(1888PressRelease)
December 13, 2008 - Anaheim, Calif. – The hottest trend in the marketplace – bi-fold doors -- gets hotter as production and sales heat up.
WinDor, the company that unveiled the first vinyl bi-fold glass door that folds accordion-style, announced today that it has doubled production and sales of its innovative and stylish bi-fold product.
“Bi-folds are the hottest growing trend in the industry,” says Gary Templin, co-owner of Anaheim, Calif.-based WinDor, the largest manufacturer of direct vinyl replacement window and door company in California. “Bi-folds are among the slickest products ever created for homes.”
“They are becoming more popular every day for high-end homeowners, and it is actually taking over a good percentage of the French Door, multi-panel door market,” adds WinDor’s other co-owner, Wolf Wirthgen.
WinDor’s sleek and innovative line of bi-fold doors add an extraordinary, elegant and dramatic dimension to homes, opening up entire rooms to backyard patios and gardens, as well as seascapes and mountain views.
Originally introduced in Europe a few years ago, bi-folds have emerged as a higher-tech, higher-stylish version of French Doors, featuring an entire wall of glass that opens and then folds accordion-style into a space of mere inches.
Most often seen exclusively in world-class, fine-dining restaurants, bi-folds have become the hottest trend in exquisite, high-end coastal homes of 2,000 square feet or more, especially in glorious Southern California locations like Newport Coast, Laguna Beach, Corona Del Mar, Newport Beach, Santa Monica, Marina Del Ray, Venice Beach, Santa Barbara and San Diego.
“Bi-folds are a great enhancement to an existing home,” Templin says.
“Because they stack neatly when open, they maximize space and when closed they can quickly create new rooms or increase privacy. As exterior doors, they provide fast and easy entry to a courtyard, deck, backyard or garden.”
Bi-folds are becoming so popular that builders, developers and architects are incorporating them in new home renditions, Wirthgen says.
“It’s nothing to see six bi-folds in a new house in Newport Coast,” he says.
Imagine an entire living room wall that is all glass from top to bottom, 6-1/2- to 10-feet or higher, with a view of a gorgeous backyard, the ocean, mountains, or a forest?
“It’s breathtaking, and people love the openness of it,” Wirthgen says. “People want to open up certain parts of their house to the backyard so they can have a larger entertainment and living area.”
One WinDor customer replaced sliding doors with bi-folds, and now the family watches a widescreen TV from the outside alfresco area.
Another client, in Carlsbad, Calif., installed bi-folds at both ends of an interior swimming pool.
“Now it’s both an indoor and outdoor swimming pool,” Templin says. “It’s incredible.”
The home is slated to be featured in Architectural Digest.
Bi-folds end up being a unique attribute to the home, increasing its value and enabling a conventional living room or den to become a special area because it can open seamlessly completely to outdoor living spaces.
The cost of bi-folds are decreasing as demand rises. What used to be in the $8,000-$20,000 price range is now $5,000-$10,000 average price.
Prices have also dropped because bi-folds are being produced in more standard sizes. They used to be all custom-made.
Bi-folds are lightweight with silky smooth movement and flexibility because of sturdy vinyl construction, stainless hardware and heavy-duty urethane rollers. They open with silence and ease. And they are strong and durable.
“Bi-folds truly generate a ‘wow’ factor,” Templin says. “If you are selling a home with a nice backyard and you have an open house, bi-folds completely opens it all up, and this is the thing that can sway potential buyers.”
Contact: Rick Weinberg, rick ( @ ) dbmionline dot com, 714-920-7808
###
