Which is better for your home, bifold or sliding doors?

Making the decision between aluminium bifold doors and aluminium sliding doors for your home can be a tough one. To decide which is best for your home, it is important to understand the benefits of each of them and assess which will meet your specific requirements.

Ultimately, both sets of doors hold the ability to create a seamless connection to the outdoors and flood your living space with natural light. Each also boast slim sightlines so they can offer uninterrupted views of the outdoors.

Ease of Access

When comparing bifold and sliding doors, it is worth considering how the doors open and operate. Both doors provide a complete wall of glass when closed, with bifold doors offering the option for this to be folded neatly away and sliding doors offering a wider glazed area.

Regarding accessibility, both doors offer a low threshold option that allows seamless access between the home and garden for everyone.

View of Outdoor Space

Aluminium bifold doors can be fully opened to allow an expansive view of the outdoors. Aluminium sliding doors do not offer this 100% opening, as the doors must slide back against each other so one pane is always visible. It is usually dependent on the homeowner’s choice and their needs as to whether they prefer a fully accessible space, or if they just want a wall of glass. With the UK weather not offering many days each year where these doors can be fully open, sliding doors may be a better option to provide light and views of the garden without the need to save room for the storage of bifold doors.

Both bifold and sliding doors have slim sightlines, so both designs provide an expansive view with minimal interruptions or obstructions. With sliding doors having large glass panels and sightlines of just 48mm, they are arguably the better option if a view of your garden through the window is especially important to you. On the other hand, bifold doors offer a more expansive view when open in comparison to sliding doors, so this is something to bear in mind when making a decision between the two.

Thermal Efficiency

Neither door compromises on weather resistance. With both doors achieving low U-Values, meaning that not only can you enjoy a view of the outdoors, but you can also save on your energy bills.

• aïr 800 aluminium bi-fold doors can achieve U-Values as low as 1.4 W/m²K and have been tested for wind resistance up to 1800 pa (that’s around 120mph!)
• aïr aluminium lift and slide doors have U-Values as low as 0.95 W/m²K, as well as Teflon®-coated weather seals, watertightness up to 600 pa and extreme wind-resistance up to 1200 pa.

Security

aïr doors have innovative security features, with high-security locking as well as PAS 24 and the police-approved Secured by Design accreditations to give you peace of mind that your home is safe and secure. This additional assurance means that you can confidently appreciate vast expanses of glass without leaving your property vulnerable.

Ultimately, both sets of doors will increase the value of your home as well as the amount of daylight that radiates into your living space. With aïr offering the most impressive performance and captivating designs that are ideal for any home, take a visit to our aïr Accredited Retailer showrooms to see the quality of the products for yourself.

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