Buying new bifold doors – a step-by-step guide
Why choose AL Bifolds when buying new bifold doors
We make the Cortizo system and believe this to be one of the best bifolds to buy direct and save money. It’s easy to configure, comes with all the colour, opening and glass options you might want and even comes with clever features making installation a breeze. With our help and advice, it’s never been easier to get the perfect bifolding door product.
Every door is made by us, in the UK in our local factory and we’ve established an excellent local reputation helping builders, homeowners and property professionals. AL Bifolds help our customers complete their products with reliable, secure and above all beautiful and desirable bifold doors.
We’ve put together this helpful guide on buying new bifold doors whether you’re a homeowner or builder, investment landlord or property renovator. And our expertly made folding sliding doors are not only some of the slimmest but incredibly secure, energy-efficient and easy to live with.
Get a quotation
We make getting a price on our expertly-crafted premium bifolding doors easy. Construction professionals will make good use of our bifold door configurator, where you know the design, sizes and other information to get a quote.
Homeowners looking to get in touch we’d love to talk to you by phone, or you can use our contact form with your details and we’ll get back to you promptly. If you’re not sure what’s required to get a quote, we’ll help you every step of the way, but here are the main criteria required when buying new bifold doors.
We can provide a price from architect drawings, bills of materials or sketches. You can even schedule a call from the property and we can guide you on getting the sizes and details we need to prepare a quotation.
Determining the size of the bifolding door set
If you’re buying bifold doors for a new or existing opening, determining the size is the first step.
Builders and property professionals usually understand the process for measuring an opening, leaving sufficient clearance for the doors to fit correctly and seal around the aperture after installation.
If a low threshold or lower step is preferred, it helps to understand the makeup of the bifold door track and we provide all the assistance you need for new build openings. It’s a little more involved with existing door openings and getting a lower step, but not impossible.
Choose your bifold door style
The design and quality of the system made by us, gives you two options for styling. First is the standard product having a modern flat frame and sash, perfect for contemporary houses or where the client prefers that look.
There’s also a curved sash option, ideal for older houses, perhaps those with existing timber or PVCu windows, where the more classic look and softer sash profile on the doors would work better.
Door panels and configuration when buying new bifold doors
The existing or new opening size often determines the number of panels and how these are configured. Bifold doors start at two folding panels, going up to 7 in one direction or an impressive 14 when folding apart in both directions.
How many panels are best depends on the location, whether these bifolds are the only set of doors out to the garden and of course the size of the opening. Our doors come with panel sizes up to 1.2m wide, giving you wider panels and fewer panels as well as less visible aluminium profiles.
Configuring the doors means deciding whether they fold out onto the patio or inside the room. Then is deciding on the direction they need to slide and whether this is done with all the panels together or split.
It’s worth remembering an even number of panels folding in one direction often mean you can’t have an access door. Try to configure your doors with an odd number of panels and you get this useful benefit. A traffic door works just like any other hinged door. You can open just this leaf for ventilation and general garden access, meaning not having to fold all the panels back.
We also recommend a traffic door in houses where the doors are the only patio door out to the garden. It makes for a much more functional product.
Choosing colours and options for bifolding doors
Choosing the right colour for your new bifolding doors gives you access to either a set range of standard colours available for installation fast. Or you can choose a special colour and these take a little longer as the aluminium profiles need to be professionally powder coated and aren’t held in stock.
Our standard colours available on a five working day lead time using the standard door sash profile are white, grey and black. If you desire a special colour and know the RAL reference, then do get in touch for lead times and prices. Or if you’re not sure, we can show you the latest RAL colour swatch, giving you the entire collection in satin, matt or gloss colours.
Decide on the handle and component colours
Also part of the colour choice is the main door and intermediate door handles. These are available in white, black Grey RAL 7016, chrome or brushed satin stainless steel finishes. We even offer a choice of white, black or grey finish to the bottom roller and guides, so it’s easy to get matching hardware on our products.
Choose your glass type
Finally is the choice of glass. You may with to source your own glass units, in which case, we provide you with the manufacturing sizes and thickness.
If we’re supplying our glass with our doors, the standard make-up is toughened safety glass, having a soft-coat low-emissivity coating, warm edge spacer bars and argon gas fill. We even have the innovative glass with built-in manual or electric blinds.
Of course, the cutting edge design of our doors means they’re available in 28mm, 32mm, 35mm double glazed units or 44mm triple glazing.
Need help with installation? We’ve got you covered
One of the standout features of the Cortizo system is its easy installation. We provide our doors at the correct manufacturing and glass sizes, cills and ancillary profiles cut to size, ready to fit and glaze.
Even better with our system is it comes with an adjustable frame jamb. This invaluable product feature comprises a moveable profile at the lock side of the doors, designed to take up any small tolerance, making your doors fit perfectly.
The team at AL Bifolds have over thirty years of combined experience in aluminium doors, glazing and the doors and windows sector. Therefore, we’re perfectly placed to help you as a builder if you’ve never fitted a folding sliding door before. We can help, teach, even show you how to fit our bifolds, glaze and even fit our integral blinds. A really useful service from us to you, if it’s the first time you’re using us. Or you can take advantage of our full retail service, including installation and a longer warranty.
Checklist for buying new bifold doors from AL Bifolds
- Get a free quotation
- Determine your sizes
- Decide on the number of panels and configuation
- Choose your colour for the profiles and hardware
- Decide on your glass type and thickness
- Get installation advice and help if you need it
We’ve made it easier than ever for builders or homeowners buying new bifold doors to not only get a quality product but also one at faster lead times, with excellent colour options and suitable for new or existing door openings. You can even buy matching single or French doors using the same high-quality profile where there are other door sets on the project
Aluminium supply only doors are available in five working days in our standard colours and with free delivery up to 30 miles. Contact us today and get your property project completed faster with bifolding doors, matching French and single doors.