Adding a new feel and vibe to your home doesn’t have to be hard. You don’t have to build an addition to your home or completely rip out all of the tiles in your kitchen. One of the easiest (and most affordable) home improvement projects you can take on is installing a set of vinyl folding doors in your home.

Vinyl folding doors are typically installed to replace an existing porch or patio doorway. You may need to widen the opening a bit to accommodate the larger door system, but you’ll be rewarded with more natural lighting and enjoy the feeling of being more connected with the nature in your backyard.

Vinyl is one of the most popular materials used to construct folding doors, but there are several other options. If you’re still in the process of deciding which doorframe material is the best for your project, then this post is definitely worth your while. Below, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of the material and discuss how it compares to aluminum and hardwood doorframes.

Vinyl Folding Doors: The Pros And Cons

Folding doors are a relatively new innovation in the exterior door space. Unlike traditional sliding doors that slide to the side (but still block half of the doorway), folding doors can be completely slid to the far edge of the system and stacked. This opens up a whopping 95% of the doorway to the open air.

The three most common materials used for folding door frames are:

• Vinyl/PVC.
• Aluminum.
• Natural hardwood.

Although different materials are used for the doorframe, the doors pretty much work the same way and use the same hinge and pivot-driven system. So, with the basics out of the way, let’s get into the pros and cons of using vinyl as a doorframe material.

Why Vinyl Is A Good Choice For Folding Doors

Vinyl is the simplified term for PVC, which stands for Poly-Vinyl Chloride (that’s a mouthful, isn’t it?). It’s the same type of material that’s used to make plumbing pipes, electrical conduits, windows, and even small boats.

Overall, vinyl is strong, durable, and long-lasting, which is why the material is used in so many different industries today. It also happens to be incredibly cheap to produce, which translates to a lower cost for homeowners. So, with that being said, let’s jump into the pros of vinyl folding doors!

1) It’s A Long-Lasting Material

One of the best reasons to choose a vinyl bi-fold door is that they’re incredibly long-lasting. If you’ve done any research on plastic composites, then you’ll know that it literally takes thousands of years for the elements to break them down. That means that your vinyl doors can easily outlast your entire house!

Unlike other doorframe materials, vinyl is 100% resistant to corrosion and decay. You’ll never have to worry about rust, mold, mildew, or bugs trying to bore through the material. It’s impervious to just about everything except extremely hot temperatures (e.g., a blowtorch).

2) It’s Ultra-Lightweight

Another benefit of vinyl is that it’s incredibly lightweight. This means that vinyl folding doors are very easy to open, making them a great choice for those who have sustained debilitating injuries or elderly folks who don’t fancy struggling with multiple 250-pound door panels.

As a lightweight door system, it also reduces the likelihood that you’ll have to add additional structural supports to your home. That means that you probably won’t have to pay your contractor as much as you would if you were installing a heavier hardwood door system.

3) It’s Affordable

Another great reason to choose vinyl doors is that they’re incredibly affordable. If you’re looking for an entry-level folding door system that won’t cost you an arm and a leg, then vinyl is a great choice. You’ll still get to experience the joy of a folding door system that can be completely opened up to the elements, without the guilt.

This is due to the fact that vinyl doors are incredibly easy to produce. Unlike aluminum or hardwood (which have to be custom-cut to order), vinyl is just mixed as a liquid and then poured into pre-existing molds, which maximizes production speed and lowers the overall cost.

4) It’s A Low-Maintenance Material

Last but not least, vinyl is an incredibly low-maintenance material. As we already mentioned, corrosion and mold aren’t an issue, and even if some surface-level mildew does appear, it’s easily washed away with a bit of bleach and a soft brush.

Additionally, vinyl will never have to be re-painted or stained. This is because vinyl is dyed while it’s still in liquid form, meaning that the vinyl will remain the same color for its entire lifetime. Aluminum doors will have to be repainted every 7 to 10 years and wood doors will usually need to be re-stained every 5 to 7 years.

Drawbacks Of Vinyl Doorframes

While vinyl certainly has a lot of pros as an exterior doorframe material, there are also some notable drawbacks that may be of concern to some homeowners. So, to be completely fair and honest, we’ll spend a few minutes discussing them.

1) It Imposes Door Size Limitations

If you’re shopping for an extra-large doorframe that’s taller than 6 or 7 feet, then vinyl won’t be able to accommodate the larger design. When compact, vinyl is very sturdy. However, once you start to lengthen vinyl and make longer doorframes, it begins to lose its structural integrity.

This means that it will easily bend or become warped. For this reason, most manufacturers cannot manufacture vinyl folding doors that are taller than 6 to 7 feet.

2) It’s Easily Cracked

While vinyl is sturdy and can stand up to the elements, it doesn’t take well to hard or sharp impacts. Although vinyl is somewhat flexible, it’s also brittle, which means that it will easily crack or splinter if enough pressure is applied to a small section. This often happens when moving furniture or if your kids or animals are roughhousing around and slamming doors.

3) It Feels Cheap

Although this is completely based on personal preference, vinyl does feel a bit cheap. When opening and closing a solid aluminum or hardwood door system, you’ll be rewarded with a satisfying click and clunk. The sound of a vinyl folding door closing just sounds hollow and plastic-y. There’s also no denying that wood and vinyl just feel solid and reliable.

4) There Aren’t A Lot Of Color Options

Last but not least, you won’t have many options for doorframe colors if you choose vinyl doors. This is because vinyl is pre-dyed from the factory, and the most common shades of vinyl are:

• Black.
• Grey.
• Tan/beige.
• Brown.
• White.

Wood can be stained in a variety of different colors and aluminum can be painted almost any color in the rainbow. So, if you’re looking for a colorful doorframe, vinyl is not a good choice.

Final Thoughts

Overall, if you’re looking for a low-maintenance, entry-level folding door system, then vinyl is a reliable and affordable choice. You won’t be able to use vinyl for extra-large folding door systems and you won’t have a lot of color choices. However, you’ll still be able to enjoy the primary benefits of a folding door system, such as increased light, and a larger doorway.