Which Bi-Fold?

All of our doors are made to your exact measurements.

You can find out detailed information on each product on the product pages linked below, but here is a quick overview of each product:

Warmcore bi-folds – An innovative aluminium bi-fold with a PVC thermal core for improved energy efficiency. Warmcore typically have the best U value of any aluminium system currently on the market, which makes them a little more costly than our other options. The U value with standard double glazed units is 1.4.

REAL bi-folds – These bi folds use the Smart aluminium profile, which is one of the most popular aluminium systems on the market. The Smart product is the perfect balance between performance, quality and affordability. They are available in 3 stock colours and for an additional cost the option of hundreds of bespoke sprayed colours. The U value with standard double glazed units is 1.8.

Warmcore sliding patio doors – The Warmcore sliding patio was brought to the market in 2017 and allows for large, inline sliding doors. These doors are state of the art with an innovative, bi-direction lock and soft closing mechanism to prevent slamming. These doors are great for large apertures as they allow for very large glass areas. The U value with standard double glazed units is 1.4.

Real sliding patio doors – these doors use the Smart Visoglide system and offer large glazing panels that invite light into the home and afford you uninterrupted views of the outside. The doors have a specially designed track that makes sliding the doors effortless no matter what the size. The U value with standard double glazed units is 1.8.

As experts in the double glazing industry we believe that aluminium bi folding and sliding doors are vastly superior to PVC alternatives in terms of performance, security and appearance. It’s for that reason that all of the products we supply are aluminium, although we do offer PVC casement windows.

Bi-folding or sliding doors are usually made to fit large openings, which means it makes sense to use a naturally strong product like aluminium as opposed to UPVC. We have also seen other issues with PVC bi folding doors that occur over time, such as discolouring, dropping and warping.

A PVC set of bi folding doors may cost slightly less initially, but the overall cost of choosing an aluminium set will always work out better as they will likely never need replacing, repairing or maintenance.

All of our doors are high security in every aspect. Every door has multipoint locking systems and high security cylinders fitted as standard. As a product, aluminium is so strong that it could never be attacked or forced. Finally, there is the glass, which is toughened as standard. If you are in a higher risk or vulnerable area we can upgrade to laminated safety glass which cannot be smashed.

Warmcore bi-folds – 156mm

Real bi-folds – 132mm

Warmcore sliding doors – TBC

Below are the absolute minimum and maximum sizes we can achieve. However, some of these sizes depend on the configuration so we advise using the designer to be sure what is available the size you have.

Warmcore bi-folding doors:

Min sash width: 578mm (depends on configuration, please check on designer)
Max sash width: 1000mm
Min height: 2020mm
Max height: 2400mm

Warmcore sliding doors:

Min sash width: 1500mm (2 pane only)
Max sash width: 6000mm (3 & 4 pane only)
Min height: 1750mm
Max height: 2400mm

REAL bi-folding doors:

Min sash width: 750mm
Max sash width: 1200mm (please note price increases over 1000mmm)
Min height: 1700mm
Max height: 2500mm

REAL Sliding Doors:

Max sash width with 4mm tough glass: 1400mm
Max sash width with 6mm tough glass: 1700mm
Max sash height: 2500mm
Max sash weight: 200kg

Please see the colour options below:

Warmcore bi folds – white, grey, black ,cream (all available both sides)

Warmcore sliding doors – white, grey

REAL – White, grey, black (all available both sides), bespoke RAL colours also available both sides (over 250 colours)

Aluminium products have caught up to PVC in recent years in terms of thermal efficiency, which was previously the only benefit of PVC. Please see below the U values that can be achieved with standard double glazed units:

Warmcore – 1.4

Real – 1.8

All of our products are made from aluminium. For exact details of the construction please see the technical details page.

It is a matter of personal preference whether you go for a bi-folding door or sliding patio door, as both products are equal in terms of security.

Here are some points to consider when deciding which is best for your needs:

Bi-folding doors allow the full aperture to be open, whereas patios will always have at least one fixed pane. If your main concern is maximising the space of your opening a bi-fold may be preferable. (It is also worth remembering that 90% of the time the doors will be in the closed position, thanks to the British weather!).

Patio doors allow for much larger glazing areas, and will have less visible aluminium than a bi-fold. If your main concern is having as much glass visible as possible to maximise views of the outside, a patio door may be preferable.