Which is the best PVC balcony door: hinged or sliding?

It depends on room and wind. A hinged door generally seals better; a sliding one saves room but seals less. A lift-and-slide suits big openings and heavy glass, and the sash rests on the seals when it lowers. Ask for the air and water classes of the system, not just the type.

Is there a PVC balcony door with no step?

Makers give very low thresholds: Finstral, under 2 cm (aluminium with PVC); DAKO, 25 mm on the HST FlatStep and an option of 0 mm with a levelling piece. Siegenia has a 0 mm threshold, launched for timber and timber-aluminium. Ask for the height in mm and the drainage in writing.

Is a PVC balcony door secure against break-ins?

It depends on the hardware and the glass. VEKA and REHAU state up to RC 2, and Siegenia says RC 2 is achievable with two or four locking bolts and RC 3 with four plus a reinforced rail. The class holds for the door as tested. Ask for the test report of the whole set.

What glass should a balcony door have?

ADENE advises laminated safety glass to reduce falling fragments, and Finstral offers toughened and laminated. We did not confirm a Portuguese rule that requires it on a balcony door. Ask in writing for the glass of each sash.

How well does a PVC balcony door insulate?

The sheets give Uw of 0.77 to 0.9 W/m²K for triple glazing and test sizes, and Ug of 1.1 for double (Finstral). The threshold matters: G-U says its thermal break greatly reduces loss at the bottom connection. Ask for the Uw of the door with your glass.

Do I need the condominium's approval to replace the balcony door?

If the colour, design or material changes, the owners' assembly may need to approve it, as with windows. We did not confirm whether the 2026 licence exemption includes balcony doors. See the can I replace my windows guide and ask the town hall.

PVC balcony door: threshold, insulation, security and quote

A balcony door has a lot of glass, a lot of joints, and it is where people walk in and out. So it has several weak points: wind under the sash, water at the sill, noise and the lock. This guide shows the types of PVC door, what the makers say about the threshold, insulation and security, and what to put in the quote.

The values below come from makers’ data sheets. They say “up to”: that is the best case, with one glass and one test size.

What types exist

Type	How it works	When it suits
Hinged or tilt-and-turn (batente / oscilobatente)	Opens like a door; the tilt-and-turn also tilts at the top	A normal opening with room in front. See opening types
Sliding (correr)	The sash slides sideways in a track	Little room; seals less. See sliding windows
Lift-and-slide (elevável-deslizante, HST)	The sash lifts onto rollers and lowers onto the seals	Big openings and heavy glass
Tilt-and-slide / parallel-slide (osciloparalela)	The sash moves away from the frame and slides; it also ventilates	Those who want to slide and ventilate with a gap
Folding (dobrável)	Sashes that fold like an accordion	Opening almost the whole width

On DAKO’s PVC parallel-slide door, the sash moves 6 mm away from the frame, or opens up to 3 cm to ventilate. For folding doors I only read an aluminium range.

Low threshold and accessibility

The lower the threshold, the easier it is to cross with a pushchair or a wheelchair. Heights the makers give:

Finstral (aluminium with PVC): a flat sill under 2 cm.
DAKO HST-Motion FlatStep: 25 mm. The other HST ranges: 50 and 62 mm, with an option to reach 0 mm using a levelling piece.
Siegenia ECO PASS: 0 mm, launched for timber and timber-aluminium. It does not say it exists in PVC.
DAKO parallel-slide: 73 and 74 mm.

Siegenia says its two-level drainage gives the same watertightness as a sill with a sloped channel, without giving a class. I did not confirm a Portuguese accessibility rule for this case.

Glass in a door

The glass comes down almost to the floor. Finstral offers toughened (Bodysafe) and laminated (Multiprotect) glass. The sliding windows page cites ADENE, which advises laminated glass to reduce falling fragments. EN 12600 is the pendulum test that sorts flat glass into three classes by how it breaks (Element); it does not say where safety glass is required.

Glass is heavy. Maximum per sash: 400 kg on the REHAU SYNEGO, 300 kg on the Schüco EasySlide. Ask for the weight of your sash.

Thermal insulation and noise

System (maker)	Value given	Sheet conditions
REHAU SYNEGO	Uw up to 0.9 W/m²K	2.66 × 2.73 m opening, triple glazing, Ug 0.6
VEKA VEKAMOTION 82	Ud up to 0.78 W/m²K	3.0 × 2.2 m, Ug 0.5, Uf 1.4
DAKO HST	Uw 0.77 to 0.89 W/m²K	2.46 × 2.18 m, triple glazing

With double glazing the values rise: Finstral gives Ug 1.1 for double and 0.6 for triple. G-U says the thermal break in the threshold greatly reduces the heat lost at the bottom connection, and Siegenia says its 10-chamber threshold prevents condensation. If the bottom of the door mists up, see condensation and thermal insulation.

Noise. VEKA gives Rw up to 42 dB and REHAU up to 43 dB, without naming the test standard. Finstral writes “npd” (no performance determined). See sound insulation.

Air, water and wind tightness

The sheets use the standards EN 12207 (air, 1 to 4), EN 12208 (water) and EN 12210 (wind). VEKA and REHAU state, as “up to”: air class 4, water 9A, wind B3. Finstral states air class 4 for a 4.50 × 2.25 m sash and “npd” for water and wind. Ask for the classes at the size of your opening.

Security

Locking points. Siegenia says RC 2 is achievable, depending on the element, with two or four locking bolts. RC 3 needs four locking bolts and three pairs of security interlocks on the sealing rail. Finstral gives at least two locking points as standard.
System class. VEKA and REHAU give RC 2 (up to); Schüco says the EasySlide can reach RC 2. The class holds for the door as tested, with the right hardware and glass. See the RC classes guide.
Key handle. Finstral offers one as an option, with an opening sensor. Siegenia mentions cylinder locks from 200 kg sashes.

What to ask for in the quote

The exact type (hinged, sliding, lift-and-slide, parallel-slide) and the system name.
The threshold height in mm and how the water drains out.
The air, water and wind classes and the Uw of the door with its glass.
The glass of each sash: laminated or toughened, and the sash weight.
The locking points, the RC class if you want one, and a key handle.
Who installs, how it is sealed to the floor and the wall, and the warranty in writing.

Finstral recommends fitting in two stages, with a pre-frame. G-U warns that the connection to the wall must be well sealed to avoid moisture damage. Use the quote checker and the questions for the installer. If there is a roller shutter, see the roller shutter box.

Condominium and town hall

A balcony door faces the outside and is seen from the street. Treat it like the windows: if it changes colour, design or material, the owners’ assembly may need to approve it, and the no-licence rule talks about “frames of openings” with the same geometry. I did not confirm that it includes balcony doors. Read can I replace my windows?. If the new door changes the size of the opening or the design, do not count on the exemption without asking.

On price, the price page has no figure for balcony doors and I give none here. Ask for written proposals.

What I could not confirm

The test standard behind the sound values (VEKA, REHAU). The sheets do not cite it.
Whether a Portuguese rule requires safety glass or a low threshold on a balcony door.
The classes of Gealan, Kömmerling and Cortizo, and the Maco and Roto hardware: I could not read a sheet with data.
Whether the town hall treats a balcony door as a “frame of the opening” in the licence exemption.
The price and the delivery time: they depend on the system and the size.

Sources

All read on 25 October 2026.

REHAU: SYNEGO lift-and-slide door, data sheet (PDF, no date on the sheet).
VEKA: VEKAMOTION 82.
Schüco: EasySlide.
Finstral: FIN-Slide Slim-line 169 (October 2023, in Portuguese).
DAKO: HST PVC doors and PAS.
Siegenia: PORTAL HS and ECO PASS 0 mm.
G-U: thermostep 204 threshold.
Element: EN 12600 pendulum test.

What to do next

Measure the opening and the floor: how to measure windows.
See a starting figure with the calculator.
Ask for at least two proposals with the classes written in.

PVC balcony and sliding doors: insulation, security and what to ask for