Should I choose a sliding door or a bi-folding door?
This is a question that we’re often asked, and our immediate response is typically – it’s complicated.
It really depends on a number of factors, so let’s run through them here :
Size
Normally this discussion would be around decent sized openings, anything really from 2 metres upwards can be considered practical for either sliding or folding doors. There are certain sizes that lend themselves to bi-folding over sliding, usually when we’re looking in and around the 2.5m to 3.5m area. This is because a bi-folding solution will allow you to open up 90% of that total space, whereas the alternative 2-section patio doors gives you around 40%. Go much larger and things level out and three-section sliding doors come into play, so anything over 3.5 metres can be a more difficult decision…
Space
what space do you have inside and outside, and how are you going to be using that space? Most large doors like this will open on to a patio, but if the size of that patio is restricted than a sliding patio door can be preferable. With no part of the door ever intruding on that space you’re free to use it for patio furniture without the need to shuffle them around every time you want to fully open the doors. If you’re spoilt with a large patio space then this isn’t really something you need to think about, and bi-folding doors can be a preferred solution
View
if you have a spectacular view out from your house, or really want to focus on increasing the light coming into the space, then sliding doors can be preferable. Using our slimline aluminium products like the Smart Visiglide Plus doors, we can design your sliding doors to maximise the glass area, and therefore the light coming into your home. Large 2 or 3 track sliding doors can create a quite drastically different look and feel compared to 4 or 5 section bi-folds, with their chunkier sightlines.
We hope this has been useful – please get in touch if you’d like to discuss an upcoming project with a large door element.
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