How to Install a Bi-Fold Door

We will work with the idea that you have your doors and have measured the opening of the area you wish to place the doors in. Most doors come in standard sizes, 24″,32″,36″ and so forth. If you have a odd sized opening make sure you buy a door that states it can be changed to fit, other wise you will be making lots of trips back and forth. The old saying measure twice and cut once, stands true in all areas of home improvements and building.

Normally your will need the following tools:
-Cordless drill or corded
-Hack Saw (Most of the time the track these doors are supported by and move on are metal)
-drill bit(can be optional)
-Standard screw driver
-Phillips screw driver
-Tape Measure
-Pencil

Now, make sure the opening you want to put this door in is free from cluter and regular obstructions as these doors pull out towards and over to the side. If you already have not done so, remove the old door and all of its hardware. Now, if you are replacing a damaged Bi-folding door to begin with, here is your chance to save time. If you can find the same door the track will probably be the same, so then all you would have to do is apply the roller hardware to the top of the new doors and insert them. That would be it and your done.

For those who are not as fortunate take out your tape and measure the top of the opening. Remember measure twice and cut once. The track needs to fit the opening from side to side. You can be alittle short or have a small gap in each side as this will not hurt anything. Now, a small gap is about the thickness of a quarter or coin. Now, before you cut your track look at the mounting holes on the track. Try to make sure you have holes close to each end of the track, some times this will require a small cut made on each end to get your holes and length right. The door can sag if the track is not supported close enough to the edges.

Take the track and hold it in the opening to make sure it fits. Mark the holes in the top support of the opening. You can now take and pre-drill the holes for the mounting screws. Make sure the drill bit is smaller then the mounting screws. If you don’t have a drill bit just take your time and have someone hold the track up and put the screws in with the cordless drill or hand held screw driver. The track should be centered from front to back in the opening. Be careful as to not have the drill set to high and spin out your screws or break them. Also, make sure according to the door company or hardware as you look at and see if it has to be in the track before you screw it in.

Depending on when you have to hang the doors, place the hardware on the top of the doors at the edges or sides of each door. Once these are installed, mount the pull handle in the center of either the left or right door on the inner edge where the two doors meet. Remember, these doors pull out towards you and slide to the side on the track. Also the above is when the the two doors that make a bi-folding door are attached to each other by hinges. If not install hinges now. Most will have one hinge mounted in the center of each door on the inside. Now, if the doors need to be placed in the track at this point, get the help of another if you can and angle the door out towards you and slip the top hardware into the track.

There, you now have installed a bi-folding door.