Bi-fold Door Options Garden Room

Bi-fold Doors

Bi-folding doors fitted in your garden room will immediately give a much more contemporary feel to the whole building; using bi-folding doors in your garden room can allow light and fresh air to flood in, giving the whole garden room a feeling of welcoming space. The popularity of bi-folding doors has soared over recent years and their popularity continues to rise, partly because they look gorgeous but also because they are robust, reliable and reasonably quick to fit. This versatile style of door is widely used as exterior doors, thus making the bi-folding door the perfect option for garden rooms. The bi-folding door adds modern appeal and a spacious feel, unlike many more traditional doors; bi-folding doors may well be the right choice for your garden rooms because they are versatile, attractive, and practical.

What is a Bi-folding Door?

The bi-folding door is a modern-looking type of door that can be used as an exterior or interior door. They are perfect in tight and small rooms because they take up much less space than conventional, traditional doors, this door is made from a series of panels that can be folded up against the wall. Bi-folding doors are incredibly convenient and efficient doors, they provide easy access for people going in and out of the room. Also, they are practical and add a contemporary modern look to your garden room, if you want to save space in your garden room, then the bi-folding door is the right door for you.

A bi-folding door is an amazing alternative to sliding doors or traditional French doors, they are chic and trendy but unfortunately that can also mean that they can be costly compared with traditional doors. Bi-folding doors are popular to use in garden rooms or extensions in the United Kingdom and it is no surprise that so many people have upgraded their original ugly sliding doors to these modern, good looking doors. They are the perfect door for a garden room, a door that is practical and energy efficient, but most importantly, space saving.

Benefits of Garden Room Bi-folding doors

There are many reasons why a bi-folding door is the ideal type of door for you to use in your garden room, installing one in your garden room will add space and style to the room. This door is rapidly becoming the most popular door to be fitted in many garden rooms in the United Kingdom and they are a great addition to any garden room. They are efficient and convenient to use and they provide a contemporary touch of luxury that is perfect for both large and small garden rooms. If you have been thinking about installing bi-folding doors in your garden room, read our list of their benefits below.

Versatile – The bi-folding door is a versatile door. It has a unique design that can add a luxurious and contemporary look to your garden room. It is the perfect door to use in tight spaces and small rooms like a garden room.
Saves space – Using bi-folding doors can save a lot of space because each door panel folds and neatly rests against the others when you open them.
Aesthetically pleasing – Bi-folding doors are designed so that they can be used in both large and small rooms. These sophisticated doors can add a contemporary feel to a room.
Low maintenance – Once installed correctly, this door doesn’t need monthly repairs or maintenance. All you need to do is wipe the door regularly with a dash of oil to maintain their looks.

Practical – The Bi-folding door is a great type of door that is both practical and versatile. It allows people to have easy access.
Maximises natural light – One of the most noticeable benefits you can get from the bi-folding door is the amount of natural light that is allowed freely into the room. Typically, bi-folding doors are made out of specialised glass that lets the light enter from top to bottom. Whether they are open or closed, this door can provide more natural light than traditional doors.
Compact – Bi-folding doors are compact and perfect to use in a small room like a garden room, they are a great addition to your garden room because they take up very little room. This might be the perfect solution for those who have smaller spaces.

Cost-Efficient– Another significant benefit of a bi-folding door is that it is incredibly cost-efficient. You can find different brands and types on the market, each of them offering unique benefits. Once installed, you’ll save money as they don’t need high maintenance, although they will need regular wipe downs.
Safety and Security – Bi-folding door security features are highly regarded, this type of door is designed with a locking system and durable locking tracks that provide high security to your garden room. Some might think that bi-folding doors are weak when, in fact, this is a good quality door with high-security pins and tracks that interlock when you close them.

The Disadvantages of Garden Room Bi-folding Doors

While the benefits of bi-folding doors are many, this type of door also has disadvantages. Before you decide to purchase one please continue reading below, we will take a closer look at a couple of the very few drawbacks of a bi-folding door.

Cost – although bi-folding doors don’t need costly maintenance. This type of door is very complex and some high-quality bi-folding doors tend to be slightly more expensive than a traditional or more basic sliding door. If you are restricted to a tight budget, this door may not be suitable for you.
Security – you might get confused here. As mentioned above, security is listed among the benefits, but although the bi-folding door’s lock system is unique and reliable, they are still made mostly of glass and glass is a fragile material that can break when smashed with hard objects.

uPVC or Aluminium Bifold Doors

Cost
For a lot of people, the first thing they look at when comparing two products is the price. If you’re on a strict budget, uPVC is going to appeal more to you as it’s almost half the price. However, you should also think of the bigger picture, as aluminium will last you a lot longer thanks to its durability. This means that over time, you could end up paying more to maintain or replace your uPVC bifold door whereas an aluminium one costs more upfront.

Aesthetics
Everyone wants their garden room to look its best and your choice of door plays a massive part in this. Aluminium certainly has the advantage in this situation. Not only are they customisable with more colours and various finishes, the thinner frames also allow for more glass, leading to more light being let in and a better-looking door. uPVC, on the other hand, has larger frames with fewer options when it comes to customisation.

Maintenance
As briefly mentioned when discussing cost, uPVC doors will require more maintenance than their aluminium counterpart. Whilst both materials are certainly durable, aluminium has a longer working lifespan than uPVC and because they’re usually powder coated, won’t require repainting. Aluminium bi-folds are also able to be coated with a weather-resistant finish, meaning they’ll be able to withstand any kind of weather. uPVC, on the other hand, can get scratched more easily and may start to look tired after years under the sun.

Thermal Efficiency
Thermal efficiency is an area where uPVC excels in comparison to aluminium. Aluminium is a highly conductive material, which means heat passes through it with ease, leading to the doors themselves being cold to touch and not being as good at keeping the heat within your garden room. uPVC is a lot better at stopping heat from passing through. Thanks to developments over time, aluminium can be altered to increase thermal efficiency to match the level of uPVC using various methods. When it comes to a base model however, uPVC reigns supreme.

Strength and Security
Obviously, you want to make sure your garden room is as secure as possible. In most cases, your bifold door is going to be located at the rear of your garden room so it’s particularly important that the door will be impenetrable to any invader. The strength of the frames is also important as they’re tasked with supporting the panes of glass. Aluminium is stronger than uPVC, which allows it to support the glass even with thinner frames. Whilst both materials will keep your garden room secure, if you’re looking for the strongest material available, aluminium is for you.

Technical details at a glance

Market-leading maximum sash size of 1200mm x 3000mm.
Maximum vision – minimal sight lines.
Maximum security – PAS 24 compliant.
Maximum insulation value – down to 1.4 U W/m2K.
Maximum weather proofing – tested to BS6375 Part 1 : 2009.
Single or dual colour. Factory powder coated to marine quality as per Qualicoat
regulations.
120kg per door leaf providing for the openings.
Engineering grade running rollers for a smooth and silky opening and closing
operation.
Trickle vents can be added

Weather Rating
The required weather performance of windows and doors is stipulated by BS 6375: Part 1: 2009. Our bi-folding doors comply with all aspects of these regulations including wind resistance, water tightness, and permeability.

Bifold door sightlines
Bifold door sightlines are the width of the frame, and modern construction methods and materials have allowed us to reduce the sightlines to provide an improved look and feeling of space. The sightline of panels that move in the same direction is just 132 mm, and in the case of a traffic door meeting a folding sliding panel it is just 179 mm. Where there are connected meeting stiles the sightline is 216 mm.

Integrated Trickle Vents
Trickle vents are small openings in doors and windows that permit a limited amount of ventilation of the space when the doors and windows are closed. These are now compulsory throughout UK and Europe for all naturally ventilated spaces. Their benefits include a reduced risk of condensation, minimum ventilation to reduce heat loss, and the avoidance of drafts.
Trickle vents are mounted on the surface of thin aluminium bifold doors, and although they provide many benefits the downside is they are unappealing aesthetically. However, by clever design, bifold doors which conceals the trickle vents from view. The effect is that the slim lines of the folding sliding doors are maintained. The door design includes a weather drip which improves overall performance.

Security

High Security Multipoint Locking
This is used as standard for traffic doors, which need to be highly secure. The mechanism has six locking points and is activated by a lever-lever handle. There are two deep throw hook locks which engage into the outer frame. These prevent the door from being pulled open when the intermediate shoot bolts aren’t engaged. Additionally there are a standard latch and a dead bolt. Adjustable rollers ensure that the doors are pulled in tightly for good weathering performance.

For arrangements that have double traffic doors, these are configured as a master door and a slave door. The master door locks as described above, with the slave door having additional top and bottom shoot bolts that are engaged by a pendulum handle.

High Security Superior Locking Cylinder
The weakest part of traditional locking systems is the cylinder. This is vulnerable to picking, bumping, and drilling as routinely practiced by burglars. However our high security cylinders use state of art technology that is resistant to these. They have passed the PAS024 test stipulated by BSI & Secured by Design.

Lockable Intermediate Handles
The intermediate handles can be locked by a key. This serves the same function as window locks, adding an additional layer of security. All intermediate handles can use the same key, though a separate key is needed for traffic doors.

Heavy Duty Shoot Bolts
These secure the door at the top and bottom of the intermediate panels. They are operated by the pendulum handle. They are chamfered for ease of use and give a very tight fit which protects against forced entry while providing excellent weather performance.

Dedicated Bogie Guide
Fitted to the top and bottom of the outer frame channel, these provide increased security and consistent operation. They protect against forced entry using a jemmy or crowbar as they eliminate any possible leverage point. They also help maintain smooth operation of your doors.

High Security Glazing
Our standard glazing is toughened safety glass and sealed units are installed internally. We use high security beading to provide additional security. As the sealed units can only be removed internally, they are secure against forced entry from outside.

We are also able to supply 6 mm laminated glass units for additional security as an optional extra.

Hardware

Traffic Door Handle
For configurations that include a traffic door you can choose a lever-lever handle. Functional and easy to use, these give easy access. They include high security locking cylinders and multi-point locking.

Intermediate Door Handles
Intermediate panels feature our Pendulum handle. This classic design is sleek and elegant. You can also choose the Pendulum handle for traffic doors. It is sufficiently strong and robust for opening and closing the doors on its own, eliminating the need for extra D-handles. Locking action is provided by shoot bolts and the handles are locked using a key.

Optional D-Handles
D-handles are optional. Fitted to the inside of doors they make pulling and sliding easier by providing a strong hand hold. While not necessary, some people will find them beneficial. They fit at the position of the hinge.

Hinges & Bogie Wheel Assemblies
The doors incorporate four wheel bogie assemblies. These move on twin stainless steel tracks; the combination providing graceful and easy and opening and closing. The full weight of the doors is supported giving a beautiful sliding action.

Additional security and stability is provided by a dedicated guide running inside the outer frame.

Traffic Door Buffer Magnets
There is the option to fit high strength buffer magnets to traffic doors. These secure the doors to the adjacent intermediate panel keeping them open. It also stops the traffic door handles hitting the intermediate panels.

Bi-fold door opening configurations

The beauty of a bi-fold door is the opening options you can demand. With each door acting independently of the others, yet with beautiful synchronicity, the opening options for Aspect bi-fold doors are endless, whether you’re looking for inward or outward opening.

For a quick guide, have a look at the sample opening options below.

Integral Blinds

Glass doors are a brilliant way of letting light in and opening up your garden room to the great outdoors. However, sometimes glass doors can be too effective and actually make you feel as if your indoor life is on show for the world to see; especially if you’re planning on building a garden gym, we can see why sometimes you’d prefer some privacy! That’s a problem that can easily be solved with bi-folding doors and, more specifically, by adding integral blinds.

If privacy and over-glare are issues for your garden room, you can easily ask for integrated blinds to be added in your order of bifold doors. Integral blinds are installed between the two panes of glass that make up a double-glazed door.