folding french doors - any good ?

fraser

we are looking at these and pretty tempted by the wickes oak veneer or the white soft wood ones.

nagging doubt is over the durability of these types of doors.

We hear upvc doors drop and deform due to the glass weight, wood will swell and deform as well as need more maintenance.

Recommended are aluminium for combating these issues

Do these things correlate with people experience?

Are we better going for a plain french door ?

Door would be 2.4m wide and 2m tall

Thanks

ormus

ive had problems with all those types over the yrs.
but you have to keep some sort of perspective here. all the ones ive dealt with were like 20 yrs old. and more.

sunshinetours

Softwood would be prone to movement and potential distortion like any external softwood door - also requires painting / treatment to maintain looks

Aluminum folding ones have been used in many countries for many years now so are proven technology

Think you also get a certain amount of what you pay for with these types of doors

capeverde

as the poster above says, its all down to using glulam timbers and the modern coatings, so the materials shouldnt be an issue from that point. I prefer aluminium bi fold doors as the sight lines are a lot thinner than upvc or timber due to the extrusion size. Again, the problems occur with the gearing and they can be quite heavy and awkward to close if even slightly out. Also watch childrens hands.