Making a bi-fold door
 

I can't find a 33 inch wide bifold door to replace my kitchen door, so I'm
going to cut it in half & put in two vertical bits to make good the cut sides.

Door gear - where can I buy it, or does anyone have a DIY solution?

On 07 Nov 2004 00:09:19 GMT, (Paper2002AD) wrote:

I can't find a 33 inch wide bifold door to replace my kitchen door, so I'm
going to cut it in half & put in two vertical bits to make good the cut sides.

Door gear - where can I buy it, or does anyone have a DIY solution?



A company called Hendersons makes a few options.



--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On 07 Nov 2004 00:09:19 GMT, (Paper2002AD) wrote:

I can't find a 33 inch wide bifold door to replace my kitchen door, so I'm
going to cut it in half & put in two vertical bits to make good the cut sides.

It's possible that you might destroy the structure and therefore the
strength of the door by cutting it down the middle.

Door gear - where can I buy it, or does anyone have a DIY solution?

Homebase might be worth checking.

Andrew

--

If you need help with those general DIY projects
you can give me a call. More information about
what I can help with can be found on my web site:

http://www.handymac.co.uk

On Sun, 07 Nov 2004 00:09:19 +0000, Paper2002AD wrote:

I can't find a 33 inch wide bifold door to replace my kitchen door, so I'm
going to cut it in half & put in two vertical bits to make good the cut sides.

Door gear - where can I buy it, or does anyone have a DIY solution?

If the current door is a panel type and has a solid stile down the middle,
you could make your own. Since the kits are really light weight stuff
(AFAICT) this is preferable. Even plain fire doors might not be suitable
as they may well be fireproof material in the middle.

Essentially you would split the door in half lengthways. Hang the
second half on the first. Since the second half is only half the weight
and half the size of the original you can get away with (say 4-6) surface
hinges rather than 'real' recessed ones. The surface hinges will also
compensate slightly for the width that it lost ripping the door in half.

Remove and make good all existing latch, locks, knobs etc.
Put a knob on the 'outer' side of the door near the middle hinge.
Put a finger plate on the 'inner side' near the middle hinge.
Add magnetic, spring, or roller ball catch(s) (or whatever) near the
middle hinge at the top of the door.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

"Ed Sirett" wrote in message on.co.uk...
On Sun, 07 Nov 2004 00:09:19 +0000, Paper2002AD wrote:

I can't find a 33 inch wide bifold door to replace my kitchen door, so I'm
going to cut it in half & put in two vertical bits to make good the cut sides.

Door gear - where can I buy it, or does anyone have a DIY solution?

If the current door is a panel type and has a solid stile down the middle,
you could make your own. Since the kits are really light weight stuff
(AFAICT) this is preferable. Even plain fire doors might not be suitable
as they may well be fireproof material in the middle.

Essentially you would split the door in half lengthways. Hang the
second half on the first. Since the second half is only half the weight
and half the size of the original you can get away with (say 4-6) surface
hinges rather than 'real' recessed ones. The surface hinges will also
compensate slightly for the width that it lost ripping the door in half.

Remove and make good all existing latch, locks, knobs etc.
Put a knob on the 'outer' side of the door near the middle hinge.
Put a finger plate on the 'inner side' near the middle hinge.
Add magnetic, spring, or roller ball catch(s) (or whatever) near the
middle hinge at the top of the door.


Some types of latches locks etc are easily homemade from bits of wood
or metal.

I'd be surprised if a mag catch was much use, unless you use your own
large magnet. Try one from a microwave magnetron, that should keep the
kids out :)

If you have an electric plane it should be easy enough to cut the door
a bit smaller and glue on a piece of 2x2, then plane it all. This
would work for doors where the central upright is in 2 sections.

NT