Conservatories and sunrooms have traditionally been constructed using either French doors or sliding patio doors to provide an attractive access door that can remain open during warm summer days allowing you to enjoy your garden from the comfort of your conservatory. However, thanks to their continued exposure on TV home make-over programmes the growing popularity of bi-folding doors means that many home owners are now specifying these superb sliding folding doors in their conservatory.

Also known as bi-fold or concertina doors the individual door panels are designed to effortlessly slide along a track whilst folding and stacking to the inside or outside of the aperture. This innovative door design provides up to a 90% clear unobstructed opening when the door is fully open adding the WOW factor to any home by allowing the conservatory living space to seamlessly merge with the garden and bring the outside inside.

Conservatory bi-folding doors can be supplied up to 5 metres wide in many different styles to suit your requirements with some designs also providing a traffic door that allows normal single door access without having to fully open the complete door something that is especially useful in the colder months of the year.

When specifying these sliding folding doors for conservatories it is important that the roof eaves beam is upgraded to a heavy duty specification or alternatively steel support beams are provided to ensure that adequate structural support for the roof is provided. The bi-folding door can be positioned in the front or side walls of the conservatory which allows wide unobstructed access to the garden and patio during the summer months whilst still providing an effective barrier against the weather during the winter.

INTERNAL DOOR OPTION

Bi-folding doors are also often used to separate the conservatory from the house and when installed in this position they provide the opportunity to merge the conservatory with the main living space when required whilst still allowing the option to separate both living areas for security purposes or during colder weather. Internal folding doors are usually manufactured with a low threshold which can optionally be sunk into the floor to provide flush floor levels throughout.

CHOICE OF MATERIALS

Bi-folding doors are available in a choice of different materials and finishes to suit your specific requirements and budget.

TIMBER

Hardwood and softwood bi-folding doors are usually available factory finished with a translucent stain or paint finish. As timber is a natural insulator it offers the most energy efficient solution and can provide an exceptionally low 1.4 U-value when glazed with high performance argon gas filled low e double glazed sealed units. Modern timber folding doors are normally constructed using engineered timber to prevent any twisting or warping of the profiles. This process involves splicing the lengths of timber into several pieces and laminating them back together under high pressure with the timber grains running against each other. This prevents movement in the timber and ensures the structural stability of the door.

ALUMINIUM

Thermally broken aluminium folding doors are a very popular choice as they combine strength and durability with slim sightlines. Constructed from purpose designed profiles aluminium folding doors are virtually maintenance free and are available in many different paint finishes with an option of dual colour allowing different colours to be specified on the inside and outside. Aluminium bi-folding doors are often used for commercial applications such as restaurants and shops due to the durability of the product in service and the ability to open up wide entrances.

uPVC

uPVC bi-folding doors are a relative newcomer to the home improvement market and although they can offer substantial cost savings over timber or aluminium folding doors there can also be significant differences in the designs available due to manufacturing constraints and gearing availability. Most of the uPVC bi-folding doors currently available are manufactured from wide and bulky profiles that reduce the visible glass area and use steel reinforcing fitted inside the profiles that can make the doors heavier and harder to open. However the next generation uPVC bi-folding doors currently being designed by some manufacturers will overcome these issues by utilising slimmer profiles that are reinforced with an innovative lighter recycled composite material making the doors more reliable in use, easier to operate and much more thermally efficient.

Whatever your choice of material a bi-folding door will complement any conservatory or home offering much wider unobstructed openings than conventional French or patio doors and provide a modern seamless link between your permanent living space and your garden or conservatory.