CASE STUDY
Lime grove
Products used
Slim Framed Sliding Glass Doors; Structural Glass Roofs; Thermally Broken Rooflights
Location
Shepherd’s Bush, London
Project Overview
Slim sliding doors in Shepherd’s Bush form the main garden opening within this contemporary extension to a traditional London terraced home. Designed by LBMV Architects and built by Convert-Construction Ltd, the project reconfigured the lower ground floor to create a brighter kitchen and dining space with a stronger connection to the garden.
The original glazing package was delivered by IQ Glass and combines a two-panel minimal sliding door, frameless structural glazing, clerestory glass and large structural rooflights. The different systems were carefully aligned to maintain minimal sightlines while bringing daylight into both the extension and the deeper parts of the original house.
Project Challenges
Slim sliding doors in Shepherd’s Bush form the main garden opening within this contemporary extension to a traditional London terraced home.
Designed by LBMV Architects and built by Convert-Construction Ltd, the project reconfigured the lower ground floor to create a brighter kitchen and dining space with a stronger connection to the garden.
The original glazing package was delivered by IQ Glass and combines a two-panel minimal sliding door, frameless structural glazing, clerestory glass and large structural rooflights. The different systems were carefully aligned to maintain minimal sightlines while bringing daylight into both the extension and the deeper parts of the original house.
Project Solutions
Two-panel sliding doors with structural glass and roof glazing
A two-panel minimal sliding door was installed as the principal garden opening. The 21mm sightline keeps the central junction visually narrow, while the bi-parting arrangement creates a generous opening between the kitchen, dining area and garden. The frames were finished in RAL 8019.
Frameless structural glazing was used alongside and above the main opening, including a glazed clerestory that increases daylight without adding conventional framed windows. Glass-to-glass corner details help the different elements read as one continuous composition.
Two large structural glass rooflights bring daylight into the centre of the extension. The roof sections use silicone joints between panes to minimise visible structure and work together with the vertical glazing to create an up-and-over glazed effect.
An integrated slot drain in anodised silver was incorporated at the sliding door threshold, allowing the base detail to remain visually minimal while managing external water.
Project Highlight
The key architectural feature is the coordinated transition from vertical glazing into overhead structural glass. Sliding doors, clerestory glazing and silicone-jointed rooflights work together to bring daylight from the garden elevation and roof into the deeper lower-ground-floor plan.
End Result
Performance considerations
The glazing package balances minimal detailing with thermal, solar and weather performance. Thermally broken framing supports year-round comfort across the large glazed areas, while solar control glass helps reduce excessive heat gain during warmer conditions.
Heat soak testing was specified across the relevant glass units. At the sliding doors, the integrated slot drain provides water management without introducing a visually dominant threshold detail.
The roof glazing and vertical structural glass were designed as coordinated systems rather than isolated products. This allows the large areas of glass to maintain consistent junctions and sightlines across the extension.
Sieger’s conclusion
Lime Grove demonstrates how slim sliding doors in Shepherd’s Bush can be combined with structural glass rooflights and frameless glazing to resolve the common daylight constraints of a London terrace extension.
Rather than relying on one large rear opening, the project uses sliding doors, clerestory glass and overhead glazing together to bring natural light into the full depth of the plan while maintaining a clean architectural finish.
This approach is suited to architects, designers and homeowners planning London rear extensions where minimal framing, garden access and daylight penetration need to be resolved as one coordinated glazing strategy.
21mm sliding door sightlines maximise glass across the garden elevation
Structural rooflights bring daylight deeper into the lower-ground floor
Clerestory and vertical structural glazing create continuous frameless detailing
Integrated slot drainage maintains a minimal threshold at the garden opening
Technical specifications
| Minimal Sliding Door System | Two-panel minimal windows® sliding door with a 21mm sightline, finished in RAL 8019 and used as the principal opening between the kitchen, dining area and garden. |
| Sliding Door Threshold | Integrated slot drain in anodised silver, coordinated with the sliding door base detail to provide discreet water management. |
| Structural Glass Rooflights | Two large frameless structural glass rooflights formed from multiple panes with silicone-jointed connections to minimise visible framing and increase overhead daylight. |
| Structural and Clerestory Glazing | Multiple fixed structural glass elements, including clerestory glazing and glass-to-glass corner details, coordinated with the sliding doors and roof glazing. |
| Glass Specification | Solar control glazing used to help manage heat gain, with heat soak testing specified across relevant glass units. |
| Installation | Manual lifting equipment and specialist glass-handling methods used to position the larger glazing elements within the rear extension. |
| Product confirmation | The sliding door is identified in the original project record as a minimal windows® system rather than a Sieger-branded sliding door. It should not be relabelled as a Sieger Slim Sliding Door unless the project record is subsequently updated or confirmed. |
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