Patio Doors vs Bifold Doors

You may be considering purchasing either a patio or bifold doors and have been wondering which design is best for your Peterborough property, Patio doors or Bifold?

Installing a new large opening door as an entrance into your garden can bring much more natural light into your Peterborough home. A large opening door will also offer simple access to your garden whilst generating a spacious, panoramic view.

Sliding patio doors have always been popular by creating a magnificent view, however the bi-folding door is a newer design. What would be the best door, the patio door or bi-fold?

To help you decide we have highlighted some of the main features illustrating some of the core advantages and disadvantage of each type of patio door. Hopefully by the end of this blog, you will be in a better position on choosing which patio door design would best suite your Peterborough property.

The Sliding Patio Door

As the name suggests these doors slide along a track in order to open. The door panels are installed along a track. One door will move either left or right past the opposing door, in order to open. The door (main door) will move either inside or outside bypassing the remaining door panel.

The door panels will always stay within the frame and for wide openings more panels will be included.

The patio doors are available in either 2 door, 3 doors or 4 doors. For those with 4 panels the two centre doors will slide from the centre. This configuration is often known as sliding French patio doors.

Bi-folding Doors

The bi-folding doors will also move along a track however the doors do not bypass one another. The bi-fold doors will move as a single unit in one direction. Each door panel will fold in a concertina effect until all of the doors are located against one another on one side of the opening.

The panels will tend to move either left or right. They have also the ability to either open outwards or inwards depending on choice. Most people opt for the doors to concertina outside of the building as it offers less restriction. The bi-folding doors will normally have a traffic door to one side. The traffic door allows the occupier to use this single door without the need to fully open the bi-fold doors.

Advantages & Disadvantages of the Patio door Vs Bifold

Door clearance when opening

One of the main observations between both door designs will be the way that they open and close.

When we look at the bi-fold door we realise that it holds a few advantages over the patio door when it comes to how they open. Bi-folding doors can be moved all the way to one side stacking neatly into the wall area. Bi-fold doors will also open much further than the patio door. When it comes to opening the patio door, if it has 2 panels, then the maximum opening clearance can only be 50%. If we take a 3 panel patio door into account, then the clearance will be only 2/3rd, only if there are two sliding door panels moving to one side.

Door threshold

Bi-fold doors are available in a variety of different thresholds. This allows the homeowner to occupy a low threshold which means that there is less risk of tripping over the threshold whilst walking in and out of the property. Disabled access can also be incorporated to both the bi-fold and patio doors.

The price difference between the Patio doors and Bifold doors.

When it comes to the price difference the bi-fold door will always cost more than the patio door based on the same dimensions. Both bi-fold and patio doors are available in either uPVC or aluminium. The price difference between uPVC compared to aluminium is only very marginal if purchased from Peterborough Doors.

Summary

Patio doors can make your home look stunning and you will get a lot for your money. They are available in uPVC and aluminium. With a huge variety of colour available makes the patio doors ideal for those on a budget but looking to modernise their Peterborough home.

When it comes to spectacular then you are looking for the bi-folding doors. These stunning doors can completely open your home, bringing the outside in. These stunning bifold doors when purchased in aluminium offer a minimum threshold, an infinity of RAL colours. For a little extra in cost the bifold doors are the best choice.