Panoramic bifolding doors review

Panoramic bifolding doors are designed unlike other folding doors on the market.  It is fair to say these aren’t actually bifolding doors because of its hingeless system as well as the way the doors slide, turn and open.  A well engineered, high quality door system, Panoramic slide and turn doors offer innovation, premium grade materials and expert craftsmanship. The way these doors work and the added versatility over regular bifolds is their best feature.

In this Panoramic bifolding doors review, we give some background on the company as well as a full run-down on the door itself.  There are several great reasons why this slide and turn bifold door is worthy of consideration alongside other brands.

Update May 2023

Since we wrote this review, the company has ceased trading, but other suppliers offer a similar style of door. You can get in touch with us for more information and also check out our alternative product suggestions for slide and turn doors.

Information about Panoramic Doors

The original concept for the Panoramic door came about when Alan Rees, attended a trade show in America.  By listening to problems customers face often creates a great idea for a new product or business.  While bifolding doors are excellent as one of many types of patio doors for the home, often their functionality does not work for every kind of project.

Therefore, the people behind this altogether different type of bifolding door set about creating a door for the American market first. The UK version of this door arrived in 2012. Continuously improved and updated, the Panoramic bifolding door offers an alternative for homeowners and the trade to consider.  The door is reliable, functional, secure and thermally efficient.  You also get all the advantages of colour choice thanks to powder coated aluminium.  It also cleverly comes with a range of options to improve the user experience and interior comfort.

As a business Panoramic Group also has Pano Glass, Alumen and Wellglaze Doors and Windows. Therefore, in addition to slide and turn doors, you get a complete range of products for the home. The Panoramic Group offers sliding doors, slimline patio doors, flush sash windows, contemporary front doors, screens, blinds and glass products.

Specifications and features of Panoramic slide and turn doors.

As you would expect from a cutting-edge and latest generation aluminium product, the construction of the doors is from thermally insulated aluminium. A multiple chambered PVCu core separates the internal and external aluminium profiles.  This profile construction creates a thermally efficient door with low U-Values of 1.6 Wm2K.  For new extensions and renovations, the doors meet current Building Regulations too.

Also available with the doors is toughened glass as standard or a laminated glass upgrade.  Therefore, this door has all the performance specifications of some of the best bifolding doors on the market.

These doors are ideal for a new extension or as a replacement for old French doors with side panels, patio doors and even early generations of bifolding doors.

Importantly, it is the independently moving panels that differentiate Panoramic bifolding doors from other sliding folding doors.  Unlike conventional bifolding doors that are connected with hinges, here, each panel moves on its own.  While arguably more operations are needed to open a multiple panel door such as a six or seven panes large door, in our view, this is subjective and not a negative.   Every type of bifolding door needs several operations to move the panels from the locked position.  Moreover,  the independent panels provide more features than conventional bifolds.

No visible door hardware.

Cleaner sight lines, especially from inside the room are the first feature of these doors.  Compare these to hinged, concertina doors, and you will see no visible hardware.  No hinges, no door magnets, no intermediate handles, no visible door rollers and no flush bolt handles.  Even the fully stacked doors look neater. The only hardware visible on Panoramic slide and turn doors is the handle on the main traffic door.

You also get the choice of eight different handle colours including graphite, bronze, chrome, gold and the expected black and white.  There is even an option for keyless entry using the latest Yale locks.

The ingenious way these doors work means all the security with none of the visible hardware.

More opening options.

It is the added functionality the independent panels, providing more opening options over hinged bifolding doors.  You can move each panel anywhere you wish, and all the time there is no encroachment on the inside or outside space.

Above all, these doors look like big windows, thanks to no visible hardware, and offer multiple ventilation options.  Open the traffic door and move the doors to any position you like for ventilation. This slide and fold arrangement means you move the panels to the middle, the ends or have just one air gap.  As a result, you get added options such as letting children go in and out of one side, while adults sit and relax on another side of the doors. It’s also great for creating a gap for pets to go in and out of the house without having to open a door every time.

Even better is these doors again being ideal for terraced houses with only one rear door. They behave like a window, like a partition and of course, like a fully opening bifolding door.  Everyone accepts bifold doors don’t get used every day.  This design of bifold lets you leave the door panels anywhere you want in a safe, ventilated position.

Just like a bifold, these doors come with the traffic door option. The traffic door lets you use the bifolds daily without having to move the panels back every time. This feature with any bifold is useful in terraced houses, for instance, where often there is only one back door.  However, unlike many bifolding doors, the Panoramic product offers a hold open facility to the traffic door for added control and functionality.

Better ways to use your furniture and the inside of your home.

With any inward or outward opening set of bifolds, you need to leave a fair amount of space clear to get to the doors as well as leaving space for the doors to concertina together.  Consequently, bifolds mean keeping patio furniture clear on open out doors and your house furniture clear from the inside of the doors.

Once more, the slide and turn, independent panel design let you make more of your room. As the doors stay flat in their track until they reach their folding destination, you get more space in your room.  You can position a television, table and chairs or sofa right up to the doors.  On the outside, these doors are perfect for small patios. Usually, a sliding door remains the only option for small outside spaces.  Panoramic bifolding doors provide a solution to those homeowners wanting a bifold instead.

Quality range of colours.

Choosing a Panoramic door gives you the same extension colour choices as other aluminium doors.  What you also get is some unique colours other brands don’t easily offer, if at all.

As standard, the door comes in Black, White, Anthracite Grey.  Then you have a textured grey finish which is rougher to the touch and very contemporary.  Given the modern, square and consistent sight lines of this door over other bifolds, the textured finish works very well.  There is also a Solid White Oak option and a Mahogany finish for those wanting a wood effect appearance.

Of course, you also get the full choice of over 150 RAL colour, including a different colour inside and out.  The internal timber finish is an excellent touch too, giving a bit of real-wood luxury to the product.

Comparing Panoramic Doors to other bifolding doors.

Our at-a-glance guide gives an overview of the features the Panoramic slide and turn door has over some popular brands like Origin, Smart Systems Visofold 1000 and the Aluk product.  The nature of these doors means there is no direct competitor on a like-for-like basis. However, it does indicate how these doors compare with three of the best selling brands.  You can also reasonably compare Panoramic bifolds with other top brands such as  Schuco, Reynaers or Sunflex, even though all of these are slimmer in appearance.