French doors vs bifold door

[WWilts]

2.4m wide opening. Nice view to garden.

 

Torn between bifold doors (family think they look stunning) 

 

or

French doors

U value 1.4 suffices for SAP pass, so it's down to other factors including cost.

What do folks think? What are the pros/cons?

And if bifold doors, which make is known to work well?

[Gav_P]

I love both of our bifold doors (origin). It’s great to open the room right up on nice days. But they are crap for air tightness.

[MikeSharp01]

The technical challenge with bifolds is air tightness. I think you will need to spend big to get good air tightness in bifolds.  

[joe90]

1 minute ago, Gav_P said:

But they are crap for air tightness.

Not necessarily!!!!, my bifolds were made locally and have compression seals all round (my spec), it also has brush seals (which are not very airtight at all).

[joe90]

1 minute ago, MikeSharp01 said:

I think you will need to spend big to get good air tightness in bifolds.

I can’t remember what I paid now but certainly not extravagant.

[Conor]

2.4m is too narrow for 3 pane bifolds, you'll be looking at frames.

 

We had a 3m opening which meant ~900mm doors with ~700mm panes. Was great, but wouldn't want want any narrower.

 

(Remember 100mm frame at each end, 200mm frame for each leaf)

Edited March 13, 2021 by Conor

[joe90]

4 minutes ago, Conor said:

2.4m is too narrow for 3 pane bifolds, you'll be looking at frames.

Mine are 2.3m and three pane and we think they are fine, depends on taste I guess.

[Gav_P]

20 minutes ago, joe90 said:

Not necessarily!!!!,

Yes they are!!!! ... I was talking about mine. 

 

26 minutes ago, Conor said:

 

2.4m is too narrow for 3 pane bifolds, you'll be looking at frames.

 

We had a 3m opening which meant ~900mm doors with ~700mm panes. Was great, but wouldn't want want any narrower.

 

I agree with Joe90 on this point. 2.4 would be fine for 3 pane... however if you don’t need a pedestrian door, I’d go for a 2 pane. 
 

 

22 minutes ago, joe90 said:

my bifolds were made locally and have compression seals all round (my spec), it also has brush seals (which are not very airtight at all).

Mine have compression seals between panels which are fine, it’s brush seals round the outside (between the frame and doors) that’s the crap bit. 
 

I would also add that the pedestrian door on the 3 panel set is the bit that’s the most drafty. The 4 panel doesn’t have a pedestrian door and it’s much better. 

[Iceverge]

2.0m x 2.4m Veka triple glazed uPVC tilt and slide doors here. 

 

Overall U value 0.73 W/m2/k. Good compression seals meant me a 0.3ACH blowerdoor test result. 

 

About €3k installed Inc VAT. 

[nod]

We have bifold doors in our build Look great Only took me a couple of hours to fit 

Great selling point opening the house up to the garden 

Not over practical 
Never used in winter or windy conditions 

Very much all or nothing 

We’ve have decided to fit sliders on our next build 

It would be nice to leave the door slightly open and also not have the house fill with dust 

[joe90]

57 minutes ago, Gav_P said:

Yes they are!!!! ... I was talking about mine. 

Ah, misunderstood you. Sorry.

[Gav_P]

1 hour ago, joe90 said:

Ah, misunderstood you. Sorry.

 ? I knew what you meant really ?

[Oz07]

I think French doors are more forgiving if your just using 1 door all the time. Its a lot of expense to have opened up a handful of times but all depends how you live. I've always had French doors in my places and I never seem to open the slave door. We sit either inside or outside 

[joe90]

My bifolds are between house and a conservatory , great for letting light in floor to ceiling and if the temp is above 20’ in the conservatory they are opened (to the kitchen diner and another to the lounge). I call it my solar collector!!!. In high summer when it’s hot we keep them closed to stop the house overheating, but that’s rare.

[nod]

2 hours ago, Oz07 said:

I think French doors are more forgiving if your just using 1 door all the time. Its a lot of expense to have opened up a handful of times but all depends how you live. I've always had French doors in my places and I never seem to open the slave door. We sit either inside or outside 

Yes 

To the right of my picture we have a set of French doors Which are used everyday in summer 

[PeterW]

Sliders - at 2.4m you have a good chance of them sealing and can get them triple glazed and they don’t cost the earth.
 

I’ve seen so many sets of bifold doors installed thanks to the glossies that never get used. They are a structural nightmare and on a cost basis when you include everything, at over 3m they become about 4 times the cost of the same glazed area of French doors. 

 

We replaced a full sliding wall (6m) from an architects design with 3 sets of French doors for 15% of the price of the bifolds, they are more useable and they seal better !! 

 

Edited March 14, 2021 by PeterW
Edited out the duplication ..!! More coffee needed ...

[Oz07]

Tell us again how much you saved....