Inspired Glazing makes aluminium bifold doors for homes in Kew, building Smart Systems Visofold and Cortizo folding systems in our workshop in Fifield and fitting them with our own installers. In Kew’s Victorian and Edwardian houses, a bifold usually opens a side-return or rear kitchen extension onto the garden, folding the panels away to one side so the room and lawn feel like one space. Lead times start from 10 days and every installation is covered by a 10-year guarantee.
Free survey for bifold doors in Kew
Made in our own Fifield workshop and fitted by our own team, with lead times from 10 days and a 10-year guarantee. Tell us about your opening and we will book a free survey.
How Kew’s houses use folding doors
Kew combines several kinds of housing in a small area. Around Kew Green are mainly 18th-century Georgian houses, many of them listed, with grander homes on the west side and more modest terraces and cottages on the east. Kew Road has Georgian houses near the Green and Victorian villas further south, while the Priory Estate has late 19th- and early 20th-century semi-detached and terraced houses in red and yellow stock brick. Close to the river there are small terraces of 19th-century cottages.
For the semi-detached and terraced houses, the rear garden is the main outdoor space, and a bifold within a kitchen extension makes it easy to use. On a side-return extension, where the rear wall may step or turn a corner, folding doors are often the neater solution, because narrow sashes can be fitted around the change of direction.
Visofold 1000 and the Cortizo folding door
Visofold 1000 sashes reach 1,200mm wide and 2,500mm high, typical sightlines are 122mm, and the frames can be one colour outside and another inside. The standard roller is PAS 24 approved, there is a low threshold option, and a heritage sash profile is available for owners who want a more traditional look. Our Smart Systems bifold page explains more.
The Cortizo folding door is our choice for taller openings, with leaves up to 3,000mm high and 120kg. It opens inward or outward, can make a 90-degree corner with no post, and holds a PAS 24:2012 certificate. Find it on our Cortizo aluminium doors page, or compare the two in our Visofold or Cortizo article. Our bifold doors overview covers glass and layout.
Richmond’s conservation areas in Kew
Kew falls within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The Kew Green Conservation Area alone contains 38 listed buildings and more than 200 Buildings of Townscape Merit, and it adjoins the Kew Road, Kew Gardens and Royal Botanic Gardens conservation areas. If your home is listed, locally listed or inside one of these areas, an extension or new opening may need consent that an ordinary house would not. Check with Richmond upon Thames Council at the outset, and see our guide to planning permission for replacement windows.
Getting to Kew and onto your street
Kew is one of our nearer London areas, about 17 miles from Fifield in a straight line and usually 35 to 45 minutes along the M4. Our own team makes the journey from Fifield for both the survey and the installation. Parts of Kew are in controlled parking zones KA and KB around the station, so we check the restrictions on your street and, where needed, apply to Richmond for a parking suspension well before the installation.
Many Kew terraces have no side access, so frames and glass come through the house. We measure the hall and doorways at survey to make sure each panel can be carried through safely.
Points to agree before fabrication
- Stacking: park the folded panels against the boundary wall to keep the garden view open.
- Panels: on a typical terrace width, three or four sashes balance view and stack size.
- Threshold: low for a near-level step, weathered where the patio is exposed.
- Colour: dual-colour frames let the inside suit the kitchen and the outside suit the brick.
Would sliding doors suit you better?
If larger panes and slim frames matter most, read our bifold vs sliding doors explainer and our page on sliding doors in Kew. Nearby, we also fit bifolds in Mortlake, Chiswick and Richmond.
Get in touch
To book a free survey in Kew, call 01753 965 005, WhatsApp 07934 152 343, or send your details using our free quote form. We answer on weekdays from 8am to 6pm and on Saturday mornings from 9am to 1pm. Inspired Glazing Limited is accredited to Constructionline Silver and based at Coningsby Farm, Fifield, Windsor SL6 2PF.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need planning permission for bifold doors in Kew?
It depends on where your house is. Kew has several conservation areas, including Kew Green, Kew Road and Kew Gardens, and many listed and locally listed buildings. In those cases an extension or new opening may need consent. For an unlisted house outside them, permitted development often applies. Check with Richmond upon Thames Council first.
Are bifolds a good choice for a Kew side-return extension?
Often they are. A side-return extension usually creates a wide, sometimes stepped rear wall, and bifolds can be planned around that shape with narrow sashes. With the panels folded back against the boundary wall, the kitchen opens fully to the garden. We measure the structure and suggest the most balanced number of panels.
How do you deal with parking in Kew?
Parts of Kew are in controlled parking zones KA and KB, so we check the rules on your street before the installation date. Where a bay needs to be kept clear, we apply to Richmond upon Thames Council for a parking suspension in good time. Our van then travels in from Fifield, about 35 to 45 minutes away.
Can you make bifolds that suit a Georgian or Victorian house?
Visofold 1000 includes a heritage sash profile, and its frames can be dual colour, so the outside can be chosen to sit with period brick while the inside matches your interior. If your house is listed or in a conservation area, Richmond upon Thames Council will want to see the design before work begins.
How tall can your bifold doors be?
Visofold 1000 sashes go up to 2,500mm high, which suits most single-storey extensions. For taller openings, the Cortizo folding door accepts leaves up to 3,000mm high and up to 120kg each. If your extension has a vaulted ceiling or a raised roof light, we will confirm which system works for the opening after surveying it.