Bi-fold door security and safety FAQs

{"pageStyle":"","cssClass":"advice-article-2712","articleTitle":"Safety and Security FAQs","strapline":null,"straplineColour":"white","desktopBannerUrl":null,"desktopBannerWidth":0,"desktopBannerHeight":0,"tabletLandscapeBannerUrl":null,"tabletPortraitBannerUrl":null,"mobileBannerUrl":null,"carouselImageUrls":[],"featureBullets":[],"shareThisUrl":"/advice-centre/safety-and-security-faqs","useHttpForShareThisUrl":true,"articleBody":"<p>Anyone looking to buy a set of bi-fold doors wants the assurance of knowing that the doors will keep their home, belongings and family safe and secure.</p><p>On this page, we look at how door manufacturers treat security and safety as their highest priority and incorporate it into their designs.</p><p><strong>Click a link below to jump to the relevant section:</strong></p><ul><li><a href=\"#security1\">Security FAQs</a><ul style=\"margin-bottom: 10px!important;\"><li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><a href=\"#security2\">General security features</a></li><li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><a href=\"#security3\">Locks and locking systems</a></li><li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><a href=\"#security4\">Handles</a></li><li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><a href=\"#security5\">Hinges</a></li></ul></li><li><a href=\"#security6\">Safety FAQs</a><ul><li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><a href=\"#security7\">Glazing</a></li><li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><a href=\"#security8\">Childproof features</a></li></ul></li></ul><h2 style=\"font-size: 36px!important;\" id=\"security1\">Security FAQs</h2><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important; font-weight: bold;\" id=\"security2\">General security features</h3><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important;\">How secure are bi-fold doors? What features should I be looking for?</h3><p>Bi-fold doors are engineered with security in mind. The best-quality bi‑folds have certain features that set them apart from lesser products in terms of the high level of security and safety they provide.</p><p>These features include:</p><ul><li>a multi-point locking system</li><li>a secure door lock</li><li>a heavy-duty handle and hinges</li><li>toughened glass</li></ul><p>Some people fear that bi-fold doors make homes more vulnerable to break-ins because of the amount of glass they incorporate&mdash;the idea being that this is somehow less secure.</p><p>However, this simply isn&rsquo;t true. It&rsquo;s been demonstrated that bi-folds made by reputable door companies are typically much harder to break into than many French doors and sliding doors.</p><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important; font-weight: bold;\" id=\"security3\">Locks and locking systems</h3><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important;\">How do bi-fold doors lock?</h3><p>Most bi-fold doors have a <strong>multi-point locking system</strong> built in to the traffic door. What this means is that they lock at more than one point around the frame&mdash;the most common systems have three or five points, while <a href=\"https://origin-global.com/doors/bi-fold-doors\">Origin bi-fold doors</a> employ a unique eight-point locking system, for added security (see the image below).</p><p><img src=\"https://origin-global.com/Media/Default/advice%20centre/multi%20point%20locking%20system72.jpg\" style=\"width: 30%; float: left; margin-right: 30px;\" /></p><p>Multi-point locking systems are really easy to operate. First, you lift the handle to engage the locking points, then you turn the key (or thumbturn) to move the security hooks of the locking system into place.</p><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important;\">Can you lock bi-fold doors from outside?</h3><p>Yes, but the lock on the outside will be one you&rsquo;ll need to operate with a key.</p><p>Inside your home, you&rsquo;ll be able to engage the locks using the handle and the key (or the internal thumbturn, if you specified this as an optional extra when buying the doors).</p><p>You may be able to request that your doors have no external lock, but bear in mind this would stop you using the doors to gain access to your home from outside.</p><p></p><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important;\">What type of lock do bi-fold doors use?</h3><p>Locks commonly found on bi-fold doors include the following:</p><h4>Cylinder lock (barrel lock)</h4><ul><li>A keyhole and pin-and-tumbler mechanism inside a cylinder (barrel). Different-sized pins in the lock stop it from being turned without the correct key.</li><li>Many cylinder locks are designed to meet British Standards and are put through rigorous testing to ensure they can resist common housebreaking techniques such as picking, bumping, drilling or snapping.</li><li>Some cylinder locks even incorporate magnetic coding, where a special key is used to turn rotors with strong magnets inside the barrel.</li><li>Look for locks that are accredited&mdash;some carry a Kitemark&mdash;and are recognised by home insurance providers as being highly secure.</li></ul><h4>Deadbolt</h4><ul><li>Most deadbolts use a cylinder lock.</li><li>Typically, there are three types of deadbolt:<ul><li>Single cylinder&mdash;key cylinder on the outside of the house, thumbturn on the inside</li><li>Double cylinder&mdash;key cylinder on the inside and outside</li><li>Lockable thumbturn&mdash;thumbturn on the inside that can be locked with a key</li></ul></li></ul><h4>Twin-point lock</h4><ul><li>Where turning the handle operates locks at the top and bottom of the door panel, holding the doors in place.</li></ul><h4>Drop bolts</h4><ul><li>Normally used as an auxiliary lock rather than a door&rsquo;s main lock.</li><li>The body of the lock and the strike plate interlock like a door hinge with special pins. When closed, the lock essentially becomes one unit and is very difficult to separate.</li></ul><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important;\">Can I adjust the locking system on my bi-fold doors?</h3><p>If your bi-fold doors aren&rsquo;t locking or closing with a smooth operation, you might have come to the conclusion that there&rsquo;s an issue with the multi-point locking system. However, it&rsquo;s more likely that the problem has arisen because the doors have fallen out of alignment with the tracking mechanism and simply need adjusting.</p><p>Read more about adjusting bi-fold doors on our page <a href=\"https://origin-global.com/advice-centre/bi-fold-doors-operation-maintenance-and-troubleshooting-common-issues\">Operation, maintenance and troubleshooting common issues</a></p><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important; font-weight: bold;\" id=\"security4\">Door handles</h3><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important;\">What makes bi-fold door handles secure?</h3><p>The handle has long been considered one of the weakest parts of a door, and the component that many burglars seek to exploit when attempting to break in to people&rsquo;s homes.</p><p>To be secure, a door handle must be able to withstand sheer brute force, as anyone looking to gain illegal entry to a property will more often than not employ this method.</p><p>High-quality bi-fold doors typically incorporate handles with the following security features:</p><ul><li>A solid-cast body secured with hardened metal bolts</li><li>A cylinder guard to cover the lock</li><li>A rotating cylinder shield to protect the barrel from being drilled</li><li>A chamfered backplate to stop thieves detaching the handle with mole-grips or clamps</li><li>Flexing ball joints that stop fixing screws from being broken off</li></ul><p>These handles will also have undergone special strength tests to demonstrate that they can resist hundreds of pounds of force without breaking.</p><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important; font-weight: bold;\" id=\"security5\">Door hinges</h3><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important;\">Do hinges weaken the security of exterior doors?</h3><p>Because hinges are typically positioned outside the home, they can be more vulnerable to burglars looking to break in&mdash;more so if they are also worn, damaged or poor-quality.</p><p>For this reason, door manufacturers design their bi-fold hinges so there&rsquo;s little opportunity for potential housebreakers to exploit them.</p><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important;\">How do hinges keep bi-fold doors secure?</h3><p>A secure set of hinges is one which is made out of some kind of strong metal&mdash;like zinc, for example&mdash;and equipped with special bolts and screws that make it much more difficult for the doors to be levered off the hinges.</p><p>Hinges made of strong material are also able to better withstand damage caused through bad weather.</p><h2 style=\"font-size: 36px!important;\" id=\"security6\">Safety FAQs</h2><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important; font-weight: bold;\" id=\"security7\">Glazing</h3><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important;\">How safe is bi-fold door glass?</h3><p>It's now a legal requirement that bi-fold doors are installed with toughened safety glass as standard. Combine this with double or triple glazed panes and you have glass that&rsquo;s extremely robust, difficult to break, and very secure and safe.</p><p>As glazing beads hold the glass in place, this stops potential burglars removing it from the outside and gaining entry to the property, providing added security.</p><p>Read more about double and triple glazing for bi-folds <a href=\"https://origin-global.com/advice-centre/double-or-triple-glazing-which-is-the-right-choice-for-your-bi-fold-doors\">here</a></p><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important;\">What types of safety glass do bi-fold doors use?</h3><p>Because bi-fold doors are mostly glazing, the glass needs to be very strong and shatterproof. As noted above, aluminium doors generally come with toughened glass as standard, but there&rsquo;s also the option of laminated glass, if enhancing the security of your doors is a top priority.</p><p>We explain the difference between these two types of glass below.</p><table style=\"margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 10px; width: 100%;\"><tbody><tr><th style=\"background-color: #196889; color: #fff; padding: 14px; border: 3px solid #fff; font-size: 22px; width: 50%;\">Toughened glass</th><th style=\"background-color: #196889; color: #fff; padding: 14px; border: 3px solid #fff; font-size: 22px;\">Laminated glass</th></tr><tr><td style=\"background-color: #e8e8e8; padding: 20px; border: 3px solid #fff;\"><ul style=\"margin-bottom: 0px!important;\"><li>Made by heating ordinary glass in a very hot furnace then cooling it quickly</li><li>Hardens the glass and makes it up to five times more durable</li><li>Less likely to break if struck or exposed to extreme temperatures</li><li>If it does break, shatters into small, blunt pieces rather than long, sharp shards</li></ul></td><td style=\"background-color: #e8e8e8; padding: 20px; border: 3px solid #fff;\"><ul style=\"margin-bottom: 0px!important;\"><li>Made by sandwiching a plastic interlayer between two thin panes of glass under heat and pressure</li><li>The plastic acts as a glue that bonds the two panes together</li><li>If the glass breaks, the tough interlayer holds it in place&mdash;there&rsquo;s no hole or shattering into pieces on the floor</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Both types of glass are designed not to shatter into sharp and dangerous fragments if they break.</p><p>While toughened glass is used in all bi-fold doors, laminated glass is considered an even better option thanks to its thicker, layered structure, which makes it more shock-resistant and able to better withstand damage. And as an added bonus, it makes the doors more energy efficient too.</p><p>However, because laminated glass is heavier, it can only be employed in bi-fold doors made of aluminium, as their door frames are strong enough to support the added weight.</p><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important; font-weight: bold;\" id=\"security8\">Childproof features</h3><h3 style=\"font-size: 25px!important;\">How do you childproof bifold doors?</h3><p>Some bi-fold doors&mdash;including Origin&rsquo;s&mdash;are fitted with &ldquo;finger safe&rdquo; gaskets. These act as a cushion if a child&mdash;or indeed an adult&mdash;gets his or her fingers caught between door and jamb.</p><p>Also, many bi-fold doors have:</p><ul><li>roller systems designed to stop children trapping their fingers in the sliding mechanism</li><li>a magnetic catch (also called a magnetic keep) that holds the doors securely in place while opened</li></ul><p>It&rsquo;s these features that give homeowners with young families complete peace of mind that their children will be safe around the doors.</p><h2 style=\"font-size: 36px!important;\">Related content</h2><p><a href=\"https://origin-global.com/advice-centre/secured-by-design-faqs\">Secured by Design FAQs</a></p><p><a href=\"https://origin-global.com/advice-centre/your-guide-to-choosing-high-quality-bi-fold-doors\">How to identify high-quality bi-fold doors&mdash;materials, components, security features and more</a></p><p><a href=\"https://origin-global.com/advice-centre/aluminium-bi-fold-doors\">Aluminium bi-fold doors&mdash;a buyer's guide</a></p>","youTubeVideoId":null,"audioUrl":null,"authorName":"Drew Blackburn","authorThumbnail":"/Media/Default/advice%20centre/Drew%20Blackburn.jpg","authorDescription":"Drew Blackburn is the Procurement Manager at Origin. Having worked at Origin for over 5 years, Drew is responsible for procurement processes for Origin from materials used in the production line to internal equipment.","currentCategoryId":5364,"currentCategory":"FAQs","currentCategoryUrl":"/advice-centre/category/bi-fold-doors/faqs","otherCategoryArticles":[],"relatedArticles":[{"title":"How to identify high-quality bi-fold doors—materials, components, security features and more","thumbnail":"/Media/Default/advice%20centre/choosing-guide-header.jpg","url":"/advice-centre/your-guide-to-choosing-high-quality-bi-fold-doors","id":3726,"hasVideo":false},{"title":"Secured by Design FAQs","thumbnail":"/Media/Default/advice%20centre/black%20aluminium%20bi%20fold%20doors.jpg","url":"/advice-centre/secured-by-design-faqs","id":7687,"hasVideo":false}],"level1CategoryId":5361,"level2CategoryId":5364,"customJavaScript":null,"googleChartId":null,"googleChartOptions":null,"googleChartData":null,"htmlTitle":"Bi-fold door security and safety FAQs | Origin","metaDescription":" High-quality bi-fold doors provide excellent security. Learn more about the different features that make bi-folds invulnerable to intruders and safe to operate.","url":"/advice-centre/safety-and-security-faqs"}