Whether you are already looking for bi folding doors, or have yet to make up your mind, we’ve made the process easier for you. Here are the five do’s and don’ts for buying bi folding doors that will contribute to making the entire process easier.
Five Do’s for Buying a Bi Folding Door
- View the door you intend to purchase. Bi folding doors can vary greatly in quality and cost. When you are spending a sum of money on a set of doors, the last thing you want is disappointment when they arrive.
- Find out about weather guarantees. At the moment the latest buzzword is ‘low threshold’ but we have yet to hear of a folding door on the market that offers such a guarantee. If you’re choosing external doors, make sure you have a rebated threshold, and then sink the door a centimetre further into the floor to avoid gaps for the wind to whistle under come winter.
- Ask for an insurance backed guarantee which will give you peace of mind that should the door company fold, your guarantee won’t go with it. The guarantees usually span ten years and should not cost you extra.
- Buy bi folding doors made by Kloeber that pass building regulations. The rules are constantly updated, so make sure your doors pass the current regulations. You can ask for certificates and documentation which you should keep safe. Should you sell your house, you can hand them over to the new owner.
- Ask the installer for references; they will be happy to put you in touch with past customers.
Five Don’ts for Buying a Bi Folding Door
- Avoid doors that have an external track that the door slides along. Such doors are not purpose built to act as bi folders; they have just been updated to make them work as such. There is a major security risk with this, as the track can be levered off.
- Don’t buy a door based on price. You will certainly get what you pay for.
- Top hung is no better than bottom rolling. If a company tells you one is better than the other, it’s just a selling technique.
- Stay away from floating mullions – extra pieces of material that are placed between each door leaf. Not only are they unsightly, but they can drop, which results in operation problems.
- Don’t pay the balance of the installation job until that door is fully installed. Some companies request the balance a few days before installation, and if you pay in full and are not satisfied, you have less chance of a satisfactory resolution. Only pay the balance once you are happy with what you have received.
Bi folding doors are an aesthetically sound choice for a home, and can add value to the property. Just be sure you get the best possible quality and installation job.
