Bifold doors for large space

[isitwinetimeyet16]

Hi,

We're in the process of knocking through the kitchen and dining room in our Victorian terrace to make one large kitchen/diner/living area. We're also planning on installing bifold doors into the garden but would love to hear any recommendations for companies at the upper end of the market - we're happy to pay more for them if they are really good quality!
The door width would be just over 4 metres which I imagine would rule out folding doors anyway but would love to hear any personal recommendations and / or suggestions from anyone who's undertaken a similar project.
TIA!

Watching with interest as we are having the same.. our builders quote will arrive this week.. not sure who his supplier is though. We have specified that we want metal frames but sprayed white and we are having the ones with blinds built in between the panes of glass. As soon as the quote comes through I will update!

At 4 metres have you considered sliders instead of bi folds. Cheaper, look better and more robust as they don't have the hang over weight pressure on each of the hinges.

That's interesting @MarieG10 - wouldn't it be impossible to get enough space for the sliders to fit into given how long they'd have to be?

We have sliders - the triple track ones, they're brilliant.

We have triple track sliders for a 5.8m opening-they are incredible. I like that we don’t have a lot of panes braking up the view out to the garden just three big windows.

We have 3.8metre bifolds made by Vufold - their “Ultra” style which are triple-glazed, oak internally but grey aluminium externally. We had looked into quite a few and whittled it down to two firms, then saw the actual doors made by both at some huge home exhibition (Ideal Home exhibition?) in London and thought Vufold were best.

Our doors have been in for three to four years and have worn well apart from in the track, some of the very thick varnish has lifted away from the oak so the wood has greyed. It’s in the track (ie, beneath the doors) so you can’t see it with the doors shut and just needs a rub down and recoat and would certainly not put me off choosing this brand again. But because of this I wouldn’t advise getting doors that are wooden on the outside (ie, for my peace of mind they’d need to be metal-coated like ours, or painted, to better withstand the weather).

Cons: These came in pieces and had to be assembled by some guys our builders got in. Some other brands come all ready made up, apparently.
Also quite pricey, though we got a discount code from the stall at the exhibition I mentioned, and I’ve noticed the firm does have sales on so worth Googling for discount codes.

Hope that helps

I loveee bi-fold doors, especially in aluminium! The upvc ones are great as well, they just aren't as slimline which I think gives a greater aesthetic.

If you take a look here: www.arkaywindows.com/product/aluk-f82

These are an example of aluminium style bi-folding doors. Incredibly sleek.

I don't know whether they install as well but it's worth having a look and also researching because there are quite a lot of choices out there for bi-folds and you want to make sure you're choosing quality ones!

But if you wanted to get an idea on price then this is good too: www.doubleglazingontheweb.co.uk/upvc-doors/bi-fold-doors/

They give prices for aluminium ones too I think.

I have 4m wide bifold doors. Five doors that fold outwards because the folded doors are quite thick and would take up too much room indoors. Having an odd number of doors means we can open the end one to pop outside without having to do any folding. Had to get a builder to put a steel beam above the opening then the window company installed the doors. They recommended aluminium because plastic would twist in such a large opening. That was three years ago and no problems.

@isitwinetimeyet16 yes our have a triple track but very need and fits level with the floor and also has drainage points. A friend did a similar extension (lives on same road) and opted for bi-fold and really regretted it. View of the garden interrupted by more frames, and also the glass was a lot thinner and actually moved due to the need to being lighter.

Our has the third pane fixed which works where it is and the horizontal blinds stack in front of it.

The advantage of bi folds is that when stacked, you do get a slightly larger opening. Not sure what for your size so,worth asking

Triple track 6m sliders here - much neater look than bifolds and more glass when they are closed.

We’ve got sliders. Much bigger frames and nothing sticking out.

We can’t open the doors all the way due to one fixed pane but that works well for us - the fixed pane is where the kitchen units are.

Thank you so much all for the responses - so helpful and so appreciated.

Am wondering now whether I dismissed sliders too soon - I assumed bifolds were always a better choice but seems perhaps not?

sliding doors are sooooooooooooo much better

I would go to a workshop and have a look.

I have 5m of bifolds from Durafold. Dh chose them. If I had my way I'd have had something more period looking. The doors we have though are excellent quality, cost just under 6k fitted & have remote electronic blinds installed between the glass.

Also following as an having the same discussion with my builder as we speak!

For those of you with triple track sliders could you recommend a brand?

Thanks

We are having similar debate and looking at IDSystems slide and turn- on paper it looks like the best of both words between bifold and sliding.

However if we think again then it'll be sliders all the way- I think standard bifolds will go out of fashion much quicker- large frames means a much more interrupted view which I want to avoid.

Express bi fold doors are good but you pay a lot for the brand. Northern building plastics are what we had and they are brilliant quality and £2k less that Express...but I think they are trade only? Worth a check

Oh and Express Bi-folds do all doors...outs are the sliders

We have reynaurs sliders from grabex. They are excellent quality so far and I really like that you can lock them open at any point along the track it stops the children sliding them. We looked at schuco (more expensive and solid) and smarts (cheaper and less solid). Go and look at some you need to feel how they work.

We went for express bifold sliders.

There’s a big show room near Reigate I think? Definitely worth a visit