When starting any home improvement project, you need to factor in the possibility of a long lead time. The lead time of the project is the time between you placing the order and receiving the order. When it comes to ordering folding doors, lead times are notoriously high.

Almost all folding door orders are going to have at least a two or three-week lead time. Depending on the company you’re ordering from, it’s not uncommon to see lead times of up to a month or two as well.

Unfortunately, this can frustrate many homeowners, especially if they’re eager to see their new doors installed. However, the lead time of your folding door order is typically out of your hands. So, you’ll just have to be patient.

Why Do Custom Folding Doors Have Such Long Lead Times?

There are a number of different reasons why your folding door order may take a bit longer than expected. There’s a lot that goes into creating a set of custom folding doors, including design, craftsmanship, material sourcing, and of course shipping.

As the saying goes, however, “Good things don’t happen overnight.” This is especially true when it comes to construction and home improvement projects.

Here are some of the top reasons why custom folding doors have such long lead times.

Shortage Of Materials

If you’ve been to a hardware store recently, then you’ve probably realized that the price of building materials has skyrocketed. This is mostly due to the fact that the 2020 pandemic caused a shortage in materials. At the same time, the demand for building materials dramatically increased, as more and more homeowners decided to use their extra free time to take care of long-awaited home improvement projects.

Back Log Of Orders

Folding door systems have become massively popular over the past few years, and there are a lot of homeowners and businesses who are awaiting their orders. Many of the top-rated manufacturers on the market are currently backlogged on their orders, so it may take them some time before they’re able to get to your order.

COVID-Related Issues In The Factory

The new COVID delta variant has caused a lot of issues in factory production. All it takes is for one employee to come down with the virus, and the whole production facility may need to be temporarily closed for cleaning. As you can imagine, this can lead to longer wait times.

Pre-Fabricated Vs. Custom Folding Door Lead Times

If you’re in a rush to get your folding doors installed, then you might consider purchasing a set of pre-fabricated folding doors instead. These may be of slightly lower quality, but they are certain to be delivered far quicker than if you were to order custom folding doors. This is because they’ve already been made and are ready to install, sitting in a warehouse. All the company needs to do is ship them out!