Enjoy the garden without any irritating insects

Peter and Alison extended their home to create a true inside-outside connection, choosing a door that would ensure they didn’t have to compromise between enjoying fresh air and closing up their home to keep insects out!

The year 2018 will go down in history as one of the worst years for wasps in Britain because summer started early. In fact, when it comes to common gripes of the season, the top complaint has to do with insects – being both a nuisance and unhygienic! However, fitting insect screens are rarely considered in the UK, even though they could make life so much more comfortable. But Peter and Alison knew what a difference it could make to their extension and made it their priority to include one.

Image: Centor

When they decided to downsize two-and-a-half years ago, Peter and Alison found a 1950s home in Sheffield that perfectly suited their needs. The remodeled two-storey Dutch bungalow had all the space and facilities they wanted, as well as access to a level and easy-to-maintain garden. That was an important consideration, as Alison explains: “Our previous house sat above the garden, so we had to walk down into it and consequently didn’t use it much at all.”

To enable true inside-outside living, the couple decided that one change they would make to the property would be to extend the ground floor to the rear creating a garden room. They wanted this room to include a large patio door so they could admire their garden all year round. The inclusion of a flyscreen was a must, so they were delighted when they saw Centor’s 211 Integrated Sliding Door at a local home show.

“We wanted a sliding door rather than a bifold to maximise the views,” says Alison. “It means there’s nothing intruding on either the garden or interior space.”

“The integral fly screen was the decider,” says Peter. The house used to have French doors at the rear, which the couple had to close early in the evening to exclude the midges. “We spent a lot of time looking at fly screen options, but nothing came near Centor’s integral style” he says.

Image: Centor

Their specification of the Centor Integrated Sliding Door aside, the couple’s brief to their friend Peter Fawcett, an Emeritus Professor of Architecture, was simply to build into the outside space, so that they could feel more part of the garden.

Peter and Alison’s garden faces north, so their motivated architect suggested a vaulted ceiling with roof windows, explaining: “The idea was to open it up with a large living space at the back of the property, which relates to the garden. I arranged roof windows and various devices to get south, east and west light, and the lighting in the space changes during the day.”