Three kinds of sliding door.
Plain slider, lift-and-slide, tilt-and-slide and the pull-shut slider: how each one moves, seals and meets the floor.
Vistaza Engineering · Nov 16, 2023 · Updated Sep 4, 2026 · 5 min read
Every sliding door moves a glass panel sideways past a fixed one. What differs is what the panel does before it moves. A plain slider simply rolls. A lift-and-slide panel lifts off its seals first. A tilt-and-slide panel steps in off the frame first. A pull-shut slider rolls freely, and is then drawn into the frame by its handle. That first move decides how the door seals when it is shut, how heavy it feels in the hand, and how high the threshold has to be.
The plain slider.
The panel sits on rollers on a bottom track all the time. Push it and it rolls.
- Seals. Brush or fin seals that the panel slides past, and an interlock where the moving panel meets the fixed one. A hook or latch at the jamb holds it shut.
- Good at. Simple hardware, few parts, light operation, and no swing space inside or outside.
- Watch for. The seals have to let the panel move, so the air and water figures depend on the interlock and on how the track drains. The track collects grit and water. Its weep holes have to stay clear for the life of the building.
Lift-and-slide.
Turning the handle works a gear inside the panel. The gear pushes the rollers down and raises the panel slightly. The seals come clear of the track, and the panel rolls freely. Turn the handle back and the panel lowers. Its own weight presses the gaskets down onto the track and against the frame. It can be lowered part-way along its travel, and it stays where it is put.
- Seals. Gaskets under compression when the door is shut, because the panel rests on them.
- Good at. Large, heavy panels. Nothing drags while the panel is moving, so a heavy triple-glazed panel still rolls easily. Low thresholds are possible.
- Watch for. More hardware and a deeper frame. The sill under a heavy panel has to be level and fully supported, or the panel will not run true. Lifting the panel takes some effort at the handle, so try one at full size.
Tilt-and-slide.
When shut, the panel sits in the plane of the frame like a large window sash, with a gasket all the way round and locking points on every side. One handle position tilts the panel in at the head for ventilation. A further turn releases it. The panel moves inward on carriage arms, parallel to the wall, then slides along a track in front of the fixed light.
- Seals. A continuous compression gasket, the same principle as a casement window.
- Good at. Tight air and water performance, and secure ventilation in the tilt position with the door still held by its hardware.
- Watch for. The bottom of the opening is a full frame member, so there is an upstand to step over. That is a poor fit for an accessible route. The carriage limits the weight and size of the panel. The operation has more steps, and residents need to be shown it once.
The pull-shut slider.
With the handle up, the panel is free. It rolls in front of the fixed light on rollers in its bottom rail. Nothing lifts and nothing drags. Turn the handle down, half a turn, and a gear that runs round all four sides of the panel draws it a short way sideways into the frame, away from the room, and locks it there. Shut, the panel is not beside the frame. It is in it.
- Seals. A compression gasket all the way round, squeezed by the panel being pulled onto it. It is the way a casement window shuts, on a door that slides.
- Good at. Air and water, because no seal has to slide when the door is shut. Light operation, because nothing is lifted. Locking points spread round the panel, not one hook at the jamb.
- Watch for. The bottom of the opening is a frame sill with a track in it, so there is a step. There is no vent position: the panel is either shut or free. The handle has to be turned fully down before the door seals, which is worth showing a resident once.
Side by side.
| Plain slider | Lift-and-slide | Tilt-and-slide | Pull-shut slider | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First move | None. It rolls | Lifts onto its rollers | Steps in off the frame | Pulls into the frame |
| Seal when shut | Sliding seals and an interlock | Gaskets pressed by the panel's weight | Compression gasket all round | Compression gasket all round |
| Air without opening the door | No | No | Yes, in the tilt position | No |
| Threshold | Track with an upstand | Can be low | Full frame upstand | Sill with a track |
| Suits large panels | Moderately | Yes | Moderately | Yes |
| Hardware | Least | More | Most | Most |
No one kind wins on every line. A plain slider is the simplest to own. A lift-and-slide suits wide openings and low thresholds. A tilt-and-slide suits a bedroom where night ventilation and a tight seal matter more than a flush floor. A pull-shut slider suits an opening that has to seal like a window and still move with one hand.
The threshold is where water gets decided.
On any sliding door, the height of the sill is a large part of what holds wind-driven water back. A lower threshold is easier to cross and gives water less to climb. The reasoning is the same as for swing doors, and it is set out in accessible thresholds for terrace doors. Whatever the mechanism, the water rating belongs to the threshold that was on the door in the test.
Ask which threshold was on the door when it earned its water rating.
What to ask about any sliding door.
- The class, the report number, and the configuration tested. A two-panel door and a four-panel door are different tests.
- The size tested. The class applies up to that size.
- The air leakage figure, and the water test pressure.
- The threshold that was tested, and the path water takes out of the track.
- Which panel slides, written as seen from outside. X is the panel that moves and O is the fixed one, so a door is OX or XO.
- The handle. A panel that passes in front of another needs a flush handle on that face.
- Where the insect screen runs, if there is one.
The Vistaza sliding door.
Vistaza makes one sliding door. It is a two-panel door, ordered OX or XO, with a steel core inside every sash and frame. That core is what holds a tall panel straight and keeps it rolling true. It is the fourth kind: a pull-shut slider. On the tested two-panel door it takes 15 pounds of force to start the panel moving and 5 to keep it moving, where the standard allows 35 (ASTM E2068, Intertek report R8672). The same report records four locking points and a pass for forced entry (ASTM F842, Grade 10).
The tested two-panel door is rated CW-PG50, with a design pressure of ±50.13 psf, water tested at 7.52 psf and air leakage of 0.07 cfm/ft². Energy and sound depend on the glass:
| Glass in the sliding door | U-factor | STC / OITC |
|---|---|---|
| Insulated double-pane, low-E, argon | 0.28 | 30 / 24 |
| Insulated triple-pane, warm-edge spacer | 0.19 | not tested |
| Acoustic double-pane, asymmetric, warm-edge spacer | 0.26 | 37 / 32 |
These are three different glasses. No single one gives both the lowest U-factor and the highest sound rating.
Ratings, glass and downloads are on the sliding door page. For a hinged door onto a balcony, see the terrace doors.