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Shutter Styles

Shutters for patio doors and sliding doors

Full-height shutters on a tracked system that slides clear of the door when you need to step outside. Top-hung or floor-track, made to measure for any opening up to 4 metres wide and beyond.

Currently booking consultations 3 weeks ahead

White tracked full height shutters fitted across large patio doors in a modern living room

The Challenge

Patio doors and shutters do not naturally agree

Sliding patio doors and bi-fold doors are designed to move horizontally across a wide opening. Hinged shutter panels mounted to a frame would foul the door as soon as it slides. Mounting shutters to the door itself, the way we do with French doors, is not an option either because the panels would collide with the next door section.

The result is that most homeowners with patio doors end up with curtains, vertical blinds, or nothing at all. Curtains pull aside but rarely sit neatly when the door is open. Vertical blinds clatter every time the door moves. Neither solution looks like it was designed to be there.

Our Solution

Shutters on a track that slide clear of the door

The answer is a tracked shutter system. The shutter panels are full-height, made-to-measure, and hung from a track that runs above the opening. When the patio door is in use the shutters slide to one side and stack tightly against the wall or the window jamb. When the doors are closed for the evening, the shutters slide back across the opening for full privacy and light control.

Each panel is hinged to the next so they fold neatly against each other when stacked. There is no fabric, no rattle, no swing. The panels glide on precision rollers and the whole system operates with a light push.

We have installed tracked shutters across patio doors, sliding doors, bi-fold doors, and large picture-window openings of 4 metres and beyond. Each installation is surveyed in person, measured to the millimetre, and installed by our own team.

Tracked patio-door shutters folded back showing the doors clear for use

Track Systems

Top-hung or floor-track

Two main track systems are available, and the right choice depends on your opening. We decide at survey based on door width, floor finish, and headroom.

Top-hung track

The shutter weight is carried entirely from a rail at the head of the opening. The floor stays completely clear.

  • Best for tiled and wood floors where a floor track would interrupt the surface
  • Cleaner visual line — no track visible at floor level
  • Requires solid fixing at the head — we check at survey

Floor track

A slim track is set into the floor or laid on top, with the weight of the shutters carried at the base.

  • More stable on very tall installations and very wide openings
  • Works on openings where the head structure cannot bear the weight
  • Visible at the floor — best on carpet or where a track break is acceptable

Alternative for Hinged Doors

If your patio doors are hinged, mount shutters to the doors instead

Not every patio door slides. Many homes have hinged garden doors, sometimes two, sometimes three or four side by side, that swing open into the room or out to the patio. For these doors a tracked system is unnecessary because the doors themselves move out of the way when opened.

The simpler solution is to mount the shutters directly to the doors, exactly the way we fit French-door shutters. Each shutter panel is fixed to its own door leaf and moves with the door when it opens. Handle cut-outs are made to the millimetre so the shutter clears your existing handles, locks, and any espagnolette mechanism.

The result is a shutter installation that feels architectural rather than added on. The doors operate exactly as they did before, the shutters stay flush against the glass, and there is no track to clean or trip on.

Material note: Door-mounted shutters with handle cut-outs are available in our Fiji range (100% hardwood) or Java range (100% waterproof for kitchen patio doors). The handle cut-out cannot be made in our Cuba, Antigua, or Bermuda ranges because their engineered frames will not take the precision cut reliably.

See our French-door shutter guide

Full height shutters mounted directly to hinged patio doors with handle cut-outs revealing the brass door handles
Brown wooden full height shutters with adjustable louvres covering patio doors in a modern interior

Materials

Choose timber, composite, or waterproof

Patio-door shutters work in any of our material ranges. The choice depends on where the door leads to and how the room is used.

For a typical living-room patio door, Cuba (real hardwood louvres on an engineered frame, from £646 per window equivalent) is the most popular choice. For premium specification or shaped openings, Fiji (100% Paulownia hardwood) gives you the widest colour palette and the option to sand and refinish decades from now.

For a kitchen patio door where steam and splashes are part of daily life, Java (100% waterproof) is the only sensible choice. Java runs on the same tracked hardware as the timber ranges.

See the full materials comparison

Common Questions

Questions about patio-door shutters

Can shutters really work on sliding patio doors?
Yes. We install full-height shutters across patio doors on a tracked system. The shutters slide horizontally to one or both sides on a top-hung or floor-mounted track, so when the door is in use the shutters are clear of it. When closed, the panels stack neatly across the full opening for privacy and light control.
Do I have to remove the shutters to open the door?
No. The shutters move out of the way on their track. For a single-leaf sliding door, the shutters slide to one side and stack tightly against the wall or window jamb. For a wider opening or bi-fold doors, the shutters can stack to one or both sides depending on the layout we agree at survey.
What is the difference between a top-hung track and a floor track?
Top-hung systems carry the weight of the shutters from a rail at the head of the opening, leaving the floor completely clear. This is the cleaner look and is preferred for tiled or wood floors where a floor track would interrupt the surface. Floor-track systems are more stable on tall installations and very wide openings. We decide which is right for your opening during the survey based on the door width, the floor finish, and the headroom available.
How wide can a patio door shutter run?
Individual shutter panels are typically 600 to 750mm wide. For a wider opening we use multiple panels on the same track, all hinged together or fitted as separate sliders. We have installed shutters across openings of 4 metres and more using this approach. The survey confirms the exact panel layout.
Will the shutters interfere with the patio door handles or locks?
No. The shutters are made to measure to clear all door hardware. When the shutters are stacked open, the door operates exactly as it does without shutters. When the shutters are closed across the doors, you would only operate them when you do not need the door open.
Can you fit shutters to bi-fold doors as well?
Yes. Bi-fold doors are mechanically similar to a tracked shutter system and we fit a lot of tracked shutters across bi-fold openings. The shutters run on a separate track from the bi-fold doors themselves, so the two systems do not interfere with each other.
How much do shutters for patio doors cost?
Tracked shutter systems are priced by the running width of the opening, the material chosen, and the number of panels. As a guide, a 3-metre patio-door installation in our Cuba range starts from around £2,500 including measurement, manufacture, the tracked hardware, and full installation by our own team. Wider or shaped openings cost more. We provide a fixed written quotation after a free home survey.
What about waterproof shutters for a kitchen patio door?
If the patio door is in a kitchen with steam and splashes, our Java range is the right choice. Java is 100% waterproof and will never warp or swell. It runs on the same tracked hardware as our timber and composite ranges. See the full materials comparison for room-by-room guidance.

Our Five Year 'Perfect Fit' Promise

When you choose our family run business, you get the highest quality workmanship and a long lasting shutter or blind solution designed perfectly for you.

1

Accurately Measured

Precision survey by our trained specialists

2

Meticulously Fitted

Expert installation by our own team

3

Guaranteed for 5 Years

If you have a problem, we solve it

What Our Customers Say

"I don't often give out five stars, but this 5-star review is completely justified. Quick response, expert advice, great communication throughout, and a superb installation."

David Corbett

"The shutters and blinds are simply amazing and really dress each window so well, producing an outstanding finish to each room. The products are of such high quality and were installed with such care, attention and professionalism."

Julie Sangster, Portlethen

Read all 163 reviews →

The Scottish Shutter Company 52-page brochure

See patio-door shutters in the brochure

Real installations across Scotland, full material details, and tracked-shutter pricing for every range. Request your copy and start your project.