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Bi-fold doors can make a fantastic addition to your home, allowing you to easily flood your home with natural light. When you start to look at external bi-fold door options and other external bi-fold doors, it can be tricky to know where to start when choosing from all the options that are available to you.
We’ve put together a short guide of things you need to consider when looking for the right external bi-fold door or bi-folding door solution for your home.
Planning to configure an external bi-fold door for your home? At Bowalker, we offer doors providing smooth operation and durable construction to support flexible and modern layouts.
What Do You Need to Consider?
The right doors for your home will depend on the size of the opening that you have available. These factors will then dictate the door configuration and number of panels you need, to make up your external bi-fold doors. Getting these details right when choosing and buying your bi fold doors will ensure that they meet the needs for both you and your home.
How Many Panels Do I Need?
One of the most important decisions to make is how many panels your external bi fold doors will have. This will depend on the panel options available, as well as the purpose of doors. If you want to introduce more light into your living space, including bi-fold doors for kitchen extensions, consider an option that provides you with slim sightlines, wider panels and enough panels in your bi-fold door configurations to provide the effect you’re looking for, such as popular 4 panel bifold door configurations.
External bi fold door considerations are incredibly flexible, from a straight line system to one including a traffic door for easy access to nip in and out. You can also create an agile option for you and your family, supported by a smooth bi-folding door mechanism.
Planning an open and airy kitchen layout? Learn how bifold doors for open plan kitchens enhance space and natural light.
What is a Traffic Door?
A traffic door is part of your external bi-fold door installation, but acts alone as a traditional door. They are perfect for patio or garden access; in the summer, you’ll be able to enjoy the full effect of opening your external bi-fold door all the way. But if you need access to your garden in the winter, you only need to use the traffic door, which helps to retain the heat inside your home. This feature is especially useful with modern bifold exterior doors.
Opening direction
Something that is often forgotten about when choosing external bifold doors is the direction in which the doors open, even though this may seem like an obvious consideration. When referring to the direction, choices include the doors all sliding in one direction or splitting in the middle to rest at either side of the space.
Having your bi-fold exterior doors slide to one side provides a sleek aesthetic and having your doors split in the middle may be more of a practical choice if you choose to have your bi fold doors fitted across the entirety of your wall.
Looking to match your doors with your home’s style? Explore perfect coloured bifold doors to create a seamless exterior finish.
Opening inward or outward
You’ll also need to decide on whether you’d like your doors to be inward or outward opening, which is hugely dependent on the space you have available surrounding your doors. To save space, having them open outwards is a great option for bifold exterior doors.
Bi-fold doors from Bowalker Doors
Open your home to new possibilities with our external bi-fold door options. Choose from our aluminium bi fold doors as well as our aïr 800 bi fold doors – the choice is yours! Get a quote today to start your project, or if you have any questions, give our expert team a call on 0800 881 5640 and we will be happy to help.
