If you have your bifolds open 'all the time' in summer

[BarrelOfOtters]

Where do you live?

I'm in NOrth West and there's probably 2 months of the year at a stretch when we would reliably want our sliding doors open 'all the time'.

Currently difficult to imagine due to the constant miserable weather, but I’m in London and would have them open a lot - including into the evening.

I doubt you get the warm evenings in quite the same way, and London does seem a bit warmer than elsewhere on average (possibly due to the combination of concrete and fumes).

This is still only 3-4 months a year though, and even then it’s variable. I mean, last year was pretty dreadful. I haven’t had them open yet this year and it’s almost May.

Also NW. We had ours open for one day last year! (we were abroad for the nice couple of weeks we had here in June).

Southern tip of the Midlands. We haven't had them open yet this year, but are reasonably able to do it between May and September (inclusive). The room they are in is South facing, which helps!

We have ours open a lot when the weather is nice and we had them open lots last year and the year before. Our issue is bugs in the garden and direct glaring sunlight so I do often have nets pulled along which I hate but hate the bugs more.

North West.

The idea of having them open every day in the summer isnt one I recognise.

If it's really warm I want them closed to keep the cool in!

Very rarely have ours fully open. We did a few years ago when we had that heatwave. Otherwise in summer when it’s warm enough I just have the first bit open all day. Mainly for the dog to go in and out!

I'm in the South West, but the top end near Wales, not Cornwall end, and they are not actually bifolds but two sets of french windows, so the same sort of wall area.

We have them open a lot from May until about the end of September, but at the height of summer July/August we often don't open them, and keep the curtains closed, because its too hot with them open.

@MidnightPatrol apart from lovely years - we rarely have a evening warm enough to sit outside comfortably once the sun has gone in. We lose the sun in the garden at 8pm and might get another hour of sitting as the south facing wall reflects the heat.

But if you are still out there at 10pm it's cardigan or coats time....

This is making me feel a lot better about my choice to have a big picture window to put the sofa under and a normal door.

I didn't consider a north Scotland climate to be suited to bi folds on many occasions! But I love sitting under the window in the sun.

It's freezing today but lovely a bright.

I’m in the south east about half an hour from the coast and whilst on wet days they’ll be closed, I’d say most of the summer my doors and windows are open. Heat of summer I’d leave them open until we go to bed but normal warm days we usually close up around 8pm unless we’re eating outside. Having lived near Manchester where it felt like it rained the entire 5 years spent there, I now wouldn’t live anywhere else in the uk purely for the weather and my dream is retire to southern France for year round sunshine.

My friends also in south east, they have already been open once all day this year, and during last summer they were always open unless it was bad rain. Absolutely lovely sitting there with them open in summer as she has such a lovely garden.

Our sliding doors give so much light, it's 2 sides of the end of the extension, so we have a sofa on the wall facing them and sit on it and look at the garden. In the winter when it's cold but bright it's just lovely.

We're in the south of East Anglia - we have ours open most days and evenings in summer. Our garden has no shade at all so we get the sun on that side fully all afternoon and evening, and having the bifolds fully open means we get a gentle breeze into the kitchen/family room area once in a while to help us cool down! During the day in summer they are open and it makes it easier for kids and dogs to come in/out without tripping over each other (dogs always follow kids, even through tiny tight doorways!)

Just north of London, and I've got the bifolds open today 😁But the garden's sheltered, and I do love fresh air! (Also have patio doors on another room, and so much prefer the bifolds.) If I lived in the Midlands (where I'm from), I'm not sure I'd go with bifolds, though.

The weather forecast has a possibility of snow tonight where I am.

In line with that, its fucking freezing outside.

I have my patio doors open all the time in the summer. I'm in Cornwall. Obviously I shut them when it's raining!

How do you stop all the insects getting in?

We get the odd wasp in the garden (we have some apple trees and a grape vine that attract them!) but otherwise we don't tend to notice many other bugs during the day. In summer we keep the doors open whilst it's still light out, but would close them when it gets dark as the indoor lights would attract some flies and things indoors at that time and I hate bugs! During the day though, we don't have a problem with bugs.... maybe they're all too excited by the fruit trees?!

Thanks. We have a conservatory and even with just one narrow door open the insects come in as soon as we open it. It takes no time at all for three or four beasties to be flying about in there. That's why I wouldn't choose to have a wall of bi-fold doors. Perhaps it's area dependent.

NE.

West facing wall of glass, so we tend to throw the doors open around lunch time, to prevent heat buildup. Close after the sun has moved away from the windows.
Does that class as all the time??

BTW, they usually get opened on a Sat morning for 30 mins or so to allow the smoke from teens cooking pancakes to dissipate! So, I guess we could say we open them year round??

I suspect this might be from my comment on another thread. I have mine open most of the time in the summer. I'm in the Midlands. I do however have a covered pergola right outside mine so the kitchen floor doesn't get wet if there's an unexpected shower.

Throughout the summer mine are open more than they're closed. They're open today. We do get insects in (dragonflies in particular) but that would be the case whether we had bifolds, sliders or french doors.

It's not just the bugs though, grass, leaves, mud etc all get blown in. No one seems to acknowledge where the house & garden separate so barefeet/shoes whatever are the same inside as outside. I loathe them.

Last summer, didn’t gave them open a lot due to unpredictable weather. Other years, open a lot longer . South East.

I don't really see how they're different to sliders or french doors. You can just fold back fewer sections if you want a smaller opening.

I have all three types of doors. Depends on the room.

We have patio doors but never leave them
wide open as I hate flies in the house.