Most UK homeowners pay between £1,600 and £4,500 for a standard supply-and-fit patio door replacement, rising to £8,500 or more for large bi-fold installations that need structural work. Door type and whether you need a new or widened opening are the two biggest cost drivers. Before committing to anything, get itemised supply-and-fit quotes from FENSA-registered installers so you can compare like for like.
TL;DR:
- The total cost for a standard supply-and-fit patio door ranges between £1,600 and £4,500, but large bi-fold installations requiring structural work can exceed £8,500.
- The type of door (French, sliding, bi-fold), frame material (uPVC, aluminium, timber), and bespoke sizes significantly influence the final price.
- Structural alterations, such as adding a lintel or widening an opening, can cost between £800 and £2,500, often matching or surpassing the door’s price.
- Always get itemized quotes that include product, labour, structural work, VAT, and confirm FENSA certification to avoid unexpected costs.
- Prices vary across the UK, with higher labour costs in London and the South East, and longer wait times for bespoke or structural work in less serviced regions.
Table of Contents
- How much do patio doors cost by type and material?
- What actually affects the price: product, size and site factors
- Supply-only vs supply-and-fit: what’s the real difference?
- Installation timescales and the structural costs people miss
- Building Regulations, FENSA and the paperwork that protects you
- How to get an accurate quote: what to ask and provide
- Ways to reduce cost without cutting corners
- Warranty and aftercare costs and what to expect
- Do patio door prices vary across the UK?
- What does a full project actually cost? Three common scenarios
- Complete Property Solutions’ perspective: managed installs protect your budget
- Get a fixed-price patio door quote from Complete-Property-Solutions
- Sources
How much do patio doors cost by type and material?
Door type sets the starting price. French doors are typically the most affordable option when fully installed, because they use simpler hinged hardware and fit standard openings without much fuss. Sliding patio doors sit in the middle at £1,800 to £4,500, while bi-fold doors command a premium of £3,000 to £8,500 or more once you factor in multiple panels and heavier-duty tracks, according to the patio door installation cost guide.
Frame material moves the price again within each category:
- uPVC is the cheapest option and performs well thermally, making it the default choice for budget-conscious replacements.
- Aluminium costs more but gives slimmer sightlines and greater longevity, a trade-off covered in more detail on our aluminium doors page.
- Timber is the premium aesthetic choice, but it needs ongoing maintenance that uPVC and aluminium simply don’t, per the same cost guide.
For a standard 2.4 metre opening, expect around £1,500 for uPVC French doors, £2,800 for uPVC sliding doors, and £4,500 upwards for aluminium bi-folds of a similar width.
What actually affects the price: product, size and site factors
Two identical-looking quotes can differ by hundreds of pounds once you look at what’s actually included. Glazing spec matters enormously: double glazing with a low U-value costs more upfront than basic units but pays back through lower heating bills. Security hardware, multi-point locking and toughened or laminated glass all add to the bill too.
Beyond the door itself:
- Panel count and bespoke sizes push bi-fold and lift-and-slide prices up quickly, since anything outside standard dimensions requires custom manufacture.
- Special frame colours and finishes (anthracite grey is popular) typically add a premium over standard white.
- Access difficulties, structural opening work, new thresholds and making good around the frame all add labour time.
- Disposal of old units and any warranty or certification paperwork can appear as separate line items.
Pro Tip: Ask installers to break the quote into product cost, labour, and any structural works separately. It’s the fastest way to spot where one quote is cheaper than another for the wrong reasons.
Supply-only vs supply-and-fit: what’s the real difference?
Supply-only means you’re buying the door unit alone, with no fitting, certification or guarantee attached. Supply-and-fit includes installation, removal of the old door, and typically a fitter’s guarantee and compliance certificate.
Labour alone typically adds £500 to £1,500 to the job, depending on complexity, according to the installation cost guide. This is why:
- Comparing a supply-only online price against a full contractor quote is misleading, since the contractor quote covers liability and compliance the DIY route doesn’t.
- Supply-and-fit installers self-certify Building Regulations compliance and issue paperwork you’ll need if you sell the property later.
Installation timescales and the structural costs people miss
A straightforward like-for-like replacement usually takes a single day, around 4 to 8 hours of labour. Creating a new or widened opening, particularly for a bi-fold spanning a rear wall, can take several days once brickwork, lintels and plastering are involved.
The structural side is where budgets go wrong. Adding a steel lintel or RSJ typically costs £800 to £2,500, and making good the brickwork, plastering and floor levelling afterwards can add a similar sum again, as MyBuilder’s cost breakdown points out. Homeowners widening an opening for a bi-fold often find the structural work costs as much as the door itself.
- Get a pre-installation survey before you commit to a budget, not after.
- Build in a contingency of at least 10 to 15% for anything involving structural alterations.
Building Regulations, FENSA and the paperwork that protects you
Replacement external doors fall under Part L of the Building Regulations, which caps U-values at 1.4 W/m²K for the complete unit, frame included, not just the glass, as set out in the FENSA guide for compliance. This standard has applied to replacement doors and windows since 2002, with the current threshold tightened in a 2022 update.
You have two routes to proving compliance:
- Self-certification through a Competent Persons Scheme such as FENSA, which most installers use.
- Local Authority Building Control sign-off, which is slower and usually more expensive.
Always insist on a certificate and check the installer’s FENSA registration number. It’s what a solicitor will ask for when you come to sell, and its absence causes genuine conveyancing headaches.
How to get an accurate quote: what to ask and provide
- Give the surveyor accurate measurements, photos of the existing opening, and clarity on threshold requirements (level access matters if anyone in the household has mobility needs).
- Ask directly whether the price includes FENSA certification, a fitter’s guarantee, and who handles joinery and plastering if structural work’s required.
- Confirm lead times, since bespoke bi-folds can take 6 to 10 weeks to manufacture even before installation begins.
- Request a written quote that itemises product cost, labour, structural work, VAT and any exclusions.
Getting three to four quotes typically reveals a 20 to 30% variation for what looks like the same job on paper.
Pro Tip: If a quote looks unusually cheap, check whether it includes VAT and a compliance certificate before you sign anything. Missing paperwork is the most common reason “bargain” installs cost more later.
Ways to reduce cost without cutting corners
- Stick to standard sizes and standard finishes rather than bespoke colours or dimensions.
- Choose uPVC sliding doors for tight budgets, but check the security specification still meets your needs.
- Start with standard double glazing and reserve premium or triple glazing for a later upgrade.
- Avoid booking in peak spring and summer months, and combine works with other jobs to save on call-out costs.
Warranty and aftercare costs and what to expect
Most reputable installers offer a manufacturer’s warranty on the door unit itself, typically covering the frame and glazing seals for 10 years or more, alongside a separate fitter’s guarantee covering the installation workmanship, usually for 1 to 2 years as standard, sometimes longer with an established contractor. These are two different things, and it’s worth checking which applies to what.
Aftercare shouldn’t cost you anything for genuine manufacturing faults within the warranty period. Where costs can creep in is with consumables and adjustments: hardware such as rollers on sliding doors, seals, and hinges on bi-folds wear over years of use and occasional servicing or part replacement may be needed outside the warranty window.
Ask your installer what’s covered and what isn’t before you sign anything, and get the warranty terms in writing rather than a verbal assurance. A fitter who’s still trading in five years’ time, with a track record you can check, matters more than the length of the guarantee on paper. This is one of the reasons choosing an established local contractor rather than the cheapest available fitter tends to pay off over the life of the door.
Do patio door prices vary across the UK?
Yes, and the difference can be meaningful. London and the South East typically carry the highest labour rates, somewhat above the national average, driven by higher overheads and demand for tradespeople. Rural areas can see costs pushed up too, but for a different reason: fewer local installers means less competition and sometimes higher call-out charges for smaller jobs.
The North West, including Warrington, St Helens, Wigan, Great Sankey, Penketh, Culcheth, Lowton, Rainhill and Haydock, generally, sits closer to or slightly below the national average for labour, while product costs stay broadly consistent nationwide since most doors are manufactured centrally and distributed regionally. That means homeowners in this area are often working with the lower end of the cost bands quoted throughout this guide, particularly for standard uPVC and mid-range aluminium installations.
Location still affects timescales as much as price. Areas with fewer specialist bi-fold installers can mean longer waits for a survey slot during busy periods, so booking early in the year ahead of summer demand tends to work in your favour regardless of where in the country you’re based.
What does a full project actually cost? Three common scenarios
Scenario one: like-for-like uPVC sliding door replacement. Swapping an old sliding door for a new uPVC unit in the same opening, with no structural changes needed. Expect a few thousand pounds fully installed, completed in a single day.
Scenario two: French doors replacing an old single door. A common upgrade for older properties with a single back door leading to the garden. Widening the opening slightly and fitting uPVC French doors typically costs several thousand pounds, including some brickwork and making good, over 1 to 2 days.
Scenario three: replacing old single or double doors with a bi-fold. This is where budgets rise fastest. Removing an existing door and widening the wall to take a three or four-panel aluminium bi-fold, including a new lintel, brickwork, plastering and a level threshold, typically costs several thousand pounds. The structural work alone can be a significant portion of that cost, which is why a proper survey before committing to a budget matters so much.
Across all three scenarios, the pattern holds: product cost is predictable, but structural work is where final bills move.
Complete Property Solutions’ perspective: managed installs protect your budget
After more than 35 years managing structural projects, our view is straightforward: the cheapest quote rarely stays cheapest once structural surprises appear. A fixed-price, FENSA-certified contract from an established, Guild of Master Craftsmen member removes that risk, particularly across Warrington, St Helens and Wigan, where older properties often hide unexpected work behind a simple door swap.
— Gareth
Get a fixed-price patio door quote from Complete-Property-Solutions
Complete-Property-Solutions supplies and fits patio and bi-fold doors alongside any structural opening work and finishing trades your project needs, all under one managed contract rather than juggling separate tradespeople yourself—this approach is why hiring a professional for patio awning installation in Doncaster, South Yorkshire is essential.
That matters because the structural surprises covered earlier, the lintels, brickwork and making good, are exactly where separately hired trades cause delays and disputes over who’s responsible for what. Book a survey with us and you’ll receive an itemised, fixed-price quote covering the door, labour and any structural work upfront, plus the FENSA compliance certificate you’ll need for future conveyancing. As an authorised REHAU installer and approved UltraRoof partner, we bring the same fixed-price, fully managed approach to patio doors that we apply across our house extension projects throughout the North West. Get in touch to arrange your survey and see exactly what a compliant, well-fitted installation costs for your home.
