mullion sightlines of 145mm, but with the same slide and turn functionality and advantages.

For Clarity, the alternatives to Panoramic slide and turn doors here are exterior grade bifolding doors. Using the same slide and turn operation are other products. Examples include interior room dividers, canopy enclosure systems and balcony enclosures. Most of these products are single glazed, although double glazed versions are available.

Frameless Glass Curtains by FGC

The frameless slide and turn door by FGC in Kent and available nationwide. These are more luxurious and more premium alternatives to Panoramic slide and turn doors but you get so much more. No aluminium at the mullions, a substantially lower threshold, glass edges.

At the same time, these doors come with all the security, weather performance and quality.

Monoslide 80 by Sunparadise Systems

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Sunparadise Systems have a very clever version of slide and turn doors as a great alternative to the Panoramic version. They’re slimmer too at 126mm mullion sightlines.

The Monoslide 80 by Sunparadise comes with panels up to 1.5m wide meaning fewer door leaves. As well as this, it’s perfect for tighter spaces. The doors not only move around corners but also stack completely out of the way, giving you a true clear opening. Available for standard openings, open corners, sliding one or both sides and even creating a Z-shape extension. These are showpiece sliding doors and watching them move is a talking point in itself. Get in touch for more information about these very clever alternatives using the same independent moving panel design.

New Wave Doors

The New Wave brand is at the budget end of the market and works with the same design as Panoramic. They’re the thickest doors on the market here for sightlines but ideal for those wanting the lower price alternative.

Sunseeker Doors

The Sunseeker product is contemporary, slim and one of the longest established products on the market using the same slide and turn design. Available as double glazed products, Sunseeker doors come as single or double glazed versions, as interior room dividers and other versions.

Vistaline by ID Systems

Up there in the upper tier of slide and turn doors and also highly recommended as an alternative is the Vistaline product by ID Systems. It’s probably one of the best doors of this type on the market for sightlines, engineering and overall design.

Swiss engineering, incredible quality, thermally insulated and low U-Values. Vistaline doors come with just 45mm mullion sightlines also making them one of the slimmest and around half the sightline of regular bifolds. They also come triple glazed as standard.