Bifold doors and integral blinds
Discussion
We stayed in a holiday home with integrated blinds, but the actual pull cord rotated a magnet at the top, which in turn rotated the blinds within the glass. No danger of snagging the pull cord & it somehow damaging the mechanism within the glass. Not sure if this is standard for integrated blinds, but I was impressed with the elegance of the solution.
I'd avoid - lots of trouble when they go wrong (which they will, at some point).
Also, if the blind concertinas to the top of the door, bear in mind the extra 2 or 3" of space they'll occupy at the top of the door.
If you're short it may not bother you, but if you're tall like me and they're a standard height door it can be annoying as it's right in your eye line (I'm 6'2").
Also, if the blind concertinas to the top of the door, bear in mind the extra 2 or 3" of space they'll occupy at the top of the door.
If you're short it may not bother you, but if you're tall like me and they're a standard height door it can be annoying as it's right in your eye line (I'm 6'2").
Not folding doors and not in the UK, but I replaced all of the sliding aluminium doors with regular patio doors made bt PlastPro, with ODL glazed units and integral blinds.
So far, I'm really pleased with them, with one caveat - they are not great at blacking out - in fact they allow so much light through my bedroom doors that I had to install a drop-down roller blind.
Other than that, I'm glad I did it - installed them myself, so saved a few bucks too.
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New
So far, I'm really pleased with them, with one caveat - they are not great at blacking out - in fact they allow so much light through my bedroom doors that I had to install a drop-down roller blind.
Other than that, I'm glad I did it - installed them myself, so saved a few bucks too.
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New
Go for it - if they are quality doors.
We installed a run of 5 2.4m high Schueco bifolds in the summer at our house with integral blinds and they are superb. We have the same magnet style arrangement mentioned above which is necessary to maintain the seal of the unit, and while while it is fiddly and a bit time consuming to operate ( mainly as we like to leave the mechanism off the doors when not in use and so we haven't attached the pull cords permanently) , we only use the blinds occasionally so have been very happy with them.
The main time we used them was back when it was very hot as although we have the glass thats supposed to resist solar gain it can only do so much and so we used to wind the blinds down on our south facing doors in the mornings and back up again at night - we're fortunate that although we're in London we're not overlooked. You can get the blinds automated but that was circa three grand or something and costs were running away at that point.
The integral blinds are obviously operating in a sealed unit so they don't get dirty or pick up anything that would interfere with their workings over time.
We were also given a ten year guarantee and told that if for some reason the blinds failed then they would remove the sealed unit from that door and replace it with a new one.
We installed a run of 5 2.4m high Schueco bifolds in the summer at our house with integral blinds and they are superb. We have the same magnet style arrangement mentioned above which is necessary to maintain the seal of the unit, and while while it is fiddly and a bit time consuming to operate ( mainly as we like to leave the mechanism off the doors when not in use and so we haven't attached the pull cords permanently) , we only use the blinds occasionally so have been very happy with them.
The main time we used them was back when it was very hot as although we have the glass thats supposed to resist solar gain it can only do so much and so we used to wind the blinds down on our south facing doors in the mornings and back up again at night - we're fortunate that although we're in London we're not overlooked. You can get the blinds automated but that was circa three grand or something and costs were running away at that point.
The integral blinds are obviously operating in a sealed unit so they don't get dirty or pick up anything that would interfere with their workings over time.
We were also given a ten year guarantee and told that if for some reason the blinds failed then they would remove the sealed unit from that door and replace it with a new one.
If they come with a 10 year guarantee from a reputable manufacturer then would't be too worried about them failing.
Alternatively, if you have the space you can also go for plantation shutter doors- the slats are thicker so a different look and can match colour to decor.
source:Openshut.co.uk
Alternatively, if you have the space you can also go for plantation shutter doors- the slats are thicker so a different look and can match colour to decor.
source:Openshut.co.ukGassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff