Please read our customers case studies to find out how their Vufold doors and windows have enhanced their homes.
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Town life is all fine and dandy if you like being close to all the hubbub and amenities you might want, but if you want some garden space then that can be hard to come by and at a premium price when you do find it.
That was the problem facing David and his wife, who, until earlier this year, lived in the centre of Macclesfield. Try as they might, they could not find a house within their price range that gave them the outside space they craved.
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All house renovations come with challenges, as Francis and Michelle found out when they started their project on a four-bedroomed detached house in Liverpool.
Most of the standard challenges like the electrics, plastering and bathroom fittings were easy enough to overcome but the layout of the downstairs proved far trickier.
“The problem was that we had a hallway that led into the lounge. We wanted to open up that area and get some light into it, as it was quite dark. At the same time, we did not want a single big open space to live in, we like the idea of having a snug, cosy place to sit and read if we want while other things are going on in say the kitchen. We spotted these bifolding doors on a YouTube video and they seemed to offer the perfect solution,” says Francis.
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Sometimes it takes a little kick to get that particular renovation project underway, even when you have been wanting to do it for some time – sometimes, that kick can feel a bit painful, but when the results turn up trumps, all the pain can be well worth it – as Jenny Ferguson and her husband found out.
“We had been wanting to knock through from our lounge to the kitchen for some time, but I guess we just kept putting it off. Then we had a water leak upstairs which ran down the wall we planned to knock down and we thought, well, we may as well get on with it now – so we did,” says Jenny.
The couple did not want to knock the whole wall out as they wanted to have the option of two distinct spaces that could be combined into one when it suited them. Hours of searching on Google produced no results, mainly because they were clear about what they wanted and none of the suppliers they had found came close. Then they found Vufold.
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It’s probably fair to say that most people install bifolding doors as part of a renovation or building design that is focussed on the aesthetics the homeowners want to achieve.
While that was clearly a major part of why Karen and her husband wanted to install internal bifold doors in the end-terrace house they had called home for seven years, there was also a very specific and significant reason that Vufold’s Inspire range of doors were perfect for them.
When the couple and their two sons moved into their new home in Audenshaw, it came with a number of bolt-on additions that really did the house, and Karen, no favours at all, as Karen explains.
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When it comes to planning and research for a home development project, Andrew Paterson may be in a league of his own. Andrew lives in a semi-detached 1930’s house in Chester and had designs on extending his home at the back for some years. Not just his home mind, the full-width extension he planned would also include the extending of his neighbour’s house so that the look of both buildings complemented each other.
“I started my preparation about two and a half years ago by visiting exhibitions and trade shows, which was when I discovered Vufold. I had a chat with the people on the stand and was impressed with their approach and products, so I took a leaflet home and kept it in my file,” says Andrew.
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When Julie France and her partner Doug bought and moved into their bungalow in Barnsley in 2009, it was in need of a lot of TLC. The previous owner had built it and lived there till she was 100.
“We knew it was going to be a right labour of love, but it had so much potential and we had a good idea of how we wanted it to look. There were some things that needed doing straight away to make it right, which we did. We wanted to bring the place up to date, but we did not want to lose too much of the old-fashioned feel of the bungalow, it felt a bit like a country cottage in some ways, and we wanted to keep that,” says Julie.
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When it comes to getting a job done, teamwork is essential. Kirstie and Andy Womack from Dewsbury found that adding Vufold to their team was the perfect solution when they replaced their old “ugly” patio doors with new bi-folding ones.
The couple have lived in their three-bedroom detached house since it was built in 2007. When they moved in, it came with a set of plain patio doors that separated the living room from the conservatory. “We never really liked the patio doors, but we put up with them until we decided to carry out some renovations that included taking a wall out to utilise the old dining room as part of an extended kitchen. That would mean that those ugly doors would be even more prominent. We planned to replace them with something that would give us added security, allow us to close off the cold conservatory in winter and provide a large open space in summer. Bi-folding doors were our first choice, so Andy started looking online for a supplier,” says Kirstie.
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With 38 years of sales experience in the prestige car sales industry, Robert James knows a thing or two about high quality customer care. As you might expect, Robert has fairly high standards and expects nothing less from people when he becomes the customer.
So, when he and his wife Judi had an extension built on the back of their home in York, they started looking for a suitable supplier to provide the doors that would open out from their lounge to the garden.
“We were working with a fairly modest budget and started looking at French doors,” says Robert, “but none of them impressed us in the same way that bi-fold doors did for their functionality and look. We knew taking that option would be more expensive, but the quality will always out as they say, so we booked appointments with two suppliers, of which Vufold were the second. We’d already been very impressed with the openness of the Vufold website and the fact that it gave us actual prices. The other company’s site looked equally as good, which is why we booked to see both.”
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Emma and Stephen Langdridge run a dairy farm just outside of Uttoxeter in Staffordshire,, which means they are kept very busy. So, when they decided on having bi-folding doors installed in the new extension to their 35-year-old bungalow, they wanted a no-nonsense supplier that would work with them; which is what they found when they chose Vufold.
The couple took the usual research route of Google and found the Vufold website. “We looked at one or two suppliers but were taken with what we saw on the Vufold website. Their bi fold doors looked like they had the quality standards we were after and the testimonials were very impressive. They were not the cheapest by any means, but then we don’t usually go on price, as quality is far more important to us,” says Stephen.
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Sometimes it takes the addition of a new family member to kick-start a major renovation project, as Andrew Waters from London found out recently. Andrew and his partner had talked about adding a loft conversion and extension to their 1930’s end terrace home for a while, but the imminent arrival of Waters Junior was the spark that made things happen.
From the off the couple knew what they wanted in the downstairs living quarters; a modern, sleek and open area that also had discrete rooms to afford privacy when required. Building work started in January, which gave the couple plenty of time to look around for doors that would separate the lounge area from the dining room.
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Sometimes, the icing on the cake can come from the most unexpected of places, as Brett Jones found out recently.
Brett lives with his family in a four-bedroomed, detached 1960’s house in Letchworth Garden City.
Brett, his wife and two sons have lived there for 12 years. Last year they set about radically transforming the property with double story extensions.
“For years, we had thought about changing the layout of the house, but with two grown-up lads still at home, we needed more space. What’s more, we wanted to change what was essentially a very normal 1960’s house into something special, particularly the downstairs living areas,” says Brett.
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“Have you ever had the experience of something starting out really positive, and then it just gets better and better? Well, that’s what it was like for me when I bought my bi-fold doors from Vufold,” says Steve Herd from Doncaster.
Steve and his young son moved into a three-bedroomed detached house two years ago and inherited an old conservatory with aluminium sliding doors that separated it from the dining room. “The conservatory leaked, and the doors were just, well, lovely in the way only aluminium doors can be, so both had to go,” says Steve.
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“I always think it’s worth paying that little bit extra if what you get for your money are all the additional specifications you are looking for, especially if the end result surpasses your expectations, which is what happened when we purchased a set of Vufold Inspire doors for our new house,” says Dr Kerai from South Wales.
Dr Kerai purchased a detached house last November with the intention of having all the decoration and renovation work done before moving in. The existing dining and living rooms were separated by a set of solid wood doors that fitted where the wall had been taken out. The dining room leads into the kitchen, but the existing doors blocked off any light, making the two rooms seem dark and gloomy, so they had to go.
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Inheriting an old extension when you move into a new home can be a bit of a bind, but if you plan it right, do your research and choose the right bi-fold door supplier then the outcome can be well worth it in the end.
Gavin Johnston and his family moved into their three-bedroomed semi just outside Brighton a year ago and new pretty much from the off that they wanted to make big changes to the downstairs, particularly the existing extension at the back of the house.
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There’s no doubt about it when you are planning to spend a fair amount of money on a refurbishment, it pays to shop around; that was certainly what John Christie found when he had a full extension built on the back of his home.
John and his partner have lived in the same house in Port Seton just outside Edinburgh for over 20 years. Last year they decided to radically change downstairs by adding a full width extension that would dramatically increase the size of the kitchen and dining area. John got in touch with a contractor and asked him to provide a price for everything, construction, decoration and supply of all fittings.
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It’s not often a business gets full marks from a satisfied customer, but that’s precisely what Vufold were awarded by Lynne Muffitt when she was asked for feedback.
Lynne lives with her husband and two children in a four-bedroomed detached house in Newport, Shropshire. Last year the family decided that they wanted to change the entire layout of their home with the addition of an extension that would dramatically alter the living spaces downstairs.
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Daniel Ball is a very discerning man with a set of ethics that feed into every aspect of his work, which involves building environmentally sustainable properties. His company, LivEco, create homes that exceed customer expectations as well as government targets when it comes to energy efficiency and sustainability. What’s more, they are delivered at affordable prices – so that’s very high quality at exceptionally reasonable costs; it’s no wonder Daniel came to Vufold when he wanted some external bi-fold doors for a barn conversion he undertook in 2018.
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When Stephen Tryner and his wife set about the major transformation of their bungalow, a key factor for them was to make sure the living spaces worked properly and were maximised to their full potential.
The couple had lived in their home in the village of Ruddington just outside Nottingham since 1986 and had also lived with a very old-fashioned conservatory that did little for them both. With the plan to remove the conservatory came an ambitious new design that included the building of a new extended front to the bungalow which would create a far larger dining area that would lead on through to the hall.
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In business, there’s nothing more satisfying than having repeat customers. Besides the fact that they return to repeat buy, the underlying statement is that they are endorsing your product and services with their patronage.
Melissa Claridge, who first discovered Vufold back in 2012, is one of our repeat customers. Melissa, her husband and four children have lived in their five-bedroom detached house in Kingston Upon Thames since 2006. Following a fire in 2012, the couple decided to install bi-fold doors to the back of the house, replacing a set of sliding doors that Melissa has wanted rid of for some time. The couple found Vufold on-line and were very impressed with the speed with which the doors could be delivered, the customer service and, once the doors had been installed, the overall quality, security and value for money the doors provided.
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It’s not every day that you can get an experienced carpenter to change their supplier, but that’s precisely what Jonothan Wright did when he discovered Vufold and its Finesse range of internal bi-folding doors.
Jonothan has lived with his wife in their four-bedroomed detached house just outside of Sutton Coldfield for quite a while. Eleven years ago, they had a conservatory built at the end of the dining room, looking out over the garden. In the summer it was fine, but in the winter the couple struggled to keep the dining room warm due to heat escaping through the conservatory glass.
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Big ideas and big dreams need big planning, so when David Cooper and his wife moved into a new home, they set about devising a five-year plan for how they wanted their new home to look – in time.
The Cooper’s new home in St. Helen’s. Merseyside offered many opportunities but one, in particular, drew itself to David’s attention. “I noticed when we moved in that the kitchen windows offered a really good view overlooking the garden. The problem was that you had to stand up to look through the windows to enjoy it, and we wanted something far more panoramic, which is why we decided we would extend the kitchen area and install big bifold doors,” says David.
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Downsizing in house size is something that happens to most of us as younger family members flex their wings and fly the nest. When it happens, finding the perfectly sized new home is not always that easy, as Jacqui and Armando found out; but they also found a solution with Vufold’s bifolding doors.
Fifteen months ago, the couple moved into a bungalow in King’s Langley near Watford. The property was not really to their taste, so they set about, in Jacqui’s words “knocking it about “so they could create the perfect home. Bungalows don’t tend to offer substantially spacious living quarters, and this one was no different, as Jacqui explains.
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Nigel and Lynda Ray have lived in their four-bedroom detached 1930’s house in Bexhill on Sea since 1992. Over the years they have shaped and cultivated it into their own, reflecting themselves on the inside and out into the garden with its design and style.
Last year the couple decided that they would extend the downstairs living area to create a whole new feel to the kitchen and fulfil a dream for Linda in particular.
“The back of the house is raised above the garden, but the previous layout did not afford us the views over it that we wanted. We have spent quite a lot of time making the outside something special and we wanted to be able to enjoy that from inside the house as well,” says Nigel,
“That’s why we knew from the start that we wanted bi-fold doors for the extension.”
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When you are lucky enough to live with a growing family amid the beauty that is the Welsh valleys, extending your property rather than moving to a new house often turns out to be the best option, as it was for Vince Jones and his family.
Vince, his wife and their two children live in a traditional two-storey Long Cottage in the heart of Cardiganshire. With their second child on the way, they started looking at finding somewhere else to live but simply could not find anywhere to match the home they already had and loved.
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When you are moving into a new home, do you really want the extra hassle of having to replace a set of six-foot wide French doors that open onto your new garden in the first few days after moving in?
Well, you might not, unless of course, you can rely on your supplier to deliver precisely on time and that the new doors will fit perfectly and be in place within four hours. Can that be possible? It seems it is if the experience of Richard Jones and his family is anything to go by.
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When Chris purchased a bungalow in Plymouth it was with the intention of buying it to rent. At the time, some ten years ago, he did not expect to be gutting and renovating it for him and his partner seven years on – but that’s precisely what he did, and Vufold’s bi-fold doors played a big part in creating the perfect home for the couple.
Chris is an ex-builder and electrician and he put his skills to good use even though he had to get a builder in to add the shell of the extension that was added to the back of the bungalow. With the plastering, electrics and plumbing all done Chris set about laying the laminate floors before putting in place the final addition; a set of bi-fold doors to separate the new dining room from the living room. However, bi-fold doors were not the first thing that Chris had planned to install as he explains.
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Growing families need room to grow, which often results in an extension being added to a house. In Carshalton Beeches, South London, Adekunle Osanyin found that to be exactly the case a couple of years ago, so he set about planning a new extension that would dramatically increase the size of the living room and create a proper sized dining room to entertain guests. “Although this was a long-term plan, we knew what we wanted from the very start. I started by looking on the Internet and found Vufold’s website. I was immediately taken by the images of the doors, the testimonials but very much so by the Customer Gallery.
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Try as they might, Trudy and Mark Slade could not find a new home to move into that gave them what they wanted at a price they could afford. With the offspring having flown the nest, the couple wanted a different layout to their home, one with more flexibility that offered privacy and options, so they gave up house hunting and went looking for bi-fold doors instead.
“We had planned on moving, but then we watched Homes Under The Hammer on TV, saw a house with bi-folding doors and thought – aha, that will do the trick – because we could see it would give us more options in terms of using our living space,” says Trudy.
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Sarah Finbow and her partner are in the process of refurbishing their three-bedroom semi-detached house in Ramsbottom near Bury and have just completed what they knew would be the major downstairs project – the linking of three separate rooms with bi-folding doors.
The young couple moved in two years ago and have been steadily working through the house, room by room, transforming it into their dream home, as Sarah explains; “The house was built in the 1970/80’s and really wanted stripping out and modernising when we bought it. We were up for that challenge and are really delighted with the outcome of the downstairs now that we have installed the Vufold bifold doors. The configuration of the space downstairs is a bit tricky, with the kitchen door opening back into the entrance to the lounge, which is one of the reasons why bi-folding doors are the perfect solution for us."
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When someone does you a favour, it’s nice to show your appreciation. Clearly Andy Marriott thought that when his friend put him up following his travels abroad; and boy did he repay his friend’s kindness.
When Andy returned from working in Saudi Arabia and other countries, he was lucky enough to have a friend who agreed to let him lodge at his home till he got sorted with his own place. Andy’s friend lives in a 20-year-old detached house near Mansfield, Nott’s that had a set of French Doors already built in when he bought the property. When Andy did move out into his own place, he found that ironically it had a set of similar French doors to those his friend owned, which got the two talking about replacing them. That was the point at which Andy offered to pay for bi-fold doors to replace his friend’s French ones.
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Andrew and his partner Alison live in a four-bedroom detached, 20-year-old house in Burgess Hill, Sussex. Having looked for many months to move, they could not find a new home that matched their aspirations. So last April, they decided to upgrade instead of moving. This was going to be no small task, as it involved refurbishing the whole house from top to bottom.
Andrew served his apprenticeship in the building trade before going into management, so he knew he could carry out many of the tasks, and between him, with Alison in charge of decorations/details and a few tradespeople, they transformed their home, with only the kitchen/dining area left to complete at the beginning of 2018.
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Sometimes, when you decide to knock walls out when redesigning a house, you want the best of both worlds; which is what Ian Andrews and his family hoped to achieve when they knocked through from their lounge to the dining room/kitchen.
Ian, his wife and two children live in a late 1970’s, four-bedroomed detached house in Hassock, West Sussex. The downstairs layout did not really work for them, so they set about changing it by opening up the space and taking a wall out. However, the family was keen to maintain the privacy options that the two rooms had previously offered, so they needed a plan that would solve the conundrum.
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There’s an old saying that goes along the lines of “if you want something doing well – do it yourself” – which is pretty much the tenet that Adrian Mason followed when he wanted external bifold doors fitting to the new extension built on the back of his house.
Adrian’s plans for his four-bedroom detached property on a 1980’s development included a substantial extension that would house new kitchen and dining areas, as well as creating a large open space that connected with the lounge.
When Justine Presland and her partner went looking for internal bi-folding doors they knew precisely what they wanted and why.
The couple, who live with a son in their four-bedroom detached home near Abergavenny, South Wales, were in the process of totally refurbishing the house from top to bottom and knew how they wanted it to look and feel on completion.
When the couple bought the house four years ago, they inherited some ugly wooden doors which had been stained red and that opened up into the sunroom with oak French doors leading out to the garden. The red mahogany doors simply had to go, so Justine went on-line and searched for “internal bi-folding doors in oak” and Vufold came up as one of the top suggestions on Google.
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When we first saw our house in 2015 we knew immediately that there were two projects that, if we bought it, we just had to get done. The house is built onto a south facing hill and, from the front, looks to be a conventional two stories, 3 or 4 beds. However, from the back its three stories high as the garden is a level below the entry floor. The design of the house exploited this by having an open balcony at the mid-floor, accessed both from the lounge and dining room by "old style" sliding aluminium double-glazed doors. A previous owner had then turned this balcony into a conservatory but had retained the old doors. Downstairs a similar set of 6ft aluminium sliding double-glazed doors led from the family room to the garden. We knew we wanted to open this wall up as much as possible to "let the garden in" and turn it into our summer lounge. Upstairs the sliding doors were both an obstacle to enjoying the outlook from the mid-floor and also a trip hazard due to a difference in floor height.
Have you ever wondered why designers of brand new houses don’t go that extra step to create something special instead of going for the standard option? That’s precisely the question Melanie Marchant asked herself when she looked at a brand new chalet bungalow she planned to move into this year – but thanks to discovering Vufold, she very quickly put that error right.
After living in Liverpool for several years, Melanie, who has been involved with property development and design for some time, planned to move back to her homeland of East Sussex. Being very clear about what she wanted from her next property, Melanie started looking around at bi-folding door suppliers and, on discovering Vufold, she popped down the M6 to visit the showroom in Macclesfield.
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When Shakespeare coined the phrase “truth will out”, it’s unlikely that he ever thought his words would in time be applied to quality – but in Steve Pinner and Vufold’s case, they certainly have.
Steve and his wife, Debbie, have lived in a four bedroom, detached Georgian house in Boston, Lincolnshire for the last 20 years. Their own children having flown the nest some while back, three years ago they realised that they needed extra space for when the growing number of grandchildren came to stay.
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You know what it’s like when you move into your new home, there’s always that “one thing” that you perhaps weren’t expecting which quickly becomes an itch you can’t scratch – that’s how it was with Andrew O’Gorman.
Andrew, his wife and two boys moved into a 1980’s four-bedroom detached house just outside Crawley four years ago and inherited a set of wooden patio doors leading from the lounge to the garden. Not only were they unsightly, they did not work properly, as Andrew explains; “I think we only ever opened them once as it took nearly a week to do and another week to close them again! They were good at keeping the weather out, mainly because we could not get them open – so they had to go.”
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For many people, customer service is a major factor when making a purchase or deciding on a supplier. It certainly was for David Brewer and his wife when they were looking for doors and a window to put into their new kitchen extension; and given the bespoke nature of the window they were looking for, it is not surprising.
After nine years of living in their detached home in Newton Abbot, Devon, David and his wife wanted to create a much bigger kitchen space, one that was warm and airy, with lots of light. In particular, they wanted a very large window putting in that would become something of a feature. They also wanted a set of doors that opened out onto the patio so they could enjoy full access to the garden in good weather.
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As Vufold customers go, Paul Rixon is one of our more unusual ones. Paul is a building contractor from Sidcup in Kent and over the years has fitted several Vufold bi-folding doors for his customers.
Four years ago, Paul and his wife Norma moved into a semi-detached house in Sidcup, which had undergone substantial renovation and extension work. As you might expect from a couple designing their new dream home, Paul had ideas of his own which included the building of a snooker room where he could indulge in his favoured game. However, when it came down to planning the layout, it was Paul’s designer that suggested bi-fold doors, as Paul explains.
In 2011 Barry Jessel and his family moved into a 1930’s semi-detached house in Witney, Oxfordshire knowing that it needed a fair bit of TLC (tender loving care) to get it looking how they planned.
The previous owners had knocked through the downstairs living room to the dining room and added a new kitchen at the back of the house. This created a very long space which they then divided by inserting patio two doors between the living room and the kitchen. Barry and his wife set about turning the house into their dream home.
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According to the adage, good things come to those who wait. In Laura Ingram’s case, it was a three-year wait that was well worth it when she finally had her external bi-fold doors fitted in the Spring of 2016.
When Laura and her family moved into their three-bedroom semi-detached house in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales they inherited a set of old and broken patio doors that opened onto a decking area at the back of the house. Laura knew from the off what she wanted – a new set of bi-folding doors – but that meant doing some saving up before she could have her ideal.
They say that recommendation is the best advice to take when deciding on a purchase; for Andy from Cambridgeshire that certainly proved to be the case when he invested in Vufold’s bi-fold doors.
In the Spring of 2016 Andy and his wife, who live in a 1930’s semi-detached house with their two young children, were coming to the end of a renovation project on their home. They had knocked through the existing old garage into the small kitchen area to create a kitchen-diner that afforded them much more space and comfort. It was at this point that their builder sprung a surprise on them with a suggestion they had never consider, as Andy explains.
At Vufold we pride ourselves on putting the customer first and in making things as easy as possible for them, but it’s not very often that our efforts reap the praise we got from Ada and Gordon Shears after they fitted a three door set of our Finesse interior bi-folding doors in 2015.
The couple live together in the same semi-detached home in Hartlepool that they have occupied since 1976. In 2015 they decided on changes to the home that required planning permission. Ada and Gordon liked the idea of having a big open space from the new porch which housed the front door through to the hallway and staircase leading upstairs. However, to comply with building regulations they were told they needed to install another door between the front door and the hall.
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Kurt Lyall is one of our many customers who enjoy the challenge and satisfaction of completing a DIY project. So when it came to the redesign of the interior of his detached country house in Pulborough, West Sussex he was fairly chomping at the bit.
One of the big problems Kurt was confronted with was that the kitchen faced due north, meaning it got very little natural daylight. On the other side of the house, the south-facing lounge had a large glass fronted wall looking out over the garden.
“The solution seemed obvious to me really. If I knocked the dividing wall out, it would allow the light from the lounge to break through into the kitchen."
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Brendan Phelan and his fiancée love their converted Edwardian flat in Streatham, south London so much so that when they found out they were expecting their second child they decided the best thing to do was expand the property out into the garden.
The plan was to create a new lounge and bedroom, both of which would look out onto the relatively large garden that receives the afternoon sun. Being very conscious of the modern and stylish appearance they both wanted, the couple started looking at bi-fold doors and in particular at ones with crisp clean lines and contemporary finishes to complete the 40 square metres of additional living space they created in the summer of 2014.
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When it comes to managing the adding of a new extension to your home forward planning is the key, as Tom Chicken who lives just outside Newbury in Berkshire found out.
For several years Tom and his wife had dreamt of having an open plan kitchen-diner that seamlessly connected the house to the patio and garden, so when they moved into a new family home with their two young boys, they set about doing their homework in preparation for having a full width extension built at the back of their semi-detached home.
Having already settled on having bi-fold doors in order to create a free-flowing downstairs living area, they started looking online at all the different UK suppliers.
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Simon Talbot and his wife Leanne are very fond of entertaining, having family and friends round for barbecues and generally enjoying a good social life in their home in Hednesford, Staffordshire. When the couple decided to add an extension to their four bedroom detached home to extend the kitchen and create a wet room they knew exactly what they wanted.
The couple paid a visit to Grand Designs at the Birmingham NEC where they discovered the Vufold stand and the solution to how they wanted the extension to look.
"We had the plans drawn up but felt there was something missing, it was then that we realised we wanted a wide open space that lead from the kitchen area to outside."
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In early 2014 Harriet Brown and her family who live in Bromley, Kent, decided that it would be best if Harriet’s mother moved in with them so she could have the care she needed. The Victorian semi-detached house they all shared was not quite large enough so Harriet hit on a plan to build a bedroom-cum-lounge at the back of the house which has local listed status.
“We wanted mum to be with us but have her own space as well. She was very keen to be able to see our landscaped garden from her room and enjoy the option of having the doors open or closed dependent on the weather. We looked at a number of options but in the end decided that bi-fold doors afforded the best solution as they should be able to provide an uninterrupted view through the glass and open fully to allow mum to feel like she was actually in the garden from the comfort of her own room,” says Harriet.
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Peter and Sandi Richmond-Swift own a four bedroom detached house in Waterlooville which used to have an old wooden conservatory attached to the dining room. The couple decided they wanted more space and an improved modern look that complemented both their aesthetic decorative tastes and their lifestyles, as Peter explains.
“The old conservatory was past its sell-by date and did not give us the room we wanted. We do quite a lot of entertaining and really wanted to be able to open up the dining room so we could extend the table out into the conservatory. The old doors that led into the conservatory were the sliding type and only opened on one side, so we could not do that; in the end we decided that we needed a new, larger conservatory and to do something that would give us a fully open eight foot space with no door threshold.”
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What do you do when you realise that the addition of a conservatory does not provide you with an integrated and fluid part of your home, but an annex that does not get used as much as it should?
That was the challenge facing Vikesh Patel and his family in Leicester – and the solution they came up with has given them a lovely home.
Vikesh and his family bought the new build house 14 years ago, and like many families found that they wanted more space as the family grew, so seven years later they added a standard conservatory to one side of the house. The problem they found was that, as nice as it was, it became an in-and-out room as there was no other connection to different living areas.
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All home renovation projects come with a budget and sometimes it just won't stretch to what you want. That was the case with Carina and Raymond Brackett from Cheshunt in Hertfordshire.
After having a conservatory built onto their semi-detached house a few years ago, they were left with the unsatisfactory sight of the old external patio doors, which once opened up into the garden, now separating their lovely dining room from the conservatory.
"We were never really satisfied with leaving the old-fashioned sliding patio doors in place but we just could not afford to replace them at the time. However, we were determined to do something about it when we could and in 2014 we set about looking for replacements."
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Pat and Len Clayton from Chorley in Lancashire love their bungalow but they wanted to increase the living area so they could have two lounges; one for the TV and a quiet one for reading and conversation with family and friends.
When the extension to the back of the bungalow was completed in the summer of 2013 they decided to install an eight foot set of Vufold Finesse room dividers instead of separating the two rooms with solid walls; that way they could create a light living area and still have privacy when needed...
“It’s worked really very well for us. When the doors are closed you can’t hear anything from the TV room at all so it’s lovely and quiet in the other lounge."
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Optimising living space in a home is always a challenge, but Paul Griffiths and his family found that installing bi-fold doors was the perfect solution for their 1950’s semi-detached house in the village of Wall Heath in the West Midlands.
Two years ago Paul, a very keen and capable DIY man, decided he needed to do something about problems the family experienced in having an open connection from the dining room to the conservatory.
Paul explains the situation. “In the summer it was fine but as soon as the weather turned cold or it rained we had problems. The drop in the temperature from the conservatory went through to the dining room making it cold and when it rained the sound of it drumming on the glass roof was too loud to bear."
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When Lisa and Chris bought their dream bungalow in the village of Churton just outside Chester, they knew they were embarking on a major project to get it just as they wanted.
“The bungalow was set out all back-to-front” says Lisa, “the living room was at the front from where you could not see the beautiful garden, so we set about knocking three rooms into one at the back so we could enjoy the views and have a living room full of light.”
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Over 30 years ago Bill Watt and his wife moved into, what was essentially, a cluster of barns in the delightful village of Broad Campden tucked away in The Cotswolds. Bill and his family converted building after building until they had a set of living spaces, workshops and utility rooms that were, in the main, connected to each other.
In 2012, with the children having fled the nest (after what Bill admits was a life of living on a building site) Bill set about the final project to connect the house to his workshop.
"We had looked at the idea of having a conservatory built between the two buildings but we needed to make sure we had full access from the front of the grounds to the back where we have a half acre field that needs maintenance."
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After seven years of living in the family home in Hawarden in Flintshire, North Wales Richard Lockett and his wife Jill realised it was time to increase the downstairs living space. Working within the permitted development rights for a single story extension to the back of the house, appropriate plans were submitted while Richard and Jill spent time deciding on what they wanted in terms of access to the garden area and the new kitchen - dining - living area.
Richard explains the thinking behind the development. “We had looked at a conservatory but realised we could have an extension almost the full width of the house for the same price."
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Every so often a house contains a room that creates a problem all of its own. Linda Stokes and her husband Derek experienced this conundrum at their home in Kington Magna in Dorset, as Linda explains.
“We had two reception rooms downstairs that shared a dividing wall. The smaller one lead out to the back of the house onto which we built an extension. When the kids were smaller they used the small one as a play room but as they got older it became something of a dumping ground for all sorts of things. After some while I became frustrated at the poor use of the space so we decided to knock the wall through and create a flexible area that would open up the living quarters.”
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Jayne Sullivan has some strong advice for anyone thinking about making their house open plan – “never underestimate how the noise and heating will impact on the open living area.”
The mother of two from Macclesfield in Cheshire can back up her advice with some salient experience. In 2012 Jayne and her husband Dan wanted to dramatically enhance their classic 1930’s semi by changing the downstairs living areas.
“We wanted to open up the space to create greater connectivity. The downstairs rooms were all quite small so the plan was to knock through the kitchen, dining room and one of the lounges."
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When Alvan Ikoku saw his friend’s personal cinema in his converted garage in September 2011 he was inspired to create his own. What he did not realise at the time was that the whole project would take nearly two years to complete and would end up including a Japanese themed garden.
“I was round at my friend Graham’s house when we got to talking about storage and where he keeps his stuff. He took me to his double garage, one of which was crammed with the usual stuff. The other had a cinema screen, seats and everything. As soon as I saw it I thought ‘I’ve gotta have one of those’,” says Alvan.
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When Gary and Sue Brooks brought their dream second home, a 17th century cottage just off the north Cornish coast they knew they would face a few restrictions with plans to add on a day room looking out over the garden.
The cottage is covered by conservation regulations, which means they can only use hardwood doors and windows. “We had no problem with that,” says Gary “but the last thing you want in an exposed area is wood that is open to the elements, which is why we opted for the Vufold Master range. The fact that it comes already painted in the white that we wanted was perfect for our needs.”
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Our customers often have the odd challenge we can help with; but the one Alan and Tania Waterland from Wiltshire faced was a fairly big one that was beyond anyone’s control.
Several years ago the couple purchased a 1970’s property overlooking an area of outstanding natural beauty in the Wiltshire countryside. They planned to demolish the old house and build a purpose built and designed dream home of their own – then the recession hit and all plans were off.
Undaunted Alan and Tania moved to Plan B, which involved a total renovation and modernisation of the house. Working to a new budget the couple set about creating the home they both wanted.
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Ralph Cohen and his wife from Edgeware, London found that when it comes to installing external bi-fold doors planning really is the key factor to making things go smoothly.
In 2013 the couple had an extension built to increase the size of their kitchen and knew that they wanted to put in bi-fold doors, which is why they attended the Grand Designs show in 2012 so they could have the opportunity of seeing the doors first-hand and decide on exactly which ones they wanted.
After discussing price and quality options with the Vufold team on the stand at Grand Designs the couple ordered a seven foot set of the Vufold Ultra range and took the dimensions home to pass on to the builders.
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After Tracy and Graham Talbot’s two children had grown and flown the family nest the couple decided to downsize and bought a converted barn in Denbigh, north Wales. Tracy had a clear vision of the new home having lots of glass to let light in and wood to give a homely feel.
“The barn conversion already had lots of wood and I wanted to carry that through to the doors we wanted on external walls. We weren’t sure if we wanted French doors or bi-folding ones so we went to the Grand Designs Exhibition in London to compare the two styles. As soon as we saw the Vufold Prestige doors we knew they were the ones, they looked perfect and exactly what we needed,” says Tracy.
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During the working week, Steve Walters from Oldham works as a Service Engineer on Medical Imaging equipment. In his spare time he likes to turn his hand to a range of DIY projects and when he and his wife had an old conservatory taken down and a new sun room built in its place, Steve fancied the job of putting in some internal bi-fold doors to separate it off from the lounge area.
“We looked around for the type and style we wanted but it was only Vufold and its Inspire range that suited us as we wanted ones without a bottom runner so we could walk from one room to the other with no problems. They are also the only ones we could find that fold right back leaving the widest possible gap,” says Steve.
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At the end of 2012 Izabela Galkiewicz and her husband Kris decided to knock down an old extension at the back of the house in Barnet that had old French doors and build a new one with a much bigger opening for bi-fold doors.
The couple wanted to create a panoramic view from their lounge across their garden and out over the fields behind their house that form a beautiful vista.
A trip to the Grand Designs show in London left the pair with spinning heads at the choice of bi-fold doors on offer.
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Living by the sea has many plus sides to it but when it comes to maintaining a house it throws up a few problems as well. The sea air can be corrosive, so when Adam Winkler and his partner Suzanne decided to install external bi-fold doors they knew they needed to take some professional advice.
“We took out an existing 10 foot wide window in 2011 in our sea and south facing bungalow to create a lovely open look out toward the garden and further out to the sea. We were concerned about the potential damage to the bi-fold doors we wanted putting in, but when we spoke to the Vufold team about the installation and after care they were brilliant. They told us about certain treatments we could apply to the wood and how to take care of them so they stay looking as good as new,” says Adam.
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Ken Sibley is a retired printer who lives with his wife in Bexhill in Surrey in an eight year old house that had UPC sliding doors built onto the end of a conservatory.
Being a competent DIY man Ken fancied trying his hand at replacing the patio doors with bi-fold ones to improve the aspect from the lounge through the conservatory and out into the garden.
Ken sat down at his PC and began researching suppliers. “I looked around at a fair few companies but I was left with the feeling that Vufold were the people to go to. The specification on the double glazing was better than others I checked out and I really liked the look of the oak on the Elite range; so I ordered the six foot set with three doors,” says Ken.
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When Matt Lewis and his wife wanted to extend their family home in Hereford to create more space for them and their two children, they knew they wanted to put bi-fold doors on the external wall to create a lighter living area downstairs...
“When I designed the extension to have a 12 foot (3.6M) opening into which the doors would fit, our first problem was in choosing a supplier. Like many others, we surfed the Internet to look at different options but we wanted to see what the doors looked like, how they felt and opened; which is why we went to the Home and Build show at the NEC in Birmingham. There were loads of stands to choose from but the Vufold one really caught our eye, mainly because the doors looked of a higher quality than the price suggested, “Says Matt.
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In 2012 Paul Wright, his wife and son moved into a bungalow in Louth, Lincolnshire with plans to add an extension at the back. In January 2013 the extension was completed so Paul and his wife sat down at the PC and started researching bi-fold doors on the Internet.
There are a lot of suppliers when it comes to bi-fold doors but Paul says it was the help and advice they got from the Vufold team that made them decide to purchase their doors. “The support we got and the information Vufold provided was really helpful, whatever we wanted to know about they were more than happy to provide the answers,” says Paul.
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Paul and Sheila Keevil live in a converted Victorian coach house near Lingfield in Surrey. When they added an extension in 2012 they decided that they wanted to separate the dining area from the L-shaped lounge but did not want to block it off with walls.
“We knew we wanted bi-fold doors and that we had an idea about the style we wanted so we went to an exhibition at Earls Court to look at the options. The choice was totally overwhelming but it was only Vufold that had the barred and square glass that we wanted in their Edge range. We spoke with two very helpful ladies on the Vufold stand and went home to discuss it with our builder who said the dimension was tight but it was possible,” says Paul.
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Chris Forder’s ground floor extension was completed in Spring 2013 with the addition of a 4.2M set of Vufold Ultra bi-fold doors which open out onto a patio leading out to the garden.
With the doors replacing a large section of the external wall Chris was keen to make sure they were fit for purpose.
“I was really concerned about the potential heat loss with such a large area of glass but I really needed have not worried at all. The Ultra range is triple glazed and throughout the winter we had no drafts or loss of warmth – the doors have been brilliant and I love them,” says Chris who lives with his wife and two children in Cheshire.
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When Geraint Evans bought a traditional 1950’s two plot house in Cardiff it was with a view to refurbishing it to create a home and business unit for him, his wife and two teenage children. With Geraint being a Chartered Surveyor the project was always going to be done to specification and exacting quality. The family used an architect to provide drawings for the new look house that would include bi-fold doors to allow light to come into the building.
The architect specified non-standard doors which would seriously stretch the Evans’ budget so they were delighted when they attended the Grand Designs exhibition and discovered that Vufold could provide them with off-the-shelf sets that would more than meet their needs.
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Shane Hamilton and his wife have had Vufold’s Elite external doors installed in their Twickenham home for over two years now and are as happy with them now as they were when they installed them.
With their new ground floor extension increasing the kitchen area and adding a bedroom the couple wanted to, then have access straight out onto the patio area that leads onto their lawned garden. Choosing from the Vufold Elite range the couple installed a three door set in the bedroom and a five-door set leading out onto the main patio area where they sit in summer and entertain guests.
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