A bifold door (also called slide-and-fold) is a run of hinged uPVC panels that concertina and stack to one side, opening up most of the wall. Where a sliding door gives you 50% clear opening at best, a bifold can give you 85-95% — turning a living room into something that genuinely connects to the outside. Glassterr manufactures uPVC bifold systems at our Pannimadai factory in 3-panel, 4-panel, 5-panel, and 6-panel configurations. The panels run on a top track (with a guide at the floor) and fold via hinges between panels. One panel is usually configured as a 'traffic door' that opens normally without needing to slide the whole stack.
A bifold system has multiple uPVC panels hinged together, running on a precision top track with a bottom guide. When you want it open, you push the panels in one direction and they fold against each other, accordion-style, stacking against the wall. The hardware is significantly more sophisticated than sliding — there are specific bifold hinges, top carriages, and bottom guides. The track has to be installed level to a tolerance of a few millimetres over the whole run, otherwise the panels bind or sag. This is precision-installation work — the door itself is straightforward to manufacture, but installation is where bifolds either work beautifully or work badly.
Typically 85-90% with all panels folded. The remaining 10-15% is the stacked panel thickness at one end. Compared to sliding doors which give 50% maximum, the difference is huge — bifolds genuinely 'open up the wall'.
Practical maximum about 15-18 ft for a single run. Beyond that the track length and stack depth become unwieldy. For larger openings, sometimes two bifold runs are used meeting in the middle.
When properly installed and sealed, yes — the closing edges have weatherstripping and the floor track has drainage. They're not as forgiving of poor installation as sliding doors because there are more sealing surfaces. We size the system and install carefully.
Roughly 60-100% more per square foot — the hardware costs significantly more, the panels need more reinforcement, and installation is more intensive. A 10ft × 8ft bifold typically runs ₹1.2-2 lakh depending on panel count and glazing. Worth it where the opening function genuinely matters.
Yes — that's the 'traffic door' configuration mentioned above. The end panel works as a regular door for everyday use. When you want the full opening, you open the traffic door and then fold the rest of the stack alongside it.
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Tell us the opening width and what's outside — we'll design the panel configuration.