You really can't go wrong with a set of aluminium bifold doors. These doors offer an easily-accessible link between the outdoors and your home's interior, providing a near-panoramic view through their stylish panels.
Not only do they bring an added touch of class to already exclusive properties, but they're also durable and will add substantial value to your home. With such high-quality doors, you must know how to look after them to benefit appropriately from their total value. This article will look at adjusting your aluminium bifold doors.
How Do You Tell If Your Bifold Doors Have Dropped?
Bifold doors have usually dropped if the lead door catches the frame or floor, the lock no longer lines up with the keep, the panels drag on the track, or there's an uneven gap along the top or side of the frame. Open and close the set slowly and watch where it binds to find the panel at fault.
Whenever you identify any problem, your initial objective should be to zone in on where the pain originates. When it comes to bifold doors, if they're not closing or the lock is not engaging properly, the first thing to check is whether the doors have become misaligned.
If this is indeed the case, then in many cases correct alignment determines how well the door fits within the track and frame. If this isn't where the problem lies, investigate whether your doors may have dropped and require lifting.
What adjustments you should make depends on with which mechanism your doors operate. If your bifold doors are on bottom rollers, you'll need to check for the correct alignment on the track. You should check doors suspended from overhead tracks to ensure they're hanging as they should.
Whatever you find, as long as you have an adjustable make of bifold doors, you can take steps to realign your aluminium bifold doors and keep them functional. Fortunately, with the aluminium doors we offer at Aluminium Living, there are ways of adjusting them, so we'll explain how in greater detail now.
How Do You Adjust Aluminium Bifold Doors?
Most aluminium bifold doors are adjusted with an Allen key at the hinges and rollers: start with the lead door, correct its side-to-side position so it closes squarely against the jamb, then adjust the height at the hinge or carrier bolts until every panel runs smoothly without dragging. Make quarter-turn adjustments and test after each one.
Start the process by sliding your bifold doors open and closed to identify precisely where your doors' problem lies.
Step 1: Check and Adjust the Lead Door
You should begin with the lead door, which you move to pull all the other interconnected doors and pull it into the locking position against the jamb. Check how it is sitting in the opening against the jamb, whether it binds properly into the door frame, and whether it rests correctly.
If the lead door isn't sliding as it should or resting in the correct position, even a small amount of play can affect how the other doors open and align. In this case, you may need to make horizontal adjustments to the lead door.
How Do You Adjust Bifold Doors Left or Right?
Using a common Allen key, you can adjust the lead door to the left or right. Locate the hinges on the sill and use the Allen key to make small adjustments, a quarter turn at a time, until your door is moving smoothly and closing properly.
Step 2: Fix Dragging or Loose Doors
If you find that your bifold doors are misaligned on the hinges or are disconnecting from their tracks when you try opening them, there's likely a problem with the doors' height. In cases like this, you'll need to focus on the hinge bolts.
How Do You Raise Bifold Doors That Have Dropped?
You can adjust the height of your bifold doors by pushing the hinge bolts in or by using them to extend the hinge bolts on the doors themselves. Extending the bolt will leave the door raised, while pushing it will lower it. You can raise it until the weight is sitting correctly and the panels move smoothly. Experiment until such a time as you find the position where the doors function properly. Each job will vary between doors, so this process has no set formula.
It's most definitely worth trying some minor adjustments yourself, as this is a fix you can often master before calling for help and you'll likely be able to rectify the problem. It might be worth seeking professional assistance to solve the problem if you do not find a solution by making adjustments to the hinges. Try a little home maintenance yourself first, though.
If you get your hinges fixed into the correct position, you'll find that your bifold doors will set properly again, and the adjusted doors will push easily closed or open and sit as they should.
How Do You Remove Bifold Doors for Repair?
To remove a bifold panel, open the set, have a helper support the panel, release the spring-loaded pivot pin at the top or bottom of the frame edge, and lift the panel out of the track. The release method varies between systems, so check your manufacturer's instructions first.
The problem with your bifold doors might be slightly more severe than a few adjustments to the hinges. If this is the case, you may need to remove your doors for a more involved fixing job. It would be a good idea to contact the door manufacturer for guidance on removing your doors for maintenance.
Modern aluminium bifold doors are generally easy to work on, and you might need to pop out the spring-loaded pin on the doorframe's edge. You may need to apply some force to release the pin, but not so much that you damage the door or hardware, and in some cases it's also worth checking a few screws once the door is out for repair. When you've pushed it in enough, the doors will pop out of their tracks, so it's an idea to have somebody else with you to help you steady them before removal.
With the doors out, it's a good time to remove any debris from the tracks. It wouldn't be unheard of for the grime and dirt accumulated in the tracks over a prolonged period to have something to do with the problem. Give all tracking hardware a rinse down with some warm soapy water, and treat the working parts with a silicone-based lubricant, as oil-based sprays attract dust and grit.
What If Adjusting the Hinges Doesn't Fix Your Bifold Doors?
If adjustment doesn't work, the likely causes are a worn pivot pin, a damaged roller or carrier, debris in the track, or a frame that has moved out of square. Worn parts can usually be replaced with manufacturer spares, but a frame that is out of square needs refitting.
If you've tried everything we've already mentioned and nothing has rectified the problem, you may have to try some minor repairs. Like all external doors, bifold doors are exposed to the elements, which can affect long-term performance and mean some repair is needed.
Your doors could be loose, as constant wear and tear might have caused the bottom pin to require reseating in its seat inside the door. If this is the case, you'll likely need to take it out and replace it where it should be after filling in the worn hole.
It'll mean drilling a new hole and refixing the pin; should this not solve the problem, you may need to seek a new pin from the door manufacturer or consider replacing your doors. Unlike repairs to warped timber doors, sanding is not typically part of aluminium bifold door repair. If you decide on the latter option, consider visiting our page on how to measure for bifold doors.
Once you've resolved your problem, it's easy to rehang the bifold doors by reseating them within the tracks and re-inserting the spring-loaded pin.
Unless your bifold doors are practically falling out, it is unlikely that you'll have to do more than adjust the hinges, which is a quick and painless task. If you're still having problems, our guide to common aluminium bifold door problems covers track, frame and lock faults.
Bifold Door Adjustment FAQs
How good are aluminium bifold doors?
Aluminium is an unbelievably strong and hardy metal, so the frames of aluminium bifold doors have an extremely narrow design which won't compromise performance or security. This incredible strength also means the slim frames can support large glass areas similar to modern windows without compromising performance, allowing larger door and window panels to be incorporated into aluminium for improved access to outdoor scenery.
What are the biggest problems with bifold doors?
Each folding pane of glass has a separate frame, meaning the view can be obstructed when closed. With aluminium bifold doors, this problem is minimised because of the slender frames that aluminium doors provide.
Are aluminium doors worth the money?
The only doors that are slimmer than aluminium doors are very pricey steel ones. Aluminium frames have several advantages, with their sleek frames and larger door sizes than average doors. Aluminium doors also have a thinner sash profile, which means you can fit larger glass panes within the door. This, in turn, means more light can enter, with the door looking exceptionally attractive compared to a standard door.
What is a good size for an aluminium bifold door?
The recommended width for this type of door is 1400mm, which is actually the minimum width for a 2-panel set of bi-folding doors, so they do come in bigger sizes. An individual door panel should be at least 700mm to conform to the recommended minimum width.
When open, how far do bifold doors stick out?
When fully open, bifold doors project roughly the width of one panel (typically 700mm to 1000mm) into the room or garden, while the folded stack sits at the side of the opening. There are several configurations available for these popular doors.
Why do my bifold doors keep dropping?
Repeated dropping is usually caused by worn or loose hinge bolts, a failing top or bottom roller, or a frame that wasn't fixed securely and has moved. Heavy triple-glazed panels also put more load on the hardware. Check every fixing and replace worn carriers rather than repeatedly re-adjusting them.
Can you adjust bifold doors without removing them?
Yes. Most height and side-to-side adjustments on aluminium bifold doors are made with an Allen key while the panels are still hung. You only need to remove a panel to replace a pin, roller or hinge, or to clear a badly blocked track.
How often should bifold doors be adjusted?
Check the alignment once or twice a year when you clean the tracks, and after the first few months of use as the frame settles. Regular cleaning and lubrication, covered in our guide to fitting bifold doors, keeps adjustments to a minimum. If you're replacing a worn set, browse our aluminium bifold doors.
