January 23, 2013
Sliding Folding (Bi Fold) Doors and Configurations
Written by Rebecca Clayton
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IQ Glass Solutions LTD, Sky House, Raans Road, Amersham, HP6 6FT
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"The sliding leaves are paired, two panels folding in together to create the ‘V’ shape and shortening the glass exposure"
Sliding folding doors, sometimes known as bi-fold doors, are a great solution to a design if you want to be able to slide back the whole face of the glazing regularly and don’t have the necessary space for pocket sliding doors.
With maximum panel sizes getting larger every, day due to increased engineering and testing, thought needs to go in to the configuration of such large glass sliding panels.
Bi Fold doors can generally be specified to fold inwards or to the external of a space. What you prefer, and what is best, depends on the project and what internal and external space is available. For example if you are using sliding folding doors to access a small balcony space it might be necessary for the leafs to slide to the internal of the room.
When thinking about the configuration of sliding folding doors it is important to think about how these systems work. The general term for them - Bi Folding Doors - gives you a very large idea as to how they work. The sliding leaves are paired, two panels folding in together to create the ‘V’ shape and shortening the glass exposure.
"if you are using sliding folding doors to access a small balcony space it might be necessary for the leafs to slide to the internal of the room"
This will help in understanding different window configurations and what is possible. When you have an odd number of sliding folding panels, say a three or five panel door, one of these leaves will be independent as it won’t be paired. This can then be used as a pass/access door within the system for easy access to the garden, room or balcony.
In framed systems this pass door can be fixed back against the neighbouring sliding leaf by a supporting clip and will slide away with the bi fold panels when the system is slid open.
Bi Folding door systems with an even configuration of panels can still have access doors included into the system if wanted. In the case of a four door configuration the access door can be mounted off the side structure, the second panel will then fold back onto the bi folded panel and slide to open up the whole opening.
"this pass door can be fixed back against the neighbouring sliding leaf by a supporting clip and will slide away with the bi fold panels"
If you have a system of six panels, or a higher even numbered configuration, you can utilise a central opening French Door, where the two central panels of the sliding folding system open out and clip back onto the bi fold panels, each set sliding away from the centre of the system to open the whole elevation.
If you thinking of using Sliding Folding (bi Fold) Doors on your project and have any questions please contact IQ Glass and one of our sales team will be happy to discuss options with you.