Bifold Patio Doors - Opions Please

BaZ87 · 20 Jun 2016 at 16:53

We're building an extention on our house and until an hour ago we were set on getting 4 meter aluminium bifold patio doors. I have a quote for around £3,500 (supply only) and went to get another quote this afternoon only to find out this particular company stopped supplying bifold doors due to the amount of problems you get with them a year or so down the line. I was told that they can become incredibly stiff and difficult to operate and will need to be constantly adjusted.

Seeing as they no longer sell bifold doors it could easily be a case of scaremongering - they said if you're set on bifolds then to go for a particular german brand and I'd be looking at £12-13k for a 4 meter door.

If anybody have any first hand experience of bifold patio doors I'd be greatful to hear your views on them.

Skidder · 20 Jun 2016 at 17:05

Sounds over the top for second one. I just got a 5m set of Origin doors for £6,600 + VAT approx was a bit less in practice as I got a discount but had some other windows and roof lights, proportionally a few hundred off that. Supply and fit.

This was within past 3 months so current prices.

the-evaluator · 20 Jun 2016 at 17:23

I paid about £3.5k all in (so supply, fit & VAT) for about 3.6m made up of 3 panels of Origin doors. They're excellent.

I can't really comment on the adjustment thing yet as we've only had them in about 4 months but I spoke to a neighbour who has had theirs for about 3 years and they've had zero problems.

BaZ87 · 20 Jun 2016 at 17:26

Skidder said:
Sounds over the top for second one. I just got a 5m set of Origin doors for £6,600 + VAT approx was a bit less in practice as I got a discount but had some other windows and roof lights, proportionally a few hundred off that. Supply and fit.

This was within past 3 months so current prices.

Yea, there's no way we're paying £12,000 them. His argument was that if you want bifold then go for the very best or don't bother at all which is why I want to hear from people that have got bifold doors and how they've found them.

Skidder · 20 Jun 2016 at 17:27

They did have to come back and adjust ours after a few weeks as the lock wasn't aligning perfectly but have been fine since. Ours are 5 panel and a custom powder coat and whatnot. We are in an expensive part of surrey so normally get fleeced too.

the-evaluator · 20 Jun 2016 at 17:46

BaZ87 said:
I want to hear from people that have got bifold doors and how they've found them.

We're loving ours. They look great and are easy to open and close. I can't fault them.

BaZ87 · 21 Jun 2016 at 02:18

Do you know whether your neighbours were also Origin doors?

Johno please? · 21 Jun 2016 at 16:10

What a load of rubbish, generally PVC ones are are known for more problems than aluminium.

Smart Systems bifolds are a reliable brand, contact them and they should suggest an installer in your area.

LOAM · 21 Jun 2016 at 23:36

Ive got smart systems bifolds and we specify them quite a lot at work and they are a decent mid range profile (their heritage range is nice). They aren't going to be a wow product but they are a good robust section, not as thin a profile as say solarlux but they aren't the same price either.

Slade2 · 22 Jun 2016 at 00:03

I currently have a large patio door that covers about 4 meters with a door each side and a fixed section in the middle. This was the original external door to the building so its strong and well built but over the years the runners on the doors (they are heavy doors) have basically just disintegrated. They now open into the conservatory so are not as critical as they were before but closing them in the winter does help to keep the heat in the living room so something that has a good heat rating would be ideal. We are looking to replace these doors eventually (or the runners if we can) so I am keen to see the suggestions in the thread.

LOAM · 22 Jun 2016 at 00:09

If you want the runners replacing, I'd be surprised if;

http://www.hafele.co.uk/shop/c/folding-and-sliding-doors-by-application/8871

http://www.hafele.co.uk/shop/c/folding-and-sliding-sliding-door-accessories/8888

Couldn't sort something

the-evaluator · 22 Jun 2016 at 08:55

BaZ87 said:
Do you know whether your neighbours were also Origin doors?

Yep, they are. Supplied and fitted by the same people that did ours.

BaZ87 · 23 Jun 2016 at 13:57

Cheers for everyone's help.

I spoke to a double glazing installer that I know yesterday and he echoed the view that bifolds are generally a pain in the backside (UPVC in particular) but he did recommend a company called WarmCore as a fairly reliable brand. Anybody had any dealings with WarmCore before?

magicoi · 23 Jun 2016 at 17:27

We bought our house November last year and we got 3.6m wide bifolds from Weru - double glazed not triple 5 months ago and they are excellent.

Delivered direct from the factory with doors installed in the frame so it just needed fitting then the glass installing due to weight. Cost was around £6.5k (cant recall exact price). This way the panels fit perfectly, are QC'd and slide as specced.

They really are effortless to use. They were expensive at around 6k but worth it with what they add to the property and they really open up the room and allows us to enjoy the garden inside and out of the house. Quality is top notch. The guy who quoted you £12k is talking nonsense prices!

The difference they made to the room is simply enormous. Before we got them we had the same gap but with wooden framed glazing with 2 opening doors in the centre and a total of several fixed glass panels all of which had failed seals so they all had to be changed so the cost to change for the bi-folds was reduced as we had to change all the old glass panels if we did a straight swap.