Removing an old bifold closet door can require a little effort. Most doors are hollow core, so they do not weigh a great deal. There is a little bit of a trick to taking them out, with a little help, it only takes a couple of minutes.

Not sure if you need to remove the door? See the article 'Troubleshooting Bifold Doors' to find out what you need to do. See 'How To Fix Doors' for a listing of all the door topics.

Understanding how a bifold door works will help a lot when it comes to removing it.

How Bifold Closet Doors Work

The name bifold implies that the door folds, which it does. A bifold has two door leaves or slabs that are held together with hinges. The two slabs fold together to open the closet door.

The slab that is closest to the door jamb on the pivot side has a pin at the top and a pin at the bottom that the door turns on. The top pivot pin is spring loaded so that the door can be lifted up.

Removing a Bifold Safely

A 36" pair of doors may weigh around 30 to 40 lbs. They can be a little awkward, since they need to be lifted and then tipped out. So consider getting some help. Follow the steps below to remove the door.

(1) You can open the pair of doors or one of the two pairs if it is a double door. If you have help, try to get one person on each side of the door, one towards the closet and the other person in the room. Grab the pair of doors on the sides keeping them together.

(2) Lift up on the pair of doors. You will only be lifting them approximately three quarters of an inch, so don't expect to make a dramatic change in the location of the door. Once the door is lifted, you shouls be able to swing the bottom of the door toward the center of the closet.

(3) Tilt the door out of the opening. Be careful not to drag the bottom of the door across the floor. There is a metal pin in it and it will scratch the flooring or damaged the carpeting. Lay the door on a pair of saw horses or lean it against the wall. Best to set it on a piece of cardboard.

Yes, that's all there is to it, do you see why bifold doors are popular. For a four panel door take the other pair out the same way.

At this point you will need to make a decision. The top track and brackets at the floor may be very similar to the new ones that you will be installing. Your choice, whether you want to leave the old ones in place. So removing an old bifold door does not need to include taking out the track.

You have gone to the trouble of installing bifold doors, so we will assume you are going with all new parts. Unscrew the top track and the bottom brackets and remove them. Discard the old door slabs and hardware.

Summary

So you can see that it is not that hard to remove a bifold door. Next you want to complete whatever tasks you needed to do and the set the door back in place. See the article 'Installing a Bifold Door' for instructions on getting it back in place and the article 'Adjusting a Bifold Door' for instructions on aligning it correctly.

Installing bifold doors is fairly easy, as long as the opening is the right size for them. When you are taking out an old set of bifolds it is not too much of a problem. Replacing bifolds in an opening that had another style of door may be an issue. See the article 'Bifold Door Sizes' for more information.

Homes built in the last three or four decades are likely to have bifold doors installed in them. Bifold doors are inexpensive and easy to install making them popular with builders. You may have several bifold doors in your home. With repeated use the doors can get out of alignment and hardware can wear out.

Assuming that you have openings that are the right size, you can install an new bifold door in an afternoon. Check out the rest of the information in this series to see if this is something you want to tackle.

Installing Bifold Doors - Information

New doors range in price from about $50 to $150. Hiring someone to install if for you could run $75 to $175, or more. Since we are talking about replacing the bifold door, the savings is in the installation and the mark up on the material.

Installing a bifold door is not that hard. With a little patience you can deal with most or all of the possible issues.

Are you sure you need to replace the door? Adjusting and lubricating may get the door working properly again. See the article 'Repairing Bifold Doors' for more information.

The biggest potential problem is the door not fitting in the opening. Both height and width will be a considerations. See the article 'Bifold Door Sizes' to see if you are a candidate for a new bifold. You will want to get most of the items out of the closet before you begin. Setting the doors involves tipping the panels.

Purchasing a Bifold Door

Before purchasing a bifold door, you want to do is verify the size you need. Both width and height matter when it comes to a bifold door. You won't get very far with your installing bifold doors project if the door won't fit.

Take a look at the article 'Bifold Door Sizes', for information on correctly sizing your door. Does it look like a bifold door will fit? Good, you can move forward to actually purchasing the bifold door.

There are a lot of options when it comes to purchasing a bifold door. Flush doors, embossed doors, louvered doors, unfinished and pre-finished are just a few of the things you want to consider. Likely, you will want to match the doors you already have in your home. Matching pre-finished doors may be a little challenging.

You may not be able to find every size, style and finish in stock. Depending on your needs, you may need to order your door. Doors that are unfinished or primed should be finished before you install them. It is a lot easier to paint or stain a door on a bench.

Installing Bifold Door Hardware

You start installing bifold door track by laying it out in the opening. The track and the bottom bracket determine the levelness of the door in the opening.

Take a look at the instructions and verify the alignment of the tracks and the bottom brackets. If you took a bifold door out of the opening, the alignment should be the same. Begin installing bifold door track at the top using screws that are long enough to go through the drywall and into the wood framing. Install the brackets at the base in a similar way.

For a door that only has two door panels, you will have a choice on which way you want the door to open. The two door leaves can fold open on either the right or left side. It is up to you, it makes no difference to the doors. The bottom bracket needs to be installed on the side the you want the doors to open to. 

Make sure the bottom bracket is the same distance in from the face of the door opening as the top track. Each pair of bifold doors has three points of contact. Two at the top track and one at the bottom bracket. Proper alignment of these elements is important.

In this step you can begin installing the bifold door hardware. There is usually a bag full of parts that comes with the door. It can be a little intimidating. Take a breath and open the bag to start identifying the parts.

Before you begin installing bifold door hardware, you want to check the pieces that came with the door you purchased. You should have a top pivot pin, bottom pivot pin and top guide roller for each pair of doors. The top and bottom pivot pins should go at the top and bottom of the same door slab. The top guide roller should go at the top of the other leaf.

The doors should already have the hinges installed. Each pair of door slabs should be held together by two or three hinges. Before you install the hardware get the door opened up and laid, facing up, across two saw horses. Make sure you understand which end is the top.

The pins and rollers should friction fit into the pre-drilled holes. Gently tap the pins into place with a hammer. Drive them in until they are snug. Unscrew the bottom pivot pin until there is about a quarter of an inch of threads showing. You may need to adjust this pin later, but this will be a good place to start.

Setting the Bifold Panels

Setting the bifold door panels is similar to removing the old ones. It is a littly bit of work and you might want to get a little help. Likely they will only weigh thirty or forty pounds per pair. If you tipped the old ones out, you are already a veteran.

When you have all the hardware installed you are ready to begin setting the bifold door panels. Fold the door leaves together and pick them up from the side. You tip the door into place in a similar way to removing it. Use caution when you tip the door in, the bottom pivot pin can damage the floor if it scrapes across it.

It will be helpful to have a helper to guide the pins into place. The top guide pin has to hit a small hole in a bracket that is at the end of the top track. The roller just has to be inside the track.

When the pivot pin and roller are in the top track, you can lift the door and set the bottom pivot pin into the bracket.

Summary

Has your installing bifold doors project turned out to be a success? Hopefully it has. Part of the appeal of bifold doors is the fact that they are so easy to install. With practice, installing bifold doors can take less than an hour.

Adjusting them, well that's another matter. They seem to move in so many directions. After you get used to them, adjusting is not hard either. A few well placed tweaks and the doors will work great. You may not be ready to start installing bifold doors for a living, but you may be willing to tackle another installation should the need arise.

Troubleshooting closet doors and fixing the associated problems is common. You probalbly have many closet doors in your home. They may vary in style and size, but they all have one thing in common. Closets are meant for storing things and the doors hide the stored items from view. Closet doors do need attention and quit working correctly periodically. When that happens you need to do some repair work.

Frank Lloyd Wright refused to include closets in the homes he designed. He said that they promoted clutter. Clutter or not, we all have things that we want to store. Thus, closets are very popular. In fact 'lots of closet space' is a selling feature for a home.

Closets and closet doors are a standard feature in homes. The doors differ in size and type. Since they do not get the use that regular door get they tend to be a little less sturdy and can get knocked out of adjustment. Adjusting the doors on closets is often the repair that is needed. Fortunately, it is not that hard to do.

Troubleshooting Closet Doors – Finding Help

Below you will find some common problems. There is a brief description and a link that will lead you to additional information. Our evaluation sections of the pages will help you to decide if you want to make the repair. The "What Can You Save?" and "How Hard Could It Be?" sections give you a quick overview of the repair. This will help you decide if it is using good judgment to make the repair yourself.

The "Check the Simple Things First" section will clue you in to easy fixes to check for. Many times something easy will eliminate a problem without the aggravation of an involved repair. In an effort to warn you about what you are in for, there is the "What Can Go Wrong" section. Forewarned is forearmed as they say. Knowing what to watch out for is always helpful.

Repairing Bifold Closet Doors

Bifold doors have become very popular in residential construction. These doors are inexpensive and easy to install, making them a first choice with builders. Adjustment are the main problem. Four panel bifold doors can be a little challenging to adjust. The door has to align in several directions.

Installing Bifold Doors

You may decide that a new bifold door is what you want. Perhaps the old door is tired looking. In addition, you found out that a new one is not that expensive. Can you install the door yourself? Is it hard? Find out what you are up against by following the link above. This is something you can do yourself and save the price of a carpenter.

Mirrored Bifold Closet Doors

Similar to normal bifold doors, these doors have mirror units on the door panels. They serve as a full length mirror in addition to hiding the contents of the closet. They are a little heavier than a normal bifold. The have the same problems as regular bifolds, adjusting being the biggest one.

Troubleshooting Closet Doors - Summary

Troubleshooting and repairing issues with closet doors is a simple task most of the time. It is often just a matter of adjusting the door or replacing some inexpensive parts. A few minutes work and your door will be quiet and smooth.

Now that you have reviewed the information on troubleshooting closet doors, you are ready to research other home repairs. Do you have a list? Or is it a job jar? Whatever your tracking method, you can go to the next item. Unless you have earned a break.

Your interest in 'Bifold Door Sizes' is likely related to a repair or replacement project on a closet door.

For information on repairing bifold doors, see the article 'Troubleshooting Bifold Doors'. If you are considering a replacement project, see the article, 'Installing Bifold Doors'.

Table of Bifold Door Sizes

Bifold door sizes do have limitations. Some sizes can be special ordered if you have time to wait. This is a list of common bifold door sizes that are fairly standard and readily available.

• 2' 0" x 6' 8" Bifold - Two 12" Panels
• 2' 6" x 6' 8" Bifold - Two 15" Panels
• 2' 8" x 6' 8" Bifold - Two 16" Panels
• 3' 0" x 6' 8" Bifold - Two 18" Panels
• 4' 0" x 6' 8" Bifold - Four 12" Panels
• 5' 0" x 6' 8" Bifold - Four 15" Panels
• 6' 0" x 6' 8" Bifold - Four 18" Panels

Some manufacturers may offer a few additional sizes in addition to the ones listed above. Likely these will need to be ordered. Remember, even with additional availability, there are limitations to the sizes. Check with your door supplier before you assume that something is available.

The above sizes should also be available in a shorter version. Again, check on availability before you commit to a size.

Measuring a Bifold Door Opening

The opening size for a bifold door is measured from the finish face of the opening, not the trim. A casing type molding is often used around a bifold door. The trim hangs over the edge of the opening to cover the gap around the edge of the door.

Most bifold door openings are finished with drwyall. So the width of the opening is measured from the face of drywall on one side to the face of the drywall on the other side.

The height is measured from the finished floor to the finished face of the drywall on the head.

The width and the height will determine what size bifold can be used. This is sometime called the 'rough opening' or 'R.O.', although for a bifold the measurments are taken from the finished opening.

It should be obvious from the foregoing the retrofitting a bifold into another style door opening may be a problem. Even in new construction, rough openings for common bifold doors are set during the framing stage. The rough openings differ in from standard doors that have jambs.

Allowing for Bifold Door Hardware

A critical issue for bifold door is the hardware at the top and bottom of the door. Bifold door slabs need to be shorter and/or the openings need to be taller to allow for the hardware.

As a rule the height of the door opening needs to be 1 1/2" to 2" higher than the height of the door. When you are buying a new bifold door, there should be an opening size listed. This will need to match the opening measurements that you took.

If you are using an existing bifold door in a different opening, you will have to guage the amount to allow for hardware. It will usually be around 1 3/4".

Related Bifold Door Articles

• To install a new bifold door, see the article 'Installing Bifold Doors'.
• Many problems associated with bifold doors can be fix by adjusting them. See the article 'Adjusting Bifold Doors'.
• For a discussion on general bifold door repair, see 'Repairing Bifold Doors'.

Summary

As you can see from the foregoing, there are several bifold door sizes available. However, the margins and rough in sizes for bifold doors is different from regular doors.