Sliding Folding doors help

[carrotandtomato]

I've been researching folding doors for our extension and I've been getting confused about who manufactures and fits their own brand doors and who supplies and fits other brands of doors manufactured elsewhere.

1st Folding Sliding Doors told me that 'their' doors are made in 'their' factory in High Wycombe but then I went on the Bifold Direct website and their doors look remarkably similar and are also made in High Wycombe. So a bit more digging and I think they both just supply and fit Origin Easifold doors.

This is what I think is right but if anyone knows different or has any advice, I would be grateful.

• Origin Easifold are manufactured in the UK and supplied and fitted by 3rd parties like 1st folding sliding doors and Bifold Direct

• Sunflex are manufactured in Germany and fitted by 3rd parties like ID Systems and quite alot of smaller suppliers

• Kloeber make and fit their own brand doors

• Express Bifolding Doors make and fit their own brand doors?

• Sunseeker make and fit their own brand doors

• Sunfold doors are made ? and are fitted and supplied by 3rd parties.

• Sunparadise make and fit their own doors

• Shuco doors are German made but don't know who supplies and fits them?

Argh! Is any of that right?

It seems that you can get Origin Easifold doors and Express Bifolding Doors in 2/3 weeks but it takes 6-8 from everyone else?

Sorry this is long, its such a lot of money and every supplier thinks their doors are the best...

I think the brand of door is probably the most important but also the supplier/fitter needs to be recommended to me so that the after sales service is good.

Help?!

It's not just the bifolds that are a consideration. Installation is complex and there will invariably be snagging and niggles afterwards. You want a company where the fitter comes out without any fuss, and puts things right without expecting you to put your hands in your pocket.

I haven't found a hassle-free company yet, but Express Bifolds are knowledgeable and take their reputation seriously, which counts for a lot. FWIW, I always specify Schuco because their doors "feel" right, like the handle on a VW. If you're wanting Mercedes or Porsche, IQ glass (who also sell Schuco) do a stunning bespoke bifold product at approx 3 times the price.

Smhorrocks I will PM you with further detail but happy to say on record that I was very happy with the service from ODC over all.

They were incredibly quick getting the old doors and windows out and the new ones were installed quickly and without any drama. They are fabulous quality and the salesperson came up with a great idea for our windows which worked brilliantly. As we don't live there any more I'm happy to show the final result!

www.google.co.uk/search?q=image+bifold+doors+ODC&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=631&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwippsOW8aTOAhUBthoKHX4LDgcQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=jA91QFmMx2ZmpM%3A

We had timber inside to match our oak window seats and dark grey alumunium outside.

They weren't cheap though, that was the only drawback, but I liked them better than the other doors I'd looked at (Sunfold, Kloeber and Schuco). They are solid and worked well.

I discovered a tiny scratch on the side of the house (where we never went) and they came back quickly to repair it. We also had one issue with the rubber seal popping out and they were back to fix that quickly too.

I had them back on Monday to quote for our new house terrifying major renovation project.

If you have any other questionsn please feel free to ask I like to waffle

Roses2 sorry was it bifolddoorfactory.co.uk you went with? We are probably getting sliding but they do those too.

thanks for your kind comments. Solarlux are indeed good doors. Obviously aesthetics are a very personal thing so your comments on the Origin products are noted.

Another product very well worth considering is a door called Air. If you are looking at Schuco doors I would also consider the Air bifolding door alongside these. They are a very well designed door and the only one on the market with a 25 year guarantee. Origin offer 20 years and these two doors are by far those with the longest guarantee available. If you can let me know your location, I can let you know where you can see Schuco and Air doors as well as suggest alternatives if neither of these meet your needs.

One thing that it is very important to know with bifolding doors and in fact most windows and doors is that quality installation and quality manufacturing is everything. As I mentioned in this thread earlier it is these two factors that can ruin what is an excellent bifolding door product. So choose your installers with care but above all, let them do their job as well.

It's very easy for us as homeowners, having spent many thousands on new windows and doors to scrutinise every detail but a good window firm cares about doing a great installation and giving you a good service.

Buying doors and windows is one of those few purchases where you can obtain your (high value) products first and pay for them "when you're happy". You can't really do this with any other major purchase - try buying a car with a 20 or 30% deposit and then pay for it when you are pleased with it!

Window companies want you to be happy so you can pay them! The door and window industry thanks largely to the sales tactics of the national firms doesn't have the most positive of reputations and it's a shame. There are over 14000 window companies serving the UK and the vast majority do really great work.

hi all,

Thanks for all your comments. I am hoping to get some help on my own project.

I need to order a fairly big sliding door (5000 x 2700) and also some other - tilt-before-turn - windows. All in aluminum.

The biggest problem comes with the slider. I am now comparing essentially three products, all lift and slide:

Luxal / Reynaers 98mm profiles (in the middle)
Maxlight (use their own profiles, apparently) 20 mm profiles
ID Systems / Sunflex - 24mm profiles

The first one cost half the others. I am agonising on whether I should be spending double as much on the slimline profiles. What I need help with is:

Understanding how Maxlight (Culmax) profiles may compare to the ID Systems /Sunflex.
If people have any experience dealing with any of the companies above.

Thanks in advance for any help!

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Whoops, just saw I had a question to me!

Yes I bought my Schuco door from bifolddoorfactory.co.uk just over one year ago.

One 3 pane (triple glazed) Schuco ASS 70 FD Highly Insulated Bifold Door width 3600mm Height 2300mm Colour RAL

7016 Anthracite grey

Total Contract value £4,080.00

Still very happy with it although it is relatively early days!

Hi everyone
Slightly late to the party here but I’m looking into frameless/slimline sliding doors for our house. I was particularly interested in the information posted by nick4692.
Has anyone used or heard of Maxlight? They are also based in West London and have been used in some fab extensions. They have lovely clean lines and super slim frames and do supply/install. They are however super £££ and not quite sure we can afford them to be honest as we will also be changing all the windows /French doors on the same side of our house as they’re pretty rubbish looking now and we want the whole thing to match.
Any views/comment on that? Has anyone used Maxlight?

I can't comment on Maxlight but I did a ridiculous amount of research to find the perfect sliding doors and also got help from Nick4692 who was great! In fact I promised to get back to him to let him know who I went with so must do that!

Anyway, I can really, really recommend the new Origin Inline Sliding Doors. Super slim sightlines (2cm) and a 20 year guarantee which no other maker will offer (I think). We have a run of around 5m long by just over 2m high and they cost around £8kish. All other companies started at around £11k. Get in touch with HBD Systems and Open Living for quotes. We used the latter who were ok-ish (and maybe just very busy before Christmas).

Actually I do remember researching Maxlight and found a fair few negative reviews.

We've committed to buying Dutemann Glide-S doors, they have a mullion (centre frame) of 47mm and are well engineered. We are having a 5.8m run in our living room and 3.8m run in our bedroom for the sake price as the Origin posted above. Cost was a factor.

Some friends of ours have Origin bifolds and are having all sorts of problems with the doors sticking etc. We ate having Origin windows though.

Good luck.

My typing is poor sorry!

That price included a finish in a bespoke colour.

Thanks for sharing Crumbelina, I will also look into the Origins doors to compare. I am being quoted £6.6K for a run which is 2200 x 3600 which I think works out to be pricier than Origins. Also, what I found ridiculous was them quoting us £3K for a 1440 x 1150 window!!!! That's insane- unless anyone else can advise whether this is just the going price?
One thing is, do Origins have the locking mechanism on the side? A lot of door manufacturers put it at the bottom as they want to keep the vertical mullions and frames as slim as poss. The 20 year guarantee is also a huge bonus.

I have just checked Google again and Maxlight appear to have 25 reviews that are all 5* and everyone singing their praises!
www.google.co.uk/search?q=maxlight&rlz=1C1ASUC_enGB677GB677&oq=maxlight&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i65j69i60l4.1216j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#lrd=0x487611ddbfae196f:0x25eb99abee33da2f,1,,,

Not sure though as they are sooooo expensive!
Anyone else who may have used them/know someone who has?

Buvaki: is that just a fixed window or does it have openers? We've purchased a fixed window from Origin, 2.1m x 1.3m and its just over a grand.

I just checked my contract and it's £725 & VAT to be precise.

Humptynumpty02, no, it's supposed to be a sliding window (not a pocket sliding, two panes with one sliding over the other)
The fixed window opening version for the same size was quoted as around £1.2K- so again, quite a lot more.
I am going to value engineer this as much as I can or try and split the order and go with different suppliers for the smaller doors/windows as I am really keen on the Maxlight large sliders.

Thanks everybody, Im an architectural designer working in SW London for 16 years now on house extensions and have used pretty much every manufacturer you have mentioned in this article, yet when looking to get new projects quoted I struggle to advise clients which company best in terms of delivery and performance, aside from the quality of the doors themselves, as each builder will have been different, in the main. So, today I was l reviewing First as they have us good service and quality a few years ago, and this discussion came up! very very useful, thanks Oh and when I had my own sliding folding doors done back in 2007 I went with sunparadise as they were reasonable and we were broke ( still are, architects dont earn a lot) and they were fine for a few years, but then I became aware that the frames are real " cold bridges" in winter, and since I have recently had acoustic windows fitted as we are in the flightpath, Im even more aware of how much sound comes though the frames! tempted to rip them out and start again...

With most well known brands being of good quality, the builder/fitter matters more. I am in the middle of a protracted and unpleasant episode with my installer Architectural Glazing Company who has been totally unresponsive after a deficient and incomplete installation. Not to mention quids out. The product, Cortizo frame, is fine tbh (Alu frame + 2 large sleek panes for the patio sliding doors) and my lessons learnt are all fairly basic to anyone: 1. Choose a local established company with a storefront which you can walk up to & complain if need be. 2. Do not go for the cheapest quote by default. 3. Check what building regulations compliance certification you'll receive at the end: FENSA or other equivalent. 4. A substantial portion of the ££ to be paid on completion.

Probably coming far too late to this discussion, wish I had seen two years ago.

We used 1st Folding sliding doors for bifolds and would certainly not recommend. Sales appear friendly until they have your money. Should a material issue come up, you will find yourselves dealing with really unprofessional people and communications never returned.

They made material error against the contract their own surveyor prepared and then refused to accept it or come out. We chased up for many many months and still unresolved. Save the endless frustration and go with a recommended professional from customers only!

I do recommend the Origin doors. The profiles are slightly wider to Schuco but this won't bother you in the end. The engineering is very good, overall the doors are top quality and finish. You get excellent thermal and noise insulation too and price is reasonable. The track seals appear to wear quicker than expected and door handle is a little sticky at times. All in all great product.

One thing to note is that the 20 year guarantee from Origin is not entirely their own. The first 10 years are insurance backed by the intermediary installer, then another 10 years provided by Origin.