Folding door systems offer a sleek, modern appearance with a large amount of versatility and functionality.
To install your own folding doors, measure the space where you want your new folding door installed. There are many different styles of folding doors available, so you need to know exactly how much width and height room you have available before selecting from those options. If this is being done as part of a renovation project, consider adding one or two inches on each side for your measurements. This will ensure the door is not too tight but also allow enough room for installation purposes. Next up, you need to consider what materials are best suited for your new folding doors. Many folding doors are made of one or more panels that can be hinged together with 4-8 hinges per door. We recommend using wood panels because they have a simple classic look and can be stained, painted, or veneered to perfectly match any home style. Now it's time to decide where you want the tracks located on your wall. There are typically two types of systems available - with tracks recessed into the top of the wall or track runners installed horizontally at eye level along both walls. We recommend starting by measuring the width and height of where you want your doors to be located. With that information, you can decide which track system will work best. Next, it's time for installation. Be sure to follow the instructions included with the door kit to ensure proper installation. Depending on the type of door purchased and materials used, you may need other tools such as a drill or screwdriver. Before fitting screws, drill pilot holes to ease fixing of screws and limiting cracking of wooden door jamb. Proceed carefully and read all instructions before beginning any cutting or drilling into your wall structure. This is an important step and should not be rushed through. At this stage, you install the bottom and top tracks that guide bi fold door opening and closing. Fit the pivot plate and pivot pin for the top and a pivot bracket for the bottom of the door panels. Fit the rollers too. Install the top pivot bracket, jamb bracket, and doorstops via the screw holes provided, ensuring equal alignment to the front edge, especially when fitting a closet opening. For vertical adjustment, lift the bi-fold door panels, adjust the bottom pivot pin nut to raise or lower the door panels. Use the recommended spanner to adjust the bottom jamb bracket's pivot socket in the desired direction for horizontal adjustment. Once everything is in the desired position and secure, have someone help if possible while testing each panel to ensure it slides smoothly along its runner. At this point, we recommend removing all hardware from the panels and testing each panel separately to ensure it slides smoothly. Once this is complete, reinstall the hardware and you are done.
For standard installation of folding doors, there should be four hinges per door panel. People typically refer to this as bi fold doors, but they can come in other styles such as traditional, modern or contemporary. The number of panels used will determine how many hinges are required for proper installation. For example:
4 Panel - 16 Hinges = 4 Hinges Per Panel (bi fold).
9 Panel - 9 Hinges = 1 Hinge Per Panel (traditional/modern).
12 Panel - 12 Hinges = 1 Hinge Per Panel (traditional/modern).
You also have the option to have panels swinging in both directions which will require more hinges, but it depends on your door style. Many people ask about having doors opening up and out - do not go this route with folding doors because they are not built for that type of movement. The hinges are designed to open the door panels in one direction only. We hope this helps you understand how many hinges per panel are required to install folding doors properly.
Yes, side tracks are required for the installation of folding doors. There are two types - top track and eye level track. Some people prefer to have the tracks recessed; we recommend starting by measuring the width and height of your door opening then determining which track system will work best in that area. The side tracks should be installed on at least one wall but can also be installed on both walls if you would like your doors to open up from room to room instead of just from wall to wall. Using the tracks will also give your doors a neat, clean appearance.
There are many different places where you can install folding doors depending on how your home is set up. For example:
To span a wall or partition.
Create an opening between rooms.
Cover up appliances in the kitchen for a more modern look.
Conceal storage areas in your garage, office or bedroom.
First, you need to take measurements of your room to determine how many panels will fit at the height and width you desire. This is important because it can help with installation if parts are too short or require additional components to mount. To do this, take a measuring tape and start at one side of where you plan on installing your folding doors across the entire length of your wall. Next, go up as high as possible on the wall until reaching a ceiling joist or beam if installed within a finished room. Mark that measurement down with a pencil, so it's visible from the outside of the door panels after installation.
Next, take measuring tape and measure from the floor to the ceiling. Add these numbers together for your overall height from floor to ceiling. Now take the width of your wall at the widest, most open area and add that number to your overall height. This will give you an idea of which panel style will work best for you, depending on how high or wide you would like them to be installed.
Now you will need to purchase your folding door panels. You can choose from a pre-hung panel or traditional and modern panel styles. If using traditional or modern, the panels stack vertically and swing open like a regular door. However, if you would like doors that fold and stack horizontally, there are several other options out there, such as pivot doors, bi-folding doors, barn style door or accordion doors, depending on which fits your needs best within your space. The last step is installation.
Folding doors should swing in one direction only. Ensure you allow enough room for the hinges when determining where you want to mount or install your side tracks. Before installing the folding panels, make sure that all hinges are in place and properly adjusted per the manufacturer's instructions. Folding doors should swing in the same direction every time. If they do not, adjust the hinges until they do so correctly.
Once installation is complete, you have a few options with your door panels. You can leave them as-is or decorate them to suit your room's décor by adding a picture rail, crown moulding or another type of frame to enhance their appearance and give them an even more custom look. For cleaning purposes, consider purchasing clear weatherstripping from your local home improvement store, which will help keep dirt and dust from accumulating on the tracks and sliding surfaces. This will help keep your folding doors looking brand new for many years to come. According to the Queensland building and Construction Commission, there are various requirements for installing bifold screen doors, but check the requirements in your state or location.Pivot doors are a type of bi-folding door that has been in use for many years. They offer great energy efficiency, can be installed almost anywhere and stay out of the way when not needed. In order to provide you with an idea of how they work, imagine a common accordion or fan folding mechanism - only much larger and capable of being fixed in place once open. Pivot door hardware is installed on two sides, allowing them to swing around a bottom pivot pin and a top pivot pin set in the middle when opened. This is done by sliding one side over the other as if opening any standard hinged door. However, instead of it swinging behind another piece on the adjacent wall like a bi-fold door does, this style folds on top of itself on one side, providing a wide-open pathway.
Accordion doors are just as they sound - individual panels that fold into themselves rather than stacked on one another. They can be hinged or non-hinged and may offer some type of locking mechanism to keep them open once extended fully. They slide up, over, under, and around various levels until reaching the opposite side where the opposing set of panels is waiting for them. Like pivot doors, these can be installed wherever there is room for them with little consideration other than ensuring that they will freely open without obstructions.
Painted white
Stained and finished with a clear coat to enhance the wood grain
Fire retardant to meet local code requirements. Again, ensure that you leave enough room to swing freely before drilling holes and installing hardware. Once they're up, there is no turning back, so measure twice and cut once! Note: bi-fold doors do not fold as compactly as other types, so if this feature is essential to you, check those measurements first before making any final decisions.
The installation process is relatively easy if you have a finished room with a proper ceiling joist or beam. In other words, you don't need any special tools to install bi-fold doors other than what you would use for hanging a regular door. However, if you have a room with a low ceiling or no beam to install the track, you will need a stud finder and a drill. You can purchase tracks that mount directly to any drywall surface - they simply stick on. In order for your door panels to work properly when opening and closing, there must be some clearance from the floor in which you can add adjustable feet to set this space. For example, if the panel will be used for closet doors in an existing storage space such as a walk-in pantry or linen closet in a kitchen area. In that case, it's important to make sure this distance allows the panels enough room off of the ground in case someone tries to push them open in an upward manner. If you're looking for easy, folding pocket doors will save you time and money. They work better than traditional bi-fold and sliding doors because they make no noise when opening and closing and don't require a guide track.
If you want your doors to stay open at certain angles when in their pocket position, then yes- you will need a guide track and panels that work with the swing of the door (typically bi-folding doors). However, if you're looking for easy, folding pocket doors will save you time and money. They work better than traditional bifold and sliding doors because they make no noise when opening and closing and don't require a guide track.
The best type of door panel installation method is top-down rather than bottom-up. It allows for less bulky hardware, which makes them easier to move around when mounting them on tracks or hinges. You can purchase the tracks and hinges separately. Keep in mind that not all doors come with top-down installation hardware, so make sure to check this prior to purchasing them.
The best type of bifold door panel hangs vertically since it requires no additional hardware (track). If you're looking for easy, folding pocket doors will save you time and money. They work better than traditional bifold and other doors because they make no noise when opening and closing and don't require a guide track.