Here are six examples of bifold doors that have triumphed over sliding glass doors, and why? It’s all about looks, location and lifestyle!
3 Examples of Bifold doors for city living
Older terraced or semi-detached city homes tend to be narrower properties, often with small casement windows and a single half-glazed door access to the back garden.
These are exactly the renovation or extension projects where bifolds work best. They maximise the size of ground floor openings to the garden, replacing those old-fashioned windows and doors with generous contemporary floor-to-ceiling glazing that brings in the outside.
When planning glazing for a kitchen extension opening, some homeowners opt for a two panel sliding door system. There’s less visible frame to be sure, but one glass panel remains fixed in place. The beauty of bifolds is that they fold right back against a side wall, and the whole room is open to the garden.
1. bifold doors in black for City chic
This project featured in a recent Grand Designs Magazine. It’s a timber-clad rear extension to a London Victorian terrace. We love the confident height of this design and its black stain contemporary timber cladding. The bifolding doors sweep across the width of the property and when drawn back, allow its occupants to fully connect with their outdoor space. Black frames inside and out complement the interior monochrome colour scheme. This system has four panels and a traffic door for convenience. It’s a hit in our opinion!
2. Bifolds for that indoor-outdoor feeling
Like many city dwellers, this family wanted a stronger connection between their kitchen and garden. They have refurbished and extended their early Victorian terrace house in Hackney to achieve a light, open plan, indoor-outdoor space. They have chosen slimline bifold doors with large pane sizes and we think the Anthracite finish is really successful in framing the garden outlook. Single track flush threshold is a design feature of bifold installations and this definitely contributes towards that seamless indoor-outdoor feel.
3. Bifolds, not French doors
This project needed glazing for two narrow openings, one on the ground floor for garden access and the other to a first floor balcony. French doors were a possibility for both but simple two panel aluminium bifolding doors proved the best solution for this family’s modest budget. They fold back right out of the way on sunny days, providing a neat, safe glazing system in a home where young children are busy at play.
Examples of Bifold doors for country homes
Properties in leafy suburbs and rural locations often have a bit more elbow room to extend – we’re involved in many projects with full-width extensions which double the ground floor area. Again slim frame sliding doors are a popular option for large extensions, but here are three properties where bifolds are proving just the job!
4. Bifolds that handle extreme weather
This delightful country cottage has a hillside location and gets plenty of weather. Its glass extension has a five panel bifold system with the highest thermal efficiency and weather resistance. A traffic door is essential for nipping out on snowy and rainy days. Finished in Anthracite Grey, the bifolds have been installed with a flush track so when folded away the owners have a lovely seamless flow between kitchen and courtyard. Note how there is a slight rebate between the glass extension and the lines of the rest of the building – it makes all the difference when the bifolds are opened fully, allowing the system to fold neatly to the side and sit out of the flow of activity on warmer days.
5. Big bold bifolds
An extended and updated bungalow now has a large and light-filled kitchen extension with two sets of folding doors. They meet at a corner post and fold right back for a great indoor/outdoor feel. And these are large doors, sliding across a wide opening on robust stainless steel rollers. Systems like the ODC121 offers individual panels up to 3 metres high and 1.2 metres wide. Systems can be specified with up to 14 panels, though four or five is more standard.
6. Bifolding doors and fixed windows – a great combo
This large home in leafy Buckinghamshire has a much-loved garden and its owners wanted it in view all year round. They chose bifolds for their extension as they wanted total access to their outside space and generous new patio. They combined bifold doors with three full-height fixed windows to the side – there wasn’t any part of their view they wanted to miss! Note these external bifold doors have a dual colour finish, white to match other exterior glazing and Anthracite to complement an interior colour scheme.
ODC Expertise and Experience
ODC’s expert team are here to help you to make key decisions about the best bifold system for your home. We offer five different systems for you and your architect to consider.
We’ll advise on the number and size of panels, sightlines, frame widths and thresholds to make sure your bifolds have the aesthetic and versatility you want.
Our technical surveyors will specify doors with the optimum thermal performance and ventilation to keep your home comfortable
We’ll talk through your options for opening mechanisms, locks and security.
Fantastic service. Everything you want when you are spending a lot of money on a product, it can be a nervous time! We purchased bi-folding doors from ODC and are extremely happy. The quality is absolutely excellent, and their service from advising to installation was great. They had one unforeseen emergency which meant that installation date had to be changed (part of living in the COVID-19 era…), but they were able to react very quickly and give us a new installation date just two days later. Very happy and would thoroughly recommend ODC!
