Bi-folding doors are available in a range of different materials, including aluminium, PVCu and timber, but what makes a great bi-folding door?
To understand this, we must first look at what the bi-folding door brings to the home environment. Not only do they provide a key access point, but they bring with it a huge customer experience, that is often very difficult to replicate until you have one. This is why many people who move after having one, will often look to add one (if possible) to their new home straight away when they are settled.
Bi-folding doors also integrate well with many other home improvement ideas such as conservatories making them a desirable product within other larger building based works. It is little wonder then that they have become the most popular home improvement product in the last few years. With their rise in popularity, it is inevitable that more and more bi-folding door companies are cropping up over the UK, driving the competition and increasing the types available.
Unfortunately, this hasn’t made it easier for the consumer, as with more choice comes more to think about, or for many, especially considering the cost of the doors, more to worry about.
All bi-folding door manufactures do however listen to the customer and as a result, the doors themselves are very secure. With the excess amounts of glass on show, a worry would be that they are easier to break in to than other doors. In fact, the development of the doors ensure that they are now one of the most secure products on the market. Every style has a different type of locking, and you can also upgrade, but as a whole security is not compromised. Again with weather performance, there is very little difference, as all doors have to be manufactured to the highest of standards.
Where there are however difference is in the materials and the aesthetics of the doors. Aluminium is very popular, but it comes at a cost, whereas PVCu can allow you to get some of the experience but for a reduced initial outlay. Over time however they may not last as long as other varieties, so could work out more expensive for the lifetime of the product.
What this however shows that there is no best type of bi-folding door, but a range of different varieties where there will be one that is the best for your situation. As a result, it is important to speak to a professional company to determine what you really want to get from your set of doors. You cannot, with a decision this big, purely pick from the brochure or catalog, you must go and have a look for yourself.
What might be right for one customer could be completely wrong for the next, despite them both living in four bedroom houses with large gardens. You must consider the intended use, the energy benefits, how you envisage it enhancing your lifestyle, rather than just being a door, to get the full benefit of the bi-folding doors.