Bi-fold, French or Sliding Doors?

We were recently faced with what seemed like a fairly simple choice - what type of doors do we have between our kitchen and pool area?

We had a 2700mm by 6500mm opening with a 30mm vertical steel support  placed just off centre. We wanted to maximise the view and have a set of doors that could be "opened right up" for pool parties to provide easy access to and from the house.

We were initially thinking 2 sets of french doors that opened out as this would allow us to keep fly-screens in place (flies/mosquitoes can be a problem in Perth in the early months of summer). Then we discovered sliding doors that slid past each other allowing for a much larger single opening with less frame and hence an improved view. In the back of our mind, however, we had always liked the idea of bi-fold doors that "concertina" along a sliding rail and open right-up from end to end. The only problem with bi-folds was the difficulty of installing traditional fly-screens from what we'd been told this was in fact, impossible.

Then one afternoon whilst looking around a display centre we saw magnetic roll-back fly screens. Basically this system was made up of two encased units that you fix to each end of the door frame and, when required, pull the screens out and connect with a magnetic fitting. Very simple and the best part was the screens only needed to be visible when you required them. For most of the year nobody would know they were even there, tucked away in there little roll-up casing.

After discovering this natty invention we swiftly decided that bi-folds were the way to go and now only had one hurdle to overcome, what did we do with the steel support half-way along the cavity that was helping hold-up the ceiling above. We could install two 3000mm sets of bifolds, one set in each half of the window opening, but that would lose the effect of having one large opening out to the pool. We consulted an engineer, who assured us that if we replaced the existing timber lintel with a high strength steel joist we would have enough support to take away the existing 30mm steel support. Well, if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing properly so we braced the cavity, removed the old timber lintel and fitted a new steel joist, then pulled out the old window frames.

We've since ordered the new bi-fold doors (we went for a commercial grade aluminium frame and door with tinted 10.38mm strengthened glass) and eagerly await the fitting. There are cheaper prodcuts on the market, but I would advise going with a commercial grade as they offer better value in the long run as the runner systems are far more robust and much less likely to stick. They also look much better!

So if you are faced with a similar challenge make sure you consider every option and don't be put off by minor hurdles such as existing support structures, security or fly screen requirements. Stick with what you think will service the area the best and hunt around for solutions to overcome these hurdles. You will find in most instances there are clever people out there who have found great solutions to similar issues.