Ten years ago bifold doors were booming as the go-to for home renovations. However, in recent years they’ve been overtaken by the return of sliding doors as the glazing system of choice for patio doors.
On the surface, it can be hard to understand the swing in popular opinion. For homeowners looking to blur the boundaries between indoors and out, slender framed aluminium bifold can be slid to one end to completely open up the back of the home.
However, an import from across the channel, the bifold door was designed for sunnier climates. The Great British weather highlighted a drawback - when closed the smaller glass panels and wider frames offered a more obscured view than that offered by sliding doors.
Why are sliding doors so popular?
Sliding doors became a fast British home favourite because they come into their own when closed. And let's face it, in the UK they are going be closed a lot more than they are open.
The large glass panels and minimal frames (just 20mm across in the case of IDSystems’ theEDGE2.0) mean the glass doors are able to create almost completely uninterrupted views of the outside. So you can still enjoy oodles of light and a lovely view of your garden or neighbouring landscape whatever BBC weather is predicting
Choices, choices
If you’re looking for choice when it comes to your patio doors you’ll be completely spoilt if you opt for sliding doors. Another reason for their popularity is that in contrast to bifold doors that are typically limited to panels between 900-1100 mm wide, individual sliding door panels can achieve widths of up to 3m wide, and overall system widths of 24m.
If that layer of choice wasn’t enough the configurations of the panels can range from a single-panel pocket door, all the way up to an 8-panel centre opening design. Popularity has only fueled the number of different sliding door systems now available. But the only way to really know which design will work for you, and how good the quality of the door system is, is to try before you buy.
On track
In the past where bifold doors might have had sliding doors beat was with the flush finish they created between the inside and out. However, the track of sliding doors can be fully recessed into the floor to appear almost invisible.
There’s also the added bonus that they don’t rely on a brush pile to provide the seal, like a bifold door, so they are fully weather protected.
An ace in its pocket
A final feature continuing to drive the demand for sliding doors has been developments in pocket sliding door designs and open corner designs. The trend-setting pocket sliding door allows the panels to slide into a pocket in the wall to create a completely unobstructed view when open. While the open corner sliding doors create a frameless look when the panels are slid away from the corner.
However, for anyone who still wants the benefits of a bifold and sliding door, IDSystems has created a third option with the swiss designed vistaline slide and turn doors. These feature the same narrow frames as sliding doors, but the panels stack to one end to completely open like bifold doors.
For more information about sliding doors, including the multi-award-winning range from IDSystems visit www.idsystems.co.uk or to talk to an expert project advisor about your plans, call 01603 408804 or email info@idsystems.co.uk.
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