Bi-fold Shower Doors

Bifold shower doors fold in on themselves as they open, so the door folds into the shower rather than swinging out into the room. That makes a bifold the one to fit when space is tight: an en-suite, a cloakroom shower, or anywhere a door swinging outward would clatter into the loo or the basin.

The Litchfield Glide bifold doors are semi-frameless and come in 700mm, 760mm, 800mm and 900mm in chrome, plus 800mm and 900mm in matt black. Pair one with a matching shower tray, add a side panel if one side of the shower is open, and you have a full enclosure. If a folding door is not what you are after, the wider shower doors range covers sliding, pivot and hinged.

What to look for in a bifold shower door

A bifold door is the space-saver. Instead of one big panel swinging out into the bathroom, the door is split into two and folds back on itself, so the whole thing tucks inward as you open it. If you have ever caught a hinged shower door on the toilet or the towel rail, you already know why people fit these. Here is what actually matters when you pick one.

Measure the opening, not the shower. A bifold door is fitted into a recess, an alcove with a wall on each side, or run off a return wall with a side panel. The size on the door, 700mm, 760mm, 800mm or 900mm, is the nominal opening width it suits, and every Glide door has adjustable fitting profiles so it copes with walls that are not perfectly plumb, and almost none are. So measure your gap first, then pick the door whose size suits it. The usual sizes for a standard recess shower are 760mm and 800mm. For a genuinely tight en-suite or a cloakroom, the Litchfield Glide 700mm bifold door at £169 is the smallest in the range. Step up to the 760mm Glide or the 800mm Glide, both £179, for a standard alcove.

Semi-frameless is the sweet spot. The Glide bifold doors are semi-frameless: slim profiles up the sides where the door meets the wall, but no chunky frame boxing in the glass itself. You get the clean, light look of frameless glass without the price tag or the fully exposed edges of a true frameless door. Fully framed doors are cheaper and a bit more forgiving on really out-of-true walls, but they look dated next to a semi-frameless panel.

The fold is the bit you live with. A bifold has more moving parts than a plain hinged door, and the fold is the part that moves every single day. That is the honest trade-off for the space you save, so fit the door square and never force the fold. Check the product page for the full specification before you buy.

Finish: chrome or matt black. Chrome is the safe, blends-with-anything choice. Matt black is the one to go for if your taps, shower valve and waste are already black, or if you want the door profiles to make more of a statement. The Litchfield Glide 800mm in black is £189. If you are doing a whole black scheme, it is worth browsing the black shower doors and enclosures so your tray, screen and door all match.

Do not forget the side panel and the tray. A bifold door on its own only closes off the front of the shower. If you are not fitting into a three-sided recess you also need a side panel to box in the open side, and every Glide bifold door is compatible with one. You will also want a shower tray to sit it on unless you are tiling a former. Go up a size on the door for a larger showering space: the 900mm Glide at £189 is the widest in the range.

Quick answers

What is a bifold shower door? It is a shower door split into two panels that fold back on themselves as you open it, so the door folds inward into the shower instead of swinging out into the room. In a small bathroom or en-suite a normal hinged door needs clear floor space in front to swing into, and a bifold does not, which is why it is the go-to for tight spaces.

Are bifold shower doors good for small bathrooms? Yes, that is exactly what they are for. Because the door folds in on itself rather than swinging out, you do not need clear floor space in front of the shower, so nothing crashes into the toilet, the basin or the towel rail. If your bathroom is tight, a bifold or a sliding door is almost always the right call over a hinged one.

What size bifold shower door do I need? Measure the width of your opening, the recess or gap the shower sits in, and pick the door whose size suits that gap. The Glide range runs 700mm, 760mm, 800mm and 900mm, with 760mm and 800mm the usual sizes for a standard recess and 700mm for a genuinely tight en-suite. Every Glide door has adjustable fitting profiles for walls that are not perfectly straight.

Can I get a bifold shower door in black? Yes. The 800mm black Glide is £189 in matt black, and the Glide also comes in a 900mm black. Black is the one to pick if your taps, valve and waste are already matt black, otherwise chrome blends with most bathrooms.

Do I need a side panel with a bifold shower door? Only if your shower is not in a three-sided recess. If you have a wall on both sides of the opening, the door alone closes it off. If one side is open you need a side panel to box that side in, and the Glide bifold doors are compatible with side panels.

What is a bifold bath door? Some people search for bath bifold doors wanting a folding screen on the side of a bath, for a shower-over-bath setup, rather than a shower enclosure door. That is a different product, a bath shower screen, so have a look at our bath shower screens instead. The doors on this page are for shower enclosures, not for fitting to the side of a bath.

Are bifold shower doors easy to fit? They are a fairly standard job for any competent DIYer or fitter, and the adjustable fitting profiles give you leeway on walls that are out of true. The honest bit is that a bifold has more moving parts than a plain hinged door, so it pays to fit it square and not force the fold.