External pocket sliding doors across Hampshire
A few practical points decide whether external pocket sliding doors suit a particular room and opening:
However sheltered or exposed your Hampshire home is, external pocket sliding doors need a drained pocket and a clear external channel so rainwater running along the track never sits inside the wall.
Want the whole width of your Hampshire kitchen open to the garden but prefer the look of sliders to bifolds? A pocket gives you both, at the cost of more building work.
- Insulating the pocket wall and sealing the panel edges limits heat loss through the cavity, helping the wall beside the door perform like the rest of the house.
- Open panels are hidden inside the wall rather than stacked in view, keeping the opening clean-lined compared with a bifold stack at one side.
- When closed, a pocket door looks like a large-paned slider, with slim meeting stiles and plenty of glass instead of the many frames of a folding door.
Guide prices for external pocket sliding doors in Hampshire
Guide prices include the door, fitting and structural calculations, including VAT. They include forming the opening and the pocket in the wall; Building Control fees are set by your council and are extra.
| Overall width | Typical panels | Guide price (fitted, inc VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1 m | 1 panel | £7,095–£8,595 |
| 2.4 m | 2 panels | £7,495–£9,195 |
| 4.8 m | 3 panels | £11,095–£13,595 |
| 6.0 m | 3 panels | £12,895–£15,795 |
Every size is on the external pocket sliding doors page.
Daylight and glass in Hampshire
At the latitude of Hampshire, the midday sun climbs to about 62° in late June but only about 16° in late December, when daylight lasts around 7 h 54 min against 16 h 33 min in midsummer. A south-facing external pocket sliding door lets that low winter sun deep into the room; on a west or south elevation, solar-control glass keeps summer afternoons comfortable.
Towns we cover in Hampshire
We survey and fit external pocket sliding doors in 23 towns across Hampshire, including the BH24, BH25, GU11, GU14, GU31, GU34 postcode districts.
Approvals in England
A new or wider opening in England needs Building Control approval for the structural work as well as compliance for the door itself under Approved Documents L and K. Expect structural calculations, a steel beam and, where a party wall is involved, notices under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
Questions about external pocket sliding doors in Hampshire
How soon can you survey in Hampshire?
Surveys in Hampshire are booked at a time that suits you, and we offer survey dates when we reply to your enquiry. After you approve the written quote, manufacture is typically 6–8 weeks from survey sign-off.
Do external pocket doors need Building Regulations approval?
External pocket doors need Building Regulations approval in England, because forming the opening and pocket is structural work needing an application, structural calculations (included in our guide prices), and usually a steel beam or lintel. If the steel bears on a party wall, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (England and Wales) may apply. Scotland needs a building warrant; Wales and Northern Ireland have their own building control rules.
Does a pocket in the wall cause heat loss?
A pocket in the wall does not have to cause significant heat loss if it is insulated, lined and sealed as part of the design, and the door itself typically achieves whole-door U-values around 1.2–1.6 W/m²K double glazed. In England, a new door in an existing home with more than 60% glazing must achieve 1.4 W/m²K or better. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own energy rules.
How wide can an external pocket sliding door be?
An external pocket sliding door in our range typically gives a clear opening of about 1.8 m to 6 m, using one panel at the narrow end and two or three panels on wider doors. Wider openings usually use pockets on both sides, or a multi-track pocket so the panels stack inside the wall. Sizes are confirmed after survey and the engineer's design.