OUR GUIDE ON HOW TO FIT YOUR BI-FOLD DOORS

It’s no surprise that bi-fold doors will never go out of style. Bi-folding doors let the outside in, making them perfect for the summer months. With their unobtrusive style, enhancing your home with Properly fitted bi-fold doors can allow a huge amount of natural light into a room and fresh air and can even increase your house price.

Fitting a bi-folding door sounds daunting, especially when it comes with a wedge of paper instructions – but do not be alarmed! This blog aims to create a more accessible alternative to those dreaded instruction sheets. 

Let’s get stuck into our blog on how to fit bi-fold doors!

What do I need to fit a bi-fold door?

Making sure you are thoroughly prepared for your DIY venture is essential to both your productivity and safety. It’s important to ensure you have everything you need before you begin.

Have the right tools on hand to fit your bi-fold doors. Get an old dust sheet and spread out the contents of your toolbox. Having your tools visible and to hand will make the job much less tedious.

Ensure that you have all the tools required before fitting your doors. If you don’t double-check, you won’t be able to install those doors!

Be safe when you fit your bi-fold doors. Fitting bi-fold doors require using rather fiddly screws and drills, so remaining safe is of utmost importance. Wear safety glasses to ensure that your eyes are protected throughout

The golden rule of fitting doors is to measure everything! More people than you think buy everything that they need to fit bi-fold doors without actually measuring. Make sure you measure before attempting to fit your doors.

How to fit a bi-fold door

First, you need to prepare your sill.  Apply a small amount of silicone to the rebate in the top part and then push the two parts together. 

The next step is to drill your pilot holes (each bi-fold door will come with specific measurements unique to our doors here at ATT Fabrications), ensuring you drill them through the three fixing holes. They can be found on the underside of the sill. 

How to assemble a bi-fold door frame

Before we start fitting your doors, we must ensure the frame is fixed in place and secure. This is the easy part and can be done in 3 simple steps. 

1. Assemble the frame: wood screws and gaskets are necessary for this section. Make sure that your silicone sealant is to hand so that you can apply some to each head assembly, both sides of the tenon and the mill end of each jamb assembly.
2. Once you have done this, you must make sure that you fix the jamb assembly to the head assembly.
3. Slot the tenon into the end of the jamb assembly and screw them together. 

How to fit a bi-fold door in 10 easy steps

Now for la piece de la resistance: fitting your doors! This is a bit trickier and requires another pair of helping hands. 

1. Frame fitting: after all those fiddly and intricate steps, it’s time to fit your frame.
2. This will likely be a two-person job, so guide the frame into the designated area. 
3. Adjust your frame’s position to ensure the fixing holes in the head track are in a perfect position.
4. Now, move the frame head to allow for any pre-drilling that needs to be done, which is above the lintel and subsequently will need to be drilled through the holes in the lintel.
5. Packing should now be positioned between the head and the top of the opening. 
6. Be sure to use a spirit level to ensure everything is straight.
7. Now secured by your packers, drill instruction-specified holes into the frame structure and through holes in the jambs.
8. You should now be able to fit your frame by fixing bolts through your jambs and into the wall. 
9. Find a fixing point: Each sill tie must be drilled in preparation for the masonry plug.
10. Now you will need to double-check the jambs are perfectly vertical and that the head and sill are level with one another.

Fixing the head and hinges of your bi-fold doors

At this point in the process, you should be ready to fix the head. The exterior fittings need to be attached to the head in stages, and it’s important not to overtighten them. 

1. Start with the two outer fittings and lighten the fixing screw a little bit tighter. 
2. Then, carefully tighten the central screw so that the head and lintel are nearly touching.
3. Moving onto the jambs (and working from the outside in) again, lightly tighten the screws ensuring that you vary the packing between the head and the lintel to create an upward curve towards the head.
4. Once you’ve achieved your desired curve, tighten the screws where appropriate.

5. Now it’s time to get the hinges up. Fit the pivot and carrier hinges into your top track. The cutouts can be at one or both ends of the top track.
6. Ensure that the top and bottom blocks of your pivot hinges are in an appropriate position so that your adjustment screws are within reach after fitting your bi-fold doors.
7. Now you should have installed your carrier hinges and pivots, you’re good to mount your doors.

Bi-fold doors at ATT Fabrications

Now, you should be reading this whilst admiring your shiny new bi-folding doors – well done! 

It’s important to note that every bi-fold door is different, so be sure to consult your individual instructions and don’t hesitate to reach out to us for advice. Please seek help from a professional or contact us here at ATT Fabrications for further assistance if you struggle.

Here at ATT Fabrications, we are proud of our bi-fold doors and hope that you have assembled your own doors successfully and enjoyed doing so. If you’re now onto your next ‘door project’, why not check out our sliding patio door options for another stylish door alternative?