In the last two or three years, the demand for sliding folding doors has seen quite a growth. With more and more consumers demanding this kind of alternative, manufacturers are making certain they are readily available in the market. These doors are also referred to as bi folds, bi folding, multi fold doors or concertina doors; folding sliding doors have become quite popular because of its characteristic opening action. It can provide unobstructed openings as wide as six metres and even more; and it is able to do this because the panels just simply fold, slide and stack to one or both sides. They are ideal replacements for existing patio or French doors if you wish to transform the existing opening in the room. It is becoming the popular choice for a lot of homeowners, who are either in the middle of building their new homes or reconstructing the one that they already have. It is a good choice for division when a new conservatory is being added to a structure because it gives the homeowner an option to connect two rooms together by simply drawing the doors to the side.

The original concept of sliding doors goes back a hundred years. Back then, their use was limited to small storage spaces; but today’s designs are already capable of so much more than just closure. Today’s sliding doors give significantly more, with doors and glazing providing some sort of insulation. A folding sliding door do not only provide wide apertures; wide glass areas also give way for a room to receive a lot of natural light from the outside. They come in different materials, to match the look of the house and these materials can either be timber, aluminium and polyvinyl chloride.

Timber
Folding doors can come in either softwoods or hardwoods: Meranti and European Oak. Normally, when timber is to be used, they are laminated or engineered to make it structurally resistant to twisting and warping. It can also come in some sort of translucent stain or RAL colour paint finish. Wood is a natural insulator. When your folding sliding doors are made of timber, your doors are more energy efficient, especially when they are combined with high performance double glazing with U values that are as low as 1.4. Despite this impressive energy efficient feature, timber demand regular maintenance throughout the life span of the door especially if you want to preserve the outer coat’s stain or paint finish.

Aluminium
The aluminium material for folding sliding doors are usually derived from thermally broken aluminium profiles for both commercial and domestic installations. They often come with bottom rolling gears so that all the weight can be efficiently transferred to the bottom and allow the doors to slide and seemingly float smoothly and effortlessly. Aluminium, as a material of choice makes the doors almost maintenance-free. They can come in over 200 RRAL paint finishes and can come in a variety of silk, matt or gloss finish.

Polyvinyl chloride
PVC is quite new in the market and compared to both timber and aluminium, it is the least expensive material so it has seen quite some growth despite its novelty. The only known trade off with this material is that it often is of poorest quality.

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Category: Home Management
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