CRF Services Ltd

Internal bifold door installation and sliding doors

Internal bifold doors and sliding doors save space where a swinging door would hit a bed, block a hallway or eat into a small room. CRF Services Ltd fits internal bifold doors, sliding doors on surface tracks and pocket doors that slide into the wall, in homes across Rochester and Medway. This page is about internal doors only; external bifolds and patio doors are not part of this service.

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Bifold doors inside the house

An internal bifold door is made of two or more leaves hinged together that fold back on themselves as they open, running on a track at the top. They suit wide openings between a kitchen and dining room, cupboards and utility areas where a single door would be too big to swing. Because the weight hangs from the top track, the head of the opening has to be straight and solid, so the lining is checked and packed level before the track goes in.

Bifold kits come in standard sizes, so the opening often needs adjusting to suit. A new lining, or reducing the width with timber, is usually part of the job, followed by architrave to finish.

Sliding doors on a track

Surface mounted sliding doors, often called barn style doors, hang from a rail fixed above the opening and slide along the face of the wall. They need a clear stretch of wall beside the opening at least as wide as the door, with no switches or radiators in the way. The rail needs a strong fixing along its length, so on a stud wall a timber header is often added behind the plaster first.

At the bottom, a small guide keeps the door from swinging out. Some systems use a floor guide screwed down beside the door; others run in a channel cut into the bottom of the door, so nothing sits on the floor in front of it. A door with a bottom channel needs routing along its full length, which is done before the door is hung.

Internal bifold doors on a top track
Surface mounted sliding doors with a wall rail
Sliding doors running on a bottom channel guide
Pocket doors sliding into a stud wall cavity
Cupboard and wardrobe sliding doors

Pocket doors

A pocket door slides into a steel and timber cassette built inside the wall, so when it is open the door disappears completely. It is the neatest space saver, but it means opening up or building the wall beside the doorway to fit the cassette, then boarding and finishing it. Nothing heavy can be fixed to that section of wall afterwards, and any cables or pipes have to be rerouted. It suits a new stud wall or a renovation better than a quick door change.

Choosing the right option

Think about how often the door is used, how much wall is free beside it, and whether you need privacy or just separation. Bifolds suit wide openings, sliding doors suit spaces with clear wall to one side, and pocket doors suit rooms where every bit of wall space matters. A standard hinged door remains the most soundproof choice, and is covered on the internal door fitting page.

What affects the cost

The type of door system, whether the opening needs a new lining or adjusting, the wall construction above and beside the opening, and the finish all change the price. Pocket doors cost more because of the wall work involved. The cost to hang a door guide explains how standard door fitting is priced, and bifold and sliding systems are quoted individually after a look at the opening.

How to book

Send a photo of the opening, its width and height, and the door system you are considering through the contact page. This work is part of the carpentry service.

This work is part of our Carpentry service.

Common questions