Case Studies

Please read our customers case studies to find out how their Vufold doors and windows have enhanced their homes.

We are looking for new case studies to be added therefore if you are happy to go ahead with your own we would arrange our PR company to contact you for a brief chat, so it will only take you 5-10 minutes of your time.

Of course we don’t expect you to do this for nothing, therefore we will send you £50 for your published case study.

Just email us at marketing@vufold.co.uk to take part.

22 Sep 2017

Richard Evans writes his experiences with fitting his bifold doors

Background

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.

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08 Sep 2017

Ever wondered why designers of brand new houses don’t go that extra step to create something special?

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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31 Aug 2017

Status Aluminum Bifold Doors and Windows proved to be the perfect choice for the Pinners'

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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28 Jul 2017

How Vufold Solved an unexpected problem with a new house move

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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20 Jul 2017

Outstanding customer service was a key factor in choosing Vufold

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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07 Mar 2017

1.8M Finesse Bifold Doors split the snooker room from the kitchen

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. 

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03 Feb 2017

Finesse 3M Bifold Doors Divides the Living Room and Kitchen

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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22 Nov 2016

Was the 3 year wait for bifold doors worth it?

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.

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11 Nov 2016

A recommendation that was never considered has finished the room perfectly

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.

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07 Jul 2016

Customers bowled over by the quality of their Finesse Internal Doors

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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06 Jul 2016

DIYer easily fits his Finesse Internal Bifold Doors adding light into his Kitchen

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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14 Oct 2015

Supreme Bifold Doors create light and space between the house and garden

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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07 Oct 2015

Master Bifold Doors connects the house to the patio and garden

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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30 Sep 2015

Supreme Aluminium Bifold Doors connect the kitchen to the garden

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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23 Sep 2015

Master 2.7M Bifold Doors enhances the new bedroom-cum-lounge extension

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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18 Jun 2015

Inspire Bifold Doors, Better than Expected

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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04 Jun 2015

Finesse doors installed to separate the conservatory and kitchen-diner

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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18 May 2015

Old Patio Doors replaced with Vufold's Inspire Bifold Doors

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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13 May 2015

2 Sets of Finesse 1.8M Folding Sliding Room Divider Doors

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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30 Mar 2015

Inspire 2.4M Connects Dinning room with Conservatory

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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11 Mar 2015

Elite 2.7M Bifold doors enhance bungalow

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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03 Dec 2014

2 Sets of Ultra Bifold Doors Creates Greenhouse Effect

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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03 Sep 2014

3 Sets of Ultra Bi-fold Doors

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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25 Jul 2014

2.4M Inspire Room Divider Flat Folding Doors

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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24 Jul 2014

3M Finesse Made to Measure Version Controls Open Plan Noise

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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22 Jul 2014

3.6M Prestige External Doors enhance cinema room

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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16 Jun 2014

Day Room with 3.6M Master External Folding Door

When Gary and Sue Brooks brought their dream second home, a 17^th 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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16 Jun 2014

4 Sets of Ultra External Bifold Doors

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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12 Jun 2014

A set of 2.1M Ultra Bifold Doors in the kitchen

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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02 Jun 2014

2 sets of Prestige 1.8M Folding Sliding Doors

 

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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30 May 2014

Inspire 1.8M internal folding room divider door connecting sun room to lounge

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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22 May 2014

A set of Elite 4.8M Bifolding Doors

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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22 May 2014

2 sets of Elite Bifolding Doors

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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16 May 2014

Elite 1.8M Bifoilding Door Set replacing a UPC sliding door

Ken Sibley is a retried 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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15 May 2014

A set of 3.6M Ultra Bifold Doors

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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15 May 2014

2 sets of Elite 2.4M Bifolding Doors

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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15 May 2014

A Set of Edge 3M Folding Room Divider Doors

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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14 May 2014

A set of 4.8M Ultra Bifold Doors

Chris Forder’s ground floor extension was completed in Spring 2013 with the addition of a 14ft 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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14 May 2014

Prestige 3.6M & 8ft Real Oak Folding Sliding Doors

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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14 May 2014

4.8M & 1.8M sets of the Elite Bifolding doors

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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