Choosing Handles for Internal Bi-Fold Doors

Bi-fold doors are a fantastic way to make an interior feel more spacious.  Made from a concertina of wooden panels that slide along a rail, they’ve proven exceptionally popular in recent years.

Choosing bi-fold door handles is an important part of choosing a bi-fold door.  Handles play an important cosmetic role, of course – you’ll want to pick ones that you like the look of, and which complement the surrounding décor.  But they also serve a function – you’ll be using them to actually open and close the door, and a poor choice might mean annoyance further along the line.

Let’s consider some of the available options, and see which will best fit with your internal bi-folding door.

How Do I Choose Internal Bi-Fold Door Handles?

Before we think about what bi-fold door handles to choose, let’s consider the options available.  As we’ll see, bi-fold door handles are best placed in the middle of the leading panel – which can make otherwise impeccable-looking lever-style handles look a little bit out of place.

Knobs, on the other hand, look just as good wherever they’re placed – and since you won’t need to worry about turning them, they’re an excellent choice for folding doors.  Another option comes in the form of a pull door handle, which offer an entirely different aesthetic, preferred by many.  They’re the sorts of vertical handles that you might find in public buildings, and on things like kitchen drawers.

Pro Tips

• Match the doorknob to the hardware of the door for a seamless look
• Choose a handle/hardware with a contrasting colour to the door

Where’s the Best Bi-Fold Door Handles Placement?

Your door will most likely come with areas to fix the handles, which should make it easy to install in the correct place. But if not, there are a few key points to take into consideration.

If your bifold door has a traffic door, then you’ll likely install a handle on the opening edge of the traffic door, and the opening edge of the first panel.If you’re installing a pull handle, this should only be installed on the first panel. This helps reduce the friction on the guide pins and the rail.

If your bifold doesn’t have a traffic door, then only one handle needs to be installed on the opening side of the first panel. Again, the pull handles should only be installed on the first panel after that.

It’s also worth considering height when deciding where to place bi-fold door handles.  Ensure that the handle is reachable – and roughly in the middle of the door.  Too low or high and you’ll risk placing excessive force on the guide rail.  In most cases, handles are placed 36 inches from the floor.

How Do You Fit Bi-fold Door Handles?

Fitting bi-fold door handles is typically the very last phase of the installation process.  You don’t, after all, want to have to paint around the handles – and sliding the door into the guide rail with a handle sticking out might cause problems.

As is often the case in these situations, the best way forward is to measure repeatedly before you start making permanent changes to the door.  Measure across the door 36 inches from the bottom (or wherever your preferred installation point might be).  Then mark the spot with a pencil.  Drill straight through from both sides using a 1/16” drill bit.  These are your pilot holes.  If they’re within a hair’s breadth of the markings on either side, you’re okay to expand them using a 3/16” drill.  You’ll then be able to simply slide the handles into the resulting holes.