Bi Fold door help pls - upvc, aluminium or wood?

toshkininny

So confused! Went to Grand Designs and have been told so many different things about which is the best material for bi fold doors.

Some say about the warping, others say don't touch upvc at all, others say that the new type of upvc is now okay for bi-folds, etc!

We want the doors flush as much as possible from the tiles indoors to the outside decking.

Can I have some advice please?! Thankyou - and if anybody can recommend any good companies for quality and price, that would be great too.

Thank you.

Hatrick24

Hi,

We have black aluminium bi-folds, which were installed about a year ago. So far they have been absolutely great and the company we used, UK Bi-fold, were excellent. They offer a free annual service for the first ten years, which is what sold them to us.

Good luck with your search!

sillygoose

Aluminium for us too. Maintenance free, strong, light and long term stability so whilst upvc and wood have disadvantages aluminium has none apart from cost. I believe I will recoup the cost in long life, no need for maintenance and my time or money doing so. These days you can have them with all kinds of colour combinations, different colour inside to outside, wood effect laminates on them etc.

toshkininny

so is there a reason I should avoid upvc, as - if they come with 10 years warranty - is there a problem with them?

globalds

Watching this thread with interest ..

Could anyone who has had them fitted give a ball park price ..with a frame size also to give me an idea of the cost ?

Thanks #globalds

sillygoose

I don't know of a problem with upvc except even if it doesn't fail as such it degrades much quicker like any fabricated compound than Aluminium that has sat in the earths crust since the formation of the planet. Also Alum. ones due to the extra strength tend to have thinner frames allowing more light though.

Mine were made by katuk (http://www.katuk.co.uk/bifolding-doors/) but were ordered and installed by my Windows installation company. I think it was about £2600 for 2.4 metres 3 panel - inc installation. (could have had just two panels but wanted least pane length stuck out so went for 3 panels, only consequence of that is the more panels the wider the bunch when folded so you lose a little bit of your opening width and there are more frames so a little less light.)

You also need to discuss with your installer what profile you want on the bottom track, some stick up a lot. I think they can be specified with a low profile bottom track and if the installer takes time to get the outside bottom brick level it sits on right (in my case the chiselled the mortar off the top of the brick you can get the bottom runner almost flush with the inside floor level which looks great.

The katuk ones can be done in 100 colours apparently and quality seems excellent, they are virtually sound proof even if someone shouts at them!

Also check out the middle section handles, mine have the discrete flush popout ones so don't stick out when the window is closed. You press the plate and it pops out as a handle to unlock the middle runners. Really smart.

franklally

Ours were fitted just over 2 years ago - ID doors in Norwich - very expensive compared to the many cheaper alternatives but we are still really pleased with them - I think it was worth it paying extra for the energy saving glass (sorry don't know what it's called though).

globalds

Idiot question ..

But what kind of curtain / blinds do you get with a Bi fold system , as once open it would hit most things ..Do you just not have anything ?

franklally

We don't have either curtains or blinds - but have seen some with internal blinds between the double glazing - very clever stuff!

iamcornholio

Aluminium doors generally offer best sight-lines - ie the frames are the thinnest so you get more glass, less frame and better views to the outside. Also widest range of colours

Timber is traditional, but will need more maintenance - ie a re-coat every few years. You would tend not to choose timber if you want a coloured frame or doors

Plastic is cheapest, but then typically has the thickest frames and a higher threshold - the bit you step over

There are also options for aluminium external but timber internal, to allow two colours - inside and outside with no external maintenance

Timber or aluminium will tend to give a flusher threshold

From a technical point of view for high periods of direct sunlight exposure, plastic doors can have some issues and are more prone to expansion and closing problems. Aluminium is the most stable and timber (which tend to be engineered timber not normal pieces of timber) are the second most stable

IMO, aluminium systems tend to have the best all-round performance and the best contemporary look and fewer maintenance issue. Timber looks really nice if you have existing traditional features to match to and can do the maintenance. Plastic tend to be the 'general purpose' and cheaper option if you are not particularly bothered about look and just want this style of door

sillygoose

globalds wrote: »

Idiot question ..

But what kind of curtain / blinds do you get with a Bi fold system , as once open it would hit most things ..Do you just not have anything ?

In the doorway when closed our looks much like a patio door apart from all the panels are level ie not one half behind the other.

When you open it nothing protudes into the room (but you can have the panel go inwards or outwards to suit you when they are built) so I am left with three panels each a third the width of the opening stacked to the left and sticking outwards.

We still have the original curtain pole and curtain above the doorway we had when it was a patio door, nothing intrudes inwards from the folding door so makes no difference.