Do five leaf bifolds ever get fully opened?

[Ferdinand]

In a 1960s Comic, this would be under "Droopy's Drippy Questions", but are they?

 

I was just reflecting on big bifolds, and whether they would actually be necessary, bearing in mind that lift'n'slide windows only half open, anyway?

 

I might be more inclined to have a 3-ply bifold, and a big window.

 

That must be worth £1200-1500 off the cost (or could be spent on slide and turn).

 

But is anything lost by so doing?

 

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by Ferdinand

[Sue B]

Our last place had a room with bi folds on every wall - 2 were internal so cheaper than the external ones.  It sounds weird but worked really well.  It meant the living room and kitchen could be opened up by opening the 2 internal bi-folds completely for family parties or closed down when it was just us there in the winter and wanted to feel more snug.  One of the external

ones was a waste and was rarely, if ever opened.  The other was regularly opened all the way across in the summer.  We also had a huge fly screen to stop the biters coming in during the evening - an occupational hazard of living by the grand union canal.

[simplepimple]

I guess it can be annoying opening more doors than you need to if you are merely accessing the garden. 

 

I'm staying in a place with a 4 door bi-fold and its annoying as you have to open two of them to get out although I understand this is not the case with them all. 

 

What I do like about them though is the sense of space they give to small rooms - and the sunshine of course! 

[craig]

It’s very uncommon in my experience, the pass through door (turn door). Is used more than opening up the bi fold. They do tend to get opened up during the summer months though.

[joth]

Architects and fans of Kevin love them not necessarily because they can be completely opened, but because the large wall of glass helps bring the outside in, and makes the garden the largest room in the house, promotes light and and space and union and a feeling of connection with the earth, etc etc. Being able to open them right up is just a plus.

This sounds delightful, but we eventually chose an architect that advised against it ; several did but we eventually went with a passive house certified architectural technician who rightly pointed out the thermal liability of lots of North facing glass.

Looking at photos of local terrace houses that have added these in renovation, I see they can be excessive. Many times they are opening to gardens no wider than the house, and often of little depth. So rather than of opening up a near 180° vista with deer gambling over the horizon, instead most offer a wide variety of viewing angles of the boundary fences, and perhaps a gently moulding trampoline centre stage

 

We're now planning a French door and window and bringing them both central as we can on the rear wall, hopefully to direct the views to the tree down the bottom of garden rather than obliquely at the side fences. 

 

Edited May 23, 2019 by joth

[Ferdinand]

Thanks all.

 

So the extra 3 leaves (say 6 ply not 3 ply) is very much for taking the potential benefit from 80% to 90% of the max.

 

Ferdinand