Internal bifold room divider doors?

[BewareTheBeardedDragon]

Do you have internal bifold doors? If so do you like them? Are they too hung or do they have a track at the bottom? If you like them, where did you get them from?

There's so many available and it's seemingly impossible to tell which are going to be any good.

It’s not a door as such but I’ve seen this divider from b and q? www.diy.com/departments/karalis-cut-out-adjustable-height-room-divider/1012710_BQ.prd?storeId=1271&ds_rl=1272379&ds_rl=1272409&ds_rl=1272379&gclid=CjwKCAjwmrn5BRB2EiwAZgL9osoT8jOOp5BSLSR-Bb6qkw2osdaSnUaX_Ad18fg2i0oO7e3OSNNWLRoCou0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Ours are are hung top and bottom . We were advised by friends who installed top-only and regretted it. The bottom of their doors started catching on the floor.

We have a groove in the floor along which the door slides, making it very easy to open and close.

Ours came from Vufold from the oak range and our joiner said they were easy to fit (although I reckon a good diy'er could do it too, but we were having other work done at the time). It make such a difference to our space - I love them!

We have these

Hi

We have a triple bifold door. It's a wooden frame painted white and glass door in pattern 10 (ie plain glass panel). It goes from our hall to our kitchen.

We absolutely love it. What I would say is that we have it fully open almost all the time so the folded footprint does take up a bit of space. It's on a track top and bottom. We had them made and fitted for us by a joiner as part of some other work we were having done.

My parents have bi-folds in their house which go between their dining room and sunroom (an addition). Again theirs were custom made. It's a smaller space so theirs are a bit more like a concertina as the bits of door are quite small. Theirs are wooden with small glass panels in the top half. They like that because it gives slightly more privacy between each room when the doors are closed. Again theirs are on a track top and bottom.

I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for and what to spend but my brother was DIY refurbing his modern-ish house and put concertina doors from B&Q between the living rooms and dining room. They are not the same quality or wow factor as the big custom-made ones but they definitely do the job for his needs. They are not on a track. They just literally fold out, which actually makes them quite versatile.

Thanks all - I had been looking at the Vufold ones so good to know they are good!

That B&Q one looks interesting, but that doesn't open and close does it?

@3hoursofPeppa is it something like this your brother has? www.diy.com/departments/severn-3-panel-1-lite-glazed-primed-clear-pine-rh-internal-tri-fold-door-set-h-2035mm-w-2374mm/5011944198154_BQ.prd
If so how does he find them please?

We have them, they're top and bottom on a track and are shutter style ones from Hilarys. They really come in handy for blocking out the sunlight as the back of our house has no blinds/curtains.

The ones you've linked are more like the ones we have. They are true bi-folds in that they are normal sized doors that stack when folded.

Concertina doors are more liked normal sized doors that fold in half, so for a smaller space. My brother's space is quite small - basically a set of double doors and rather than have them just open, they told away. If that makes sense. They are totally fine, but I would want to be opening and closing them all the time.

We have bi-folds a bit more like the ones you've linked, tracked top and bottom. They run smoothly and they are great but a bit heavy to pull open and closed all the time. They do look incredibly nice when they're closed though, and you can just lock two of the panels and use the end door as a stand alone door.

Fold away, not told away!

Btw the ones you've linked are really nice! They're a bit like my parents ones - let lots of light through and open the space but very clearly divide the room because of the wooden panel at the bottom.

We got some a couple of years ago to replace the external door between the conservatory and the main house. We have 4 doors which open in the middle then fold back on themselves iyswim so we can have a fully open space, or 1 or 2 doors open. Top hung only as I didn't want a track running across the floor. They're great, keep the light flooding in, but keep the areas separate when needed. Excellent when we have parties to give us a lovely open space.

I can't remember where we got them, I know it was difficult to find ones that opened in the middle which I needed because of the room layout, but I'm very pleased with them.

@MsLumley that's exactly what I'm looking for, can I ask some questions.

• how big is your opening? Mine is 1730mm.
• did you have to have a top track or could you have had completely trackless? I'm ideally looking for trackless ones so just hinged on the wall, but don't know if that's even possible.
• any idea how much they cost?
• were they off the shelf or bespoke?

I'm ideally looking for mine to fold back 180° into the opening on the outside of the conservatory so that in the spring/summer/autumn they can just stay open but aren't in the way. The width of the opening and the space either side of the opening to the windowsill should just about allow that.

www.expressdoorsdirect.co.uk/door/interior-bifold-doors/glazed-oak-p10-folding-room-divider-8ft-2374mm

These are our ones. Our width was 2400, couldn't get an exact fit but our builder did something to get the 2384 ones to fit.

There isn't a track at the top but there is a strip of wood and locks so they stay in place.

The middle two doors open into the main room with the outer ones secured into place with a lock at the top. For fully open, I unlock the two outer doors then they fold back pretty much 180 degrees into the conservatory. I would show you pics of them in situ but my house is a tip 😳

MsLumley thank you!
That sounds like exactly what I want, looking at the link they do a 3 panel door to fit my width and I definately want 4 so each is narrow enough to fit the space they are folding back into. But the fact that they can be without a track (and yours will be bigger and heavier for the wider space) is good to know, I'm not bothered about a frame around the sides and top but I don't want a track in the floor. Think I'll have to give up on trying to find ready made and contact some local door/window workshops and see what they can do.

There's quite a price difference between Vufold and B&Q ones. I wonder how they differ in performance and durability. I don't know how you're supposed to know - argh.

Ours are Vufold and my friend got hers from Wickes before we did. She says ours feel far more substantial - heavier, but easier to open and close. Also, her doors haven't got the inset foam seal around each door which helps with soundproofing (apparently!)

I guess you get what you pay for to a certain extent but, of course, it depends on what you can afford!

Thanks - that's really useful!

I'm planning on having these fitted in a few weeks time!
www.doorsandfloors.co.uk/lpd-black-primed-soho-folding-doors-and-frame-clear-glass.html

I have a friend who has lovely wrought iron internal doors. They look bloody amazing.

Ours were made by a joiner, track top and bottom. Each side folds into 3 sections so they stack right back against the walls either side. Think the opening is around 12 foot wide.

Those look fab @themummyway and a great price. What are they made of?

@bouncydog those are awesome! I suspect custom made is well out of my price range.

@BewareTheBeardedDragon - you might be surprised. Ours are actually made of hardwood but you could probably get something similar in softwood and paint or stain them. Benefit of having them custom made is that they actually are made to fit the opening rather than having to buy off the shelf which might have to be adjusted.

Hmm, I will investigate further!

@themummyway sorry - I've found the description now on the website - was having a brainless moment earlier...

The main issue I think with internal bi-fold dors is the space needed to open them and how far they protrude into the room when open. I was going to fit them between a room and a conservatory but in the end stayed with two doors that slide back against the each wall (did consider having them go inside the wall but that was too expensive) of course with sliding doors you lose wall space...