From kitchen and lounge extensions to conservatories and decking, the bi-fold is the UK’s favourite garden door. They provide wonderful views of the outside and allow you to completely open the room during summer.
However, they do come with some drawbacks. As with any large area of glazing, they can cause heat build-up during the summer. Alternatively, they allow heat to escape during the winter.
Can you get Blinds for Bi-fold Doors?
Blinds are the natural solution, but just what kind of blinds are best for them, and can you even put blinds on bifold doors? We’re here to help.
“More and more of our customers are using bifold doors to open up their homes in the summer months. They are fantastic at making small rooms feel bigger and letting fresh air into conservatories, but people run into problems with glare and heat. Our teams are here to help.”
Richard Jones
Installation Training Manager
Duette® Blinds for Bifold Doors
Duette® blinds are the best thermal blinds for bi-fold doors. They have a unique honeycomb structure that makes them excellent for insulating, shading and temperature control. Our experts use Duette® fabrics with our exclusive puresystem™ rails to fit each panel individually.
This ensures they won’t get in the way of the door’s operation. The look is clean and modern, and they do a great job of keeping houses warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Roller Blinds for Bi-Fold Doors
“Rollers also offer the benefit of keeping the bi-folds open and shading the room. It’s the perfect combination.”
Richard Jones
Installation Training Manager
If you are worried about insulating an entire set of doors, roller blinds may be the solution for you. Our installers set roller blinds above the door frame in a discrete fascia that covers all the mechanics of the blind seamlessly. What’s more, this is available in 12 standard colours or can be colour-matched by the RAL colour system.
Using a single roller blind to cover the entire set of doors means the bi-fold’s metal frame is also covered (a big plus!) so heat won’t transmit through the glazing or the frame. Worth noting here that the bi-folds need to roll back externally for this approach to work.
Combination Blinds
In the colder months, bi-fold doors can lose a lot of heat through their metal frames. That’s why we often recommend installing both a roller blind and individual recess fit Duette® blinds or pleated blinds for bi-fold doors. The combination of a fitted blind and a roller makes a difference and warms rooms up.
Recessed Fitted Blinds
The ideal option is to recess fit the blinds into each panel of the door. This gives maximum flexibility to shade your room whilst not obstructing the operation of the doors. Thanks to our experience in making and fitting conservatory blinds, we can recess fit blinds right next to the glass using either Solar Design™ or Duette® folding door fabrics. This means minimal gaps around the edges of the blinds.
This means that as soon as it gets dark you can extend your blinds and enjoy the room in total privacy at night. Plus, our blinds are designed to retract away neatly, so your view is not obstructed during the day. Our recessed fitted folding door blinds are also great at controlling temperatures and reducing glare – making your space adaptable for the ever-changing weather.
Can I Use Different Blind Options on Bi-fold Doors?
We can use other types of blinds, such as vertical, or Venetian when shading bifold doors.
Vertical blinds are a great way to cover wide areas of glass with a stylish design feature. Our child-safe vertical bifold door blinds ensure the safety of any child. Their design with no looped cords also creates a distinctively modern style that sets any space apart. Our bespoke vertical blinds come in a stunning choice of colours and textures that simply exude style, allowing for originality when coordinated with the décor.
Venetian blinds offer excellent window shade and privacy to your room. Our range of Venetian blinds includes real wood, as well as aluminium bespoke blinds. Venetian blinds for bifold doors can be tilted while open to control glare and allow for the garden view to be visible.
Can I Have Motorised Blinds on my Bi-fold Doors?
Yes! Our blinds are available as motorised bifold door blinds, offering not only the comfort of the shade but also the ingenuity of modernisation. When we fit the motorised bi-fold door blinds, our customers can easily control them with just the touch of a button. We have several motorisation options available, including mains operated, battery operated and solar powered.
How do I Find the Right Blinds for my Bi-fold Doors?
Getting the right blinds for your specific bi-fold doors can be tricky. There are a lot of variations in the type of doors that are available. Here are some points to consider:
- The number of doors
- The material the frame is made from
- The depth of the beading
- Whether the doors fold internally or externally.
All these variations can affect what blind will work best for you. In some cases, the only option may be free-hanging blinds fitted above the doors. Whilst this is a valid option, fitting blinds this way does require the blinds to sit further away from the doors. This creates gaps on either side that allow heat to escape and people to see in. However, this is sometimes a preferable option as it means we do not have to drill into the doors themselves but the area above them.
Free Consultation
We have a wide range of fits, fabrics and colours to choose from. Our expert advisors will be more than happy to help with your best blind options for bifold doors during the free consultation.
