Are bifold doors worth it?

[BiscuitLover3678]

We’re getting an extension with dining/family room being added on to our current kitchen and looking out at the garden.

I know bifold doors are very ‘in’ but are they worth it? Would large French doors and floor length windows do the trick? I want lots of kigjt and to be able to look out when I sit down. Plus still see lots from the kitchen.

I know they are considered dated and Crittall style doors are all the rage now
WHAT!!! We have just replaced crittal with bifolds! Admittedly, the house was derelict and the crittal single glazed and missing most of the glass!

Our bifolds have just been installed and the house isn't complete- so havent used them as yet. I am starting to think that massive, sliders might have been better- because the door can be left wide enough for the dog to go in and out. We were told to avoid french doors if you have kids because unless they are pinned back properly, they can flap and damage (apparently).

Look up frameless designs for more light and less frame. I cant recall if these are sliders or bifolds though.

It really depends what your priority is everyone is different. I think bifolds are good for opening the whole space- great if you spend lots of time in the garden / want the whole inside/ outside connection. Sliders are probably better if you want less frame, don't want to open up the space onto the garden, don't anticipate opening them much.

We probably have the doors open for at least 4 or 5 months - like today. NW.

OP - no they are not worth it.
It's all about Sliders now

I absolutely love mine!
I've had them 14 years and I still get a buzz opening them up. I just love the whole back.of the house being open to the garden.
Sliders would be impossible because I only have a small semidetached house.

We have French doors and it's rare that we open both of them. Usually if we need to get something big through them. South facing, though, so when it's hot enough inside to want cooler air, the outside air isn't even the slightest bit cooler. It's more effective to shut the doors completely, draw the curtains across them and open the front windows.

We have French doors with windows at the side and generally just open one door. We also have lots of animals come in the garden like foxes and squirrels, I don't think I would like the whole back of the house open in case they thought it was part of the garden.

We have sliding doors and I love them. 4 panels, each 1.2m. The middle two slide back either side leaving a large 2.4m gap in the middle.

I really like that you can open and lock them just a cm or so. With a small toddler, he would just escape when I didn’t want him to otherwise.

@BingoBungle

I know they are considered dated and Crittall style doors are all the rage now, but only bifolds give you a proper inside-outside connection because the opening is so wide and the sight line unimpeded. A friend has just had immense sliding doors installed - three panes each 150 wide and they look incredible so maybe another option for you?

We had bifolds in the original plans and swopped to sliders on the builders advice. So glad we did. We have three 1.5m sliders. Views amazing but more robust as well

We went for 2 sets of big sliding patio doors. This creates the maximum amount of glass, and minimal amount of frame, when closed. And I figured - this is the uk, they'll be closed a lot!

Sliding doors do seem to be the best solution if you want a lot of window and not much frame so most practical.

DSis has sliding doors which seem to give the most flexibility for most days of the year..We have French doors in a period property and hook them back .

I think French doors look nicer.

We got Origin bifolds for a large gap - they contract in the winter leaving a gap, if we get the doors adjusted they won't close on a hot day. Origin refuse to deal with us as our supplier went out of business - we're getting sliders and not from Origin!

We love our bifolds. You have a traffic door for taking the bins out. We fairly regularly open them up between May and September as our deck is flush with the house so it just doubles our living / dining area. We have plenty of space for the stacked doors too.

Sliders (even the super duper modern ones) look very 70s to me. I would make one exception - I noticed on Your Garden Made Perfect they have sliders which disappear into a pocket wall but that would be ££££.

We are putting bifolds in next week

I was a bit unsure, as I do think they've probably had their day style-wise. They are a bit of a cliche now. But since we are on the south coast with a sheltered south-facing back yard, I envisage us being able to have them fully open quite a lot! We have horrible 70s-style sliding doors there at the moment and it's just not enough 'open-ness' for me.

Having said that I do really love the look of proper French doors but again, it wouldn't give that outside/inside feeling.

I think it weird how we keep banging on about being on-trend for houses when on the Style and Beauty boards - asking if something is on-trend is met with massive chorus of if you like it wear it, develop your own style - not with houses though...we seem to be slaves to what the experts tell us we should like.

It does depend on the period of your house. Our bifolds are perfect for our 90s house but I wouldn't put them on a Georgian cottage, for example.

@ZoyaTheDestroyer I'm worried that I'll knock thousands off resale value on top of spending a lot of money on the initial building cost.

You are not going to knock thousands off the value with good-quality bifold doors, properly fitted and adjusted. A reputable fitter will come back a month or so after the initial installation to make any necessary adjustments.

I have 6 bifolds. Absolutely love them. We live in Scotland so it's always fucking freezing or raining, so they're not open much. But I love the way they look if nothing else. 😬

Having replaced sliders with bi-folds it definitely feels more connected to the garden with the bi-folds.
Our kitchen table is in front of them and when open it really does feel like you’re sitting outside in a way it never did with sliders.
We have them open at every opportunity and pretty much all the time in summer. It doesn’t have to be blazing sunshine to benefit.
I enjoy sitting at the kitchen table with a brew listening to the birds etc when it’s slightly too chilly to sit outside but warm enough to have the doors open, yet benefit from the shelter inside.

Make sure to get a ‘traffic’ door which is where the last panel can just open and close like a normal door for popping out to the bins.

Just about to install 3 sets of bifolds on our kitchen. Very happy to be getting rid of the French doors that are currently there

Which is cheaper? Bifold or sliding?

@edgeware

I hate our bifolds, we never open them. You need clear space inside and outside in order to open them, which for us means we can’t put anything on our patio. They came with the house. Would much rather have sliding doors.

This. I'm in the same boat. Bi-folds will be the avocado bathroom suite of the future. When I win the lottery I'm taking mine out for sliders. I grew up with sliding doors so thought they were old fashioned but now I know they're better.

@Soopermum1

Which is cheaper? Bifold or sliding?

sliding