The Bifold door has become a very popular choice over the past 10 years. The traditional patio door or conservatory door has always been a single pane system, or alternatively a French door. A french door has 2 openers which open to either side in order to create a fully open aperture. The bifolding door takes this one step further by offering a fully retractable system which can be manufactured up to 10 metres wide. This has in turn, has led to the number of companies who sell them rise exponentially. Although this can be seen as a good thing this also has its bad points.
With so much competition in the bifolding door market how is someone suppose to know which is the best company? Often this question can answered by your preference to the specific question. Do you prefer a standard handle or thumb turn, do you want the thinnest frames possible or the longest manufacturers warranty? There are no correct answers to these questions, it is normally best to phone around several companies and get good feel for the service they offer.
Strengths of bifolding patio door systems
- Allow fully retractable door panels
- Range of RAL colours
- Add value to your home
- Virtually maintenance free
- Give your home more space
It is important to understand the differences between different types of bifold door systems. There are 4 different types of system available on the market. The aluminium based folding sliding door, the UPVC bifold, wood bifold and the all new frameless glass patio door system. The most well known is the UPVC due to its high volume of sales around 10 years ago. Since then however the aluminium bifolding door has improved so much that there is no real choice. The UPVc product is make from such low strength material that there are so many more problems with the systems. They often contract so much during seasonal weather that they do not operate properly, they look cheap, come in a limited amount of colours and have very stringent limits on the heights and widths of the system.
The only real strength of this system is the price. But if you are looking to add value to your home this will most likely do the opposite. With regards to the wooden based bifold system they are a similar price to the aluminium bifold but also have major issues with contraction during colder months. For this reason the most popular choice and preference for most architects, building contractors and interior designers is the aluminium bifolding door. If you can afford to pay the extra money then you cannot afford to go for the cheaper alternative of UPVc based concertina patio doors.
