Previously offering antique oak, mahogany and rosewood options in addition to white, the specialist network has announced significant investment to create an unparalleled range. This includes white wood grain, three shades of grey, black, Chartwell Green, cream, blue, red and green.

It also includes, a premium offering of subtle pastel shades including Willow Green, delicate off-whites, Barley Water and Vanilla, Sienna PN and Sienna PR and an intricate Irish Oak.

Rob McGlennon, sales director, PatioMaster, said: “Enhanced security, improved thermal performance and lower thresholds have all contributed to a better performing inline sliding door product but in the case of PVC-U in particular, new flexibility in choice of finish has created added appeal in retail and specification markets.

“Consumers can choose a product that’s low maintenance, secure and in a colour or finish that fully compliments the individual character of their property. That’s a great message to take to Mrs Jones.

“And in the commercial sector colour is generating new opportunity across the board as specifiers look to balance demand to deliver strong aesthetics against budgetary constraints. PVC-U is able to deliver a strong aesthetic match to aluminium profiles in particular but at a considerably lower cost.”

PatioMaster boasts ten authorised manufacturers nationally from East Kilbride in Scotland to Paignton in Devon and from Lowestoft in Suffolk to Kidderminster in Worcestershire, PatioMaster offers a unique national network of specialist regional manufacturers coupled with the back up of a comprehensive national customer support strategy.

Inline sliding doors from PatioMaster include a multi-chamber 60mm sash and a slim stepped 86mm outer frame designed to reduce plaster cutback. Employing multiple locking points, combined with a built-in ‘anti-jacking’ system, reinforced profile and high performance hardware, the system also meet rigorous security standards and comes complete with a 10 year product guarantee against wear and tear rather than just break-in.

Rob concluded: “The inline sliding door has gone through a reinvention and colour choice is latest innovation as part of this process sitting alongside low-thresholds, six-point locking, improved thermal performance, draft proofing and low-line gaskets – it’s a complete sales proposition.”

Manufactured by PatioMaster North East and supplied to the racecourse by Euro Design the inline sliders were installed to provide access leading from hospitality suites to viewing balconies, replacing an old gallery of windows.

Fiona Needham, general manager and clerk of the course, Catterick racecourse, said: “We wanted to give our executive boxes a lighter and brighter feel and to open the veranda outside and its certainly had the desired effect, we’re absolutely delighted – they have changed the whole aspect of the executive suites.”

Nigel Rothery, director, Euro Design, which specialises in the commercial sector, said the installation served to demonstrate the use of patio doors in a wider range of applications: “We were appointed to knock through access to a balcony from executive boxes, replacing the windows that were previously there with inline sliding doors.

“The PatioMaster inline sliding door was a good fit because sight lines are relatively slim, providing a largely uninterrupted view of the racecourse. The racecourse also wanted to select a product that was durable and would require relatively little maintenance.”

He added: “From our point of view manufacturing inline sliding doors simply didn’t make sense, we don’t do enough of them to warrant a dedicated line and if you’re interrupting manufacture of other products it’s not going to be efficient.”

Covering Cleveland, East and North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear and North Humberside, Patiomaster North East is the newest addition to the PatioMaster Network.

One of ten authorised manufacturers nationally from East Kilbride in Scotland to Paignton in Devon and from Lowestoft in Suffolk to Kidderminster in Worcestershire, PatioMaster offers a unique national network of specialist regional manufacturers coupled with the back up of a comprehensive national customer support strategy.

Dave Costello, PatioMaster North East said: “Inline sliding patio doors represent a tiny percentage of most fabricators’ business and because they aren’t a core product, coupled with the fact that they are more intricate than regular windows and doors, they can tie up a disproportionate amount of both time and resource.

“We offer one of the most rigorously tested products on the market and we’re on the doorstep of our customers. As a consequence they get a reliable product but one that’s underpinned by a reliable service.”

The new Hoppe handles available in six finishes – white, black, chrome, brass, gold and silver were well received at the launch. They provide the perfect partner in quality and style to the PatioMaster in-line sliding patio doors.

A multipoint lock option is available with a 92mm cylinder centre that cannot be extracted. With PAS 24 accreditation and secured by design (SBD), the handles provide a highly secure solution. The range of handles also come with a 10 year guarantee as standard.

Also showcased at G09 was the vast range of foil finishes that can be applied to any PatioMaster door. With limitless colours on offer, a foiled patio door can tie in with existing windows, doors, décor or surrounding areas and transform a customer’s project or home.

Colours include greys, greens, pastels, black, and finishes such as white wood grain. Foiled options can enhance a fabricator and installers offering, provide an extra sales tool and an opportunity to make impressive margins thanks to the premium product.

“There has been an increase in the importance of aesthetics of window and door replacements and sales for coloured and decorative profile have rocketed,” said Rob McGlennon, sales director, PatioMaster. “Consumers are more informed and more particular about what they want.

“There was great interest in the foiled options at the show, the range of colours available became a real talking point.”

PatioMaster also promoted its authorised dealer network at the show. The network offers a cost effective way to buy in high quality manufactured patio doors, rather than tie up resources in machinery, training and extra stock to produce such a specialist product.

The unique network of fabricators allows PatioMaster to provide a local service to customers all over the UK. Becoming part of the PatioMaster network allows a fabricator to offer a fast, efficient service and high quality products to its customers, whilst still enabling it to concentrate on core areas of our business.

PatioMaster’s manufacturer network spans the UK from as far south as Devon right up to East Kilbride in Scotland and across to Northern and the Republic of Ireland. The newest additions to the network are PatioMaster North East and PatioMaster East Midlands.

In-line sliding patio doors from PatioMaster provide quality and style with a low profile frame. They offer a flexible solution to modern living, offering optimum light, energy efficiency and advanced security.

“Window Energy Ratings came into force more than three years ago but it’s likely to be next year before we see the scheme extended to inline sliding and patio doors says Rob McGlennon, sales director, Patiomaster.

He continues: “Its arrival will, however, generate new opportunity, something that can be expected to win support from an industry that has, to a large extent, already bought into and is familiar with the existing energy ratings scheme. Going forward having an energy rated patio door product will be an essential part of doing business.”

His comments come as the BFRC gears up – at least according to industry speculation – for an extension of the WER scheme to inline sliding, French and single doors in the first quarter of next year. This would mean that from next year, those qualifying fabricators and installers would be able to offer patio doors carrying the energy efficient logo to homeowners.

This extension of the WER scheme to inline sliding doors comes, according to commentators, almost four years after the introduction of the WER scheme, because of an initial decision to group very different types of door together under a single assessment. The assessment of the energy performance of single doors, proving in particular, a far more difficult proposition for the BFRC.

Rob says: “There are three elements to the WER energy efficiency assessment, solar heat gain heat loss and air leakage. Air tightness is largely a given, most ratings will be defined by the balance that is achieved between heat loss and solar gain, and this last element – solar gain – is important in the overall rating secured. In short, it’s no good simply keeping heat in products need to positively add heat to achieve a top rating.

“Applied to single doors this creates a problem because the glazed area is normally comparatively small or in some cases non-existent. Single doors as a consequence score poorly for heat gain and if the standard WER calculation was applied would be somewhere off the scale.

“The characteristics of an inline sliding door which have large glass areas are clearly very different.”

While it continues to work to create a more sympathetic assessment of energy performance of composite doors, if the BFRC extends the WER scheme to inline sliding and French doors from the early part of next year as expected, fabricators and installers will have the opportunity to push a higher value energy efficient sell to the homeowner.

Tests and modelling showing that based on existing criteria under the WER scheme the Patiomaster inline sliding door achieves a full spectrum of energy efficient ‘C’ to top ‘A’ ratings, something Rob suggests give its customers a great platform not just from next year but also in the run-up to the launch of the scheme.

“It’s a significant sales platform for anyone supplying inline sliding doors and creates a complimentary product offer alongside security and aesthetics,” says Rob. “Energy ratings won’t sell patio doors on their own but will add value to an already highly engineered product”, he continues.

With ten authorised manufacturers from East Kilbride in Scotland to Paignton in Devon and from Lowestoft in Suffolk to Kidderminster in Worcestershire, PatioMaster offers a unique national network of specialist regional manufacturers coupled with the back up of a comprehensive national customer support strategy.

This network has been developed to bring PatioMaster closer to its customers, guaranteeing on-time delivery. It also allows the specialist supplier of patio doors to invest in the latest technology.

“Energy efficiency is the next stage in the reinvention of the inline sliding door. Improved security and aesthetics are already generating new opportunities in a wide range of applications”, says Rob.

He continues: “And on the provision that the scheme is used to add margin, rather than to be given away, energy ratings on inline sliding doors will be a valuable addition to the sales toolkit.”