A Guide to the Pros and Cons of Timber Bifold Doors

Interested in bifold doors for your home? Whether you want the installation between two rooms or connecting your home to the outside world, they’re a fantastic feature that will instantly improve your home. Bifold doors have become very popular in the UK as an alternative to patio and French varieties.

If you’re looking to have bifold doors installed, one of your main decisions will be choosing a material, between aluminium, uPVC and timber. In this article, we discuss timber bifold doors and give the reasons you’ll want to consider this option, as well as outline some of the disadvantages.

Advantages of timber bifold doors

Aesthetic appeal

When it comes to bifold doors, there’s nothing quite like timber installations that bring a real sense of elegance and class. For traditional looking homes, timber is often the material of choice, blending seamlessly with the rest of the property. Timber is slightly more expensive than uPVC, but aluminium is easily the priciest of the three.

Security

The latest timber bifold doors come with modern security features to give you peace of mind and keep intruders and burglars out. From a security perspective, there’s little to worry about, with multipoint locking mechanisms and internally beaded glass panes. On top of this, you can opt for further home security by choosing toughened or laminated glass in your bifold door installation.

Environmental friendliness

Using timber for your bifold doors is a great way to maintain environmental friendliness. There is now more forestry in Europe than 100 years ago and woodlands are far better managed today.

Older trees are used in construction, making way for younger trees to be planted and provide more oxygen. Additionally, manufacturers use a significant amount of energy to produce uPVC and aluminium bifold doors.

Disadvantages of timber bifold doors

Not as thermally efficient as uPVC

Compared with aluminium, timber is not as conductive, but it is still not as good an insulator as uPVC. You can improve its efficiency in similar ways to aluminium, by adding thermal breaks. However, timber tends to contract during cold weather which will cause gaps and therefore draughts.

High maintenance

Timber bifold doors are the most high maintenance option. You’ll need to treat them and paint them every few years to keep them looking their best. Also, if your doors are south-facing, you may need to paint them more frequently.

Expensive

Timber is one of the most expensive options. There are various options you can choose from with timber, but all of them are more expensive than uPVC:

• Solid timber: approx. £3,000
• Engineered timber: approx. £2,000
• Composite timber: approx. £5,000

So if you’re interested in timber bifold doors, make sure you use our quick and easy service to compare up to four quotes. This way you can ensure of getting the best price from companies near you and be confident in the company you choose for your installation. And if you haven’t decided on a material yet, take a look at our guides on uPVC and aluminium.