When planning your home renovation, glass doors are a great way to incorporate more natural light and create a desirable indoor-outdoor feel.
Bifold doors and sliding doors are two of the most popular glass door choices, and both offer some great benefits, such as enhanced outdoor views and ventilation in summer.
However, there are some key differences between bifolding doors and sliding doors, which may help you decide which is more appealing to you. Read our guide to bifold doors vs sliding doors to find out more!
Are bifold doors better than sliding doors for natural light?
Aluminium bifolding doors offer superior amounts of natural light in the home when they’re open, as they have up to a 95% unobstructed opening. This provides a clear flow from in to out, bringing you closer to your outside space and brightening your living space.
Nevertheless, when we compare sliding doors and bifold doors of the same width and height, each will offer a similar amount of natural light, sliding doors however do “generally” have slimmer sight lines at the junction of each door “interlock” so do allow marginally more light in, than bifold doors when in the closed position.
Do bifold doors or sliding doors have better weather resistance?
Aluminium bifold doors have better weather ratings (when incorporating a rebated outer frame) as the doors close tight onto synthetic rubber gaskets. As such, the rebated outer frame provides a seal against frost, rain and wind, making the overall structure more weather-resistant.
On the other hand, low-rise framing on bi-folding doors allows for flush floor finishes ”in to out” to be achieved; however, it offers very little weather resistance and can contribute to water leaks and heat loss in the home.
Sliding doors typically incorporate brush seals in order to allow the door to slide up and down the track, considering whether resistance is essential for your overall home improvement and should be a point of discussion with your supplier, especially if you are located in a highly exposed location.
What is the opening difference for bifold doors vs sliding doors?
A bi-folding door can provide up to a 95% unobstructed opening as the panels can be folded in on themselves to open up the space completely.
For a typical three-pane aluminium bifold door, a 3600mm wide opening is ideal. This configuration provides an access door for everyday use, which can be folded 180 degrees, allowing all three doors to fold out of the way, providing a clear unobstructed opening.
On the other hand, sliding doors, depending on the configuration, can provide up to a 60% clear opening and do not require the door panels to fold in on themselves and may be more suitable for a home with limited space around the door for storage when open.
What’s the difference between door leaves on bifold doors vs sliding doors?
Size-wise, individual door leaves can be made much wider on sliding doors compared to bi-folding door leaves, with some systems capable of up to three square metres per leaf and others even larger.
A key point to consider is the glass requirements— as the square meterage increases, so does the required thickness of the glass, which increases the weight, adding to handling challenges and, ultimately, the cost.
For example, a seven-metre-wide sliding door could be configured with just three leaves, with the intersections of the doors when closed as narrow as 20mm. However, there are restrictions on the width of individual bi-folding door leaves (generally a maximum of 1,200mm), so a wider bi-folding door, such as a seven-metre system, can appear busy due to the profile widths of the multiple door units.
For larger door requirements, a sliding door would allow more daylight in and provide unobstructed views when closed.
Are bifold doors or sliding doors better suited for accessibility requirements?
The outer framing of most sliding doors lends itself to being easily configured as a flush finish at floor level, ideal for access requirements. For example, we supplied easy-to-use sliding doors for an accessible home makeover, as the owner was a wheelchair user, and this was featured on Grand Designs in 2024.
Nevertheless, bifold doors can offer some positives in terms of usability, such as easy-to-operate.
Are bifold doors more expensive than sliding doors?
As our products are made to measure, we would need to consider your requirements when coming up with a final quote. Contact us to discuss pricing and how we can help you stay within budget.
Can bifold doors and sliding doors be customised?
At Clearview, we offer 100s of different colour combinations for your aluminium doors, including blues, yellows, greens, black, white and grey, there’s an endless range to choose from. You can also choose your custom size and how many doors leaves you to require, incorporate blinds in your double-glazed units and high-efficiency glass to further improve energy efficiency and reduce heat build-ups in summer months, ideal for south-facing elevations.
Our products are manufactured “in-house” at our Yorkshire headquarters, which also houses one of our extensive showrooms, and our products can be delivered and installed across the UK.
Discover your perfect Aluminium doors at a Clearview showroom
In conclusion, you should consider the following when deciding on your glass door:
- How you envisage using your space
- How you want your access and flow to work
- What’s going to look best in your particular location
For expert advice, come and see the products in one of our showrooms, where you can operate them to fully understand which may work best for you. All of our products come with a 10-year insurance-backed guarantee.
If you have drawings or plans, ask your architect to show you different options, or grab a scale ruler and sketch it out yourself. You can also use our free door designer to pick your perfect size and colour – we offer 100s of different colour options. Get in touch for any more information about our Aluminium door range!
