I couldn't tick one or the other of the boxes – I think the choice has to be made contingent on so many variables. In fact we have painted timber, double-glazed bifolds (with a fabulous retractable pleated fly-screen) at the end of the dining room leading out onto a terrace and a painted timber, double-glazed slider (with a timber-framed sliding fly-screen) on the other side of the kitchen (but on the same axis) opening onto a raised timber deck. Each works really well in terms of function and aesthetics but they would not be interchangeable as the different locations determined which was more suitable – but they have been made by the same highly skilled window craftsman and have given us nothing but pleasure. And on a hot, steamy evening with both open we have the most wonderful cross ventilation.

Hi Lesley, I would contact a couple of frameless glass door hardware suppliers like Feathers or C. R. Laurence and see if they have something like a clear plastic clip-on seal with an wide brush seal or fin seal. It might also be worth finding out if there is any adjustment on the door tracks which might be able to bring the sliding doors closer to the fixed panel.

If your block is facing North or West (within Australia) maintenance will be required to ensure movement is minimized. Timber doors are beautiful they just tend to be susceptible to sun damage. FYI Cutek is a great timber protector if you want to keep the natural look however you will need to keep applying year after year.

We have the same layout as you in our 90s spec built home. We have Bunnings type cavity sliders so I imagine ours are about as cheap as you can get. They are awful - they are noisy when they slide so if one of us gets up in the night for the bathroom, we have to open the door in slow motion so as not to wake the other one up! We have them on our other wet rooms through the house and I find them not too bad acoustically but they don't screen anything in the ensuite. I would not recommend them at all. As for whether to have 1 or 2 doors, the only time I close the WIR door is when I am at my wits end haha! It's a great space for a private phone conversation but I really couldn't be bothered closing the door any other time