Bifolding doors are one of the most popular home improvement products. The surge in popularity of bifolding doors can be attributed to lifestyle choices and home design trends, such as those seen on Grand Designs.
Bifolding doors are perfect for open-plan living, merging the kitchen, dining, and living spaces into one extensive area and providing a large opening to the garden perfect for bifolding doors.
Bifold doors are also known as sliding folding doors, folding doors, concertina doors, accordion doors or multi-folding doors. With the abundance of options in the market, choosing the right bifold doors can be overwhelming. That’s where DWE comes in. We’re here to guide you through the process, offering expert advice on brand, style, material, sightline, size, and colour, ensuring you make the best choice.
Why choose bifolding doors?
When fully open, the door panels fold back like a concertina, creating a seamless transition between the inside and outside – perfect for summer days and outside dining on your patio.
At other times of the year, the wall of glass provides plenty of natural light and gives you a visual connection with the outside and your garden, making your home feel more spacious and airy, which can only add to your well-being.
Research by the Halifax shows that adding bifolding doors is the third most profitable home upgrade and can add value to your home.
Who makes the best
bifolding doors?
The best bifolding doors come at a premium price.
Find out what makes German-designed and manufactured bifolding doors the premium choice and what to look for in a budget-friendly brand.
What are the advantages of bifolding doors?
The main advantage of a bifolding door is the ability to have a wall of glass and open up the entire space, letting the light flood in. The addition of bifolding doors transforms your home and gives it that WOW factor. You get to see our garden all year round, in all seasons, making you feel closer to nature. If you are lucky enough to have an uninterrupted view, then a wall of glass is a no-brainer!
Another great feature of bifold doors is how they work in large openings. Many bifold brands go up to a width of 1.2 m per panel, premium brands go even wider at 1.5 m. All brands provide for the standard door height, premium brands go up to 3.5 m and 4.5 m, creating impressive floor-to-ceiling glazing.
With the broad range of products in the marketplace, the consumer has a huge choice when it comes to bifolding doors and provide several benefits over French doors or patio sliding doors:
- Some bifold door brands will create a 90% clear opening
- They are a fantastic alternative to double French doors or sliding patio doors, which only offer a 40% opening
- They enable an open-plan living lifestyle
- More natural daylight thanks to large glass panels
- High security, energy efficiency and weather sealing
- Available in a wide variety of materials, colours and finishes
- Now available slimmer in aluminium and in a steel-look style
- Wide variety of opening combinations, including open-corner
Bifolding door material choices
While aluminium bifolding doors are by far the preferred choice for their slimmer sightlines, larger panel size capability and technical superiority, other materials like PVCu, composite/hybrid, and timber also offer distinct advantages that may better suit your specific needs. As an expert resource, we at DWE are here to help you navigate these options, ensuring you choose the material and product that aligns perfectly with your home, lifestyle, and budget.
Choosing the right bifolding door involves more than just picking a material—it’s about understanding what matters most to you, whether that’s durability, energy efficiency, aesthetic appeal, or ease of maintenance. Our expertise ensures you’ll be matched with the best products from the right suppliers, making your decision as informed and stress-free as possible. Let us guide you through the important factors in choosing your new bifolding doors, so you can make a choice that adds lasting value and beauty to your home.
Aluminum bifolding doors: High-end quality and slimline aesthetics
The significant benefits of aluminium bifolding doors are slimmer sightlines, less visual bulk, larger panel sizes, a wider choice of colours and more attractive hardware. They also provide long service life with little maintenance when correctly made and installed. The non-welded construction of aluminium (compared to PVCu) means that individual sections can easily be replaced should any damage occur.
Aesthetics also play a part in how big you can have your bifolding doors; aluminium has greater flexibility on the overall width, and several brands achieve door leaf sizes of up to 1350mm by 3000mm high.
Aluminium bifolding doors allow you to create flush floor levels, ensuring a seamless transition from inside to out. This feature is perfect for children, wheelchairs, and those unsteady on their feet, providing a comfortable and convenient living space; installing bifolding doors with an open corner can create a dramatic opening.
PVCu bifolding doors: Affordable with advanced features
PVCu bifolding doors provide a cost-effective solution without sacrificing too much on performance. One of the standout features of PVCu doors is their excellent wood-effect finishes, achieved through advanced foiling techniques that surpass the options available in aluminium. If you’re looking for a door with a convincing timber look, PVCu might be your best bet.
However, it’s important to note that PVCu expands about 2.5 times more than aluminium, which can lead to the doors becoming sticky or judder in warmer weather. This means that PVCu bifolding doors generally don’t offer the same smooth sliding and folding experience as aluminium doors. Despite this, brands like Rehau, Veka, Liniar, Profile 22, and Deceuninck produce high-quality PVCu bifold doors that are popular for their affordability and the wide range of finishes available.
Composite/Hybrid bifolding doors: The pinnacle of energy efficiency and durability
Composite or hybrid bifolding doors are the ultimate choice for those who prioritise energy efficiency and longevity. These doors combine the aesthetic warmth of timber on the inside with the durability and low maintenance of aluminium on the outside. As a result, they offer some of the lowest U-values available, making them highly energy-efficient—an important consideration for reducing heating costs in the UK climate.
In terms of longevity, composite bifolding doors can last up to sixty years, making them a wise investment for the future. They will also likely remain fashionable and timeless, ensuring your home stays stylish for decades. Choosing a high-quality brand is crucial with composite materials. The best in the market includes Solarlux, Sunflex, and Centor, all of which are known for their superior craftsmanship, technical excellence, unique features and enduring performance.
Timber bifolding doors: Classic beauty with modern durability
For those who appreciate the natural beauty and warmth of wood, timber bifolding doors are a fantastic option. Timber brings a timeless, classic aesthetic to any home, and advances in manufacturing mean that today’s timber bifolding doors come with guarantees as long as those for aluminium or PVCu, depending on the brand.
While timber doors do require regular maintenance to protect against moisture and UV damage, the quality of modern timber bifolding doors is such that this maintenance is often less intensive than commonly perceived. In fact, if the powder-coated finish on aluminium doors is damaged and left unrepaired, it too can lead to corrosion and other issues, highlighting that all materials require some level of care.
Brands worth considering for timber bifolding doors include Solarlux, Dempsey Dyer, Bereco, George Barnsdale, Mumford and Wood, and Timber Windows. These manufacturers offer high-quality products that combine the natural charm of timber with the durability and performance expected from modern bifolding doors.
What to consider when buying bifolding doors?
When selecting bifolding doors, consider what matters most to you: Do you prioritise the sleek, modern lines of aluminium, the cost-effective and wood-like finishes of PVCu, the high performance and longevity of composite doors, or the timeless appeal of timber? Each material offers unique benefits, and your choice should reflect your priorities—whether they focus on budget, aesthetics, maintenance, or long-term value.
At DWE, we’re here to guide you through these options, providing expert advice tailored to your specific needs and preferences. Whether you’re aiming to enhance your home’s design, maximise natural light, or create a seamless indoor-outdoor connection, we’ll ensure you choose the perfect bifolding doors that suit your lifestyle and add lasting value to your home and help architects, builders and end-user clients get the best doors for their commercial building.
Bifold doors articles
- Door and Window trends for 2025 November 11, 2024
- the flush door Threshold. Accessibility, Safety, Style July 27, 2024
- how to choose the best internal bifold doors May 1, 2023
- Bifold windows – the ultimate guide April 14, 2023
- Why the death of the bifold door is being misreported April 7, 2023
