When you’re planning to extend your home, a key feature often includes large patio doors. They bring ample daylight into areas like your new kitchen or living room and enhance the open-plan feel. Both bifolding and sliding doors offer security, weather protection, and various benefits, but their functionality and appearance differ. Here are some advice and tips to help you choose between bifolding or sliding doors and get the best product for your needs.
Understanding Bifolding and Sliding Doors
Bifolding Doors
Bifolding doors feature two or more hinged panels that fold and slide along a track. When fully opened, they stack to one or two sides, either outside or inside your room. Typically, bifolding doors open with all leaves connected. These doors can open in or out, slide and fold to one side or split to fold on each side. Bifolding doors will usually have more panels than a sliding door and more visible aluminium.
Sliding Doors
Sliding doors operate within a frame, sliding along one or more tracks. When opened, they don’t occupy additional space inside or outside the room. There are two main types of sliding doors. The inline method involves unlocking and sliding the door along its track. Lift and slide doors feature a multi-functional handle; rotating it lifts the panel off the track, allowing it to slide. This design also lets you secure the door partially open for ventilation.
For new extensions, both bifolding and sliding doors can feature an open corner design. The Origin OB-72 is a standout choice for open-corner bifolds. We also offer sliding doors with this design, but it’s important to note that the building structure should support the roof weight, not the doors. For a simple solution, you can design your new extension with an internal post supporting the roof or a corner brick or steel post.
The benefits of a bifold door
Bifolding doors offer nearly a full opening, about 95% clear, ideal for completely opening up a wall. You can configure them to open inward or outward and to slide left or right. This depends on the number of panels, with even numbers typically opening in one direction and odd numbers offering more flexibility.
A bifolding door designed with a traffic door makes these doors work just like a regular set of patio doors. A traffic door hinges open and closed without having to fold the panels back each time. As a result, they’re great for fast and quick garden access, letting out a pet, taking out the washing or for ventilation. Another benefit with bifolds is you can use them like an entrance door because they lock and unlock from the outside. Not all sliding doors come with this facility.
Finally, bifolds are fantastic for creating matching single and French doors. Perhaps you need new doors for a dining room, study, utility room, or even a Juliet balcony. You can create matching doors to your bifolds, and every door in your home looks exactly the same, even down to the handles and hinges. Sliding doors can’t do this.
The benefits of a sliding door
By far the biggest advantage of sliding doors is more glass, less visible aluminium and better views as you look through the glass. No other door comes with glass as large as a sliding door, making them ideal for Surrey, Kent and Sussex homes with countryside or seaside views.
The only consideration with sliding doors is that you don’t get the benefit of the full opening, like a bifold door. A two panel door will provide you with 50% opening, and a three panel design with two-thirds available opening. For more demanding sliding door designs, these have a fixed open corner design and even slide into the cavity of the wall, fully disappearing from view.
Sliding doors come in two, three or four panels with the option for either end too to slide open.
Common Features of Bifolding and Sliding Doors
There are lots of similarities between bifolding and sliding doors. Security-wise, both types feature multi-point locks, high-security cylinders, internal glazing beads, and other protective elements. They also excel in weather performance, meeting the latest standards.
Both door types can come with the desirable flush track or threshold option, letting your internal floors connect with your outside decking or slabs and providing a minimal and step-free transition to the outside. We can work with you, your architect or your builder to get this attractive feature. Even better, low tracks can be achieved in an existing opening, typically removing a course of bricks from the bottom.
With a bespoke aluminium construction, high-specification glass and a choice of over 150 colours, there is no reason a bifold or sliding door can’t work perfectly with your home.
The choice of bifolding or sliding doors also depends on the type of house you have. An extension to the back of a terraced house, where the patio doors are the only garden access doors, may suit a bifold better because the traffic door lets you use this door type like a regular hinged door. If you have a larger home with side doors or French doors elsewhere, sliding doors may be a better solution.
Planning a New Extension? Get in touch with Grandview Home Improvements
At Grandview Home Improvements, we offer the top British and European brands, such as Origin, Cortizo and Sheerline, offering some of the finest sliding and bifolding doors alongside matching residential doors and aluminium windows. All promise slim sightlines, meet current Building Regulations, are professionally installed and come with a peace of mind guarantee. Contact us for a free quotation or to discuss your property project with us.
