Electric blinds for bifold doors come in three forms: one wide motorised roller blind fixed above the whole opening, a Perfect Fit blind clipped to each door panel, or an electric curtain track that draws clear of the doors. Which one suits you depends on how often the doors are folded back, how wide the opening is and whether you want blackout or just shade.
Bifolds are now the standard rear wall of a kitchen extension across Rainham, Hornchurch, Upminster and most of East London, and they are the window we are asked about most when it comes to electric blinds. This guide goes through each option, the sizes a single blind can reach, how the price is worked out and what we tend to fit in the extensions we see locally.
Why bifold doors are awkward for blinds
Bifold doors are awkward for blinds because the panels fold and slide rather than swing, the handles stick out into the room, the opening is wide, and anything fixed to the frame has to survive the doors being concertinaed back against each other. A normal blind fixed to the wall above works until you open the doors, at which point it either has to be fully up or it is in the way. A blind fixed to a panel has to be slim enough to fold with it.
Most domestic bifolds open outwards into the garden, which helps, because a blind inside the room never touches the doors as they move. Inward opening sets, more common in flats with a balcony, are harder and usually push the choice towards a blind that sits on the glass rather than above it. Add the width, often 3 to 5 metres, and you can see why one chain blind is rarely the answer.
One wide electric roller blind over the whole bifold
A single motorised roller blind fixed above the bifold is the cleanest look and the one we fit most, because it covers the whole opening with one fabric, has no chain, and goes fully up at the touch of a button when you want the doors open. The motor is in the tube, so there is nothing at either end but a slim bracket, and a cassette headrail can hide the roll completely.
Where it fixes
The blind is either face fixed to the wall above the frame or top fixed to the ceiling or the underside of the steel beam that most extensions carry over the opening. We need the fabric to hang clear of the door handles, which usually means bringing the blind forward on spacer brackets or choosing a cassette with enough projection. Where there is a flat ceiling right up to the glass, a recessed pocket in the plasterboard makes the blind disappear when it is up, but that has to be planned before the plastering.
Fabric and tube choice
Across a wide span the fabric must be a width that comes on a single roll without a join, and the tube must be stiff enough not to sag in the middle. We use a larger diameter aluminium tube on anything over about 2.5 metres and a heavier motor to match. Sunscreen fabrics keep the view and cut glare, dimout fabrics give privacy at night, and blackout is possible but shows a light gap at each edge on a face fixed blind. Our electric roller blinds page lists the fabric ranges.
Perfect Fit blinds on each bifold panel
Perfect Fit blinds clip into the glazing bead of each bifold panel, so the blind travels with the door, folds with it and never gets in the way of the handles or the opening. There is no drilling, which matters on a new set of doors that are still under guarantee, and the blind sits flat to the glass so the panels stack as they did before. Each panel has its own blind, so you can shade one door and leave the next clear.
The limitation is that the doors must have a uPVC or aluminium bead the clips can grip, and the bead must be deep enough. Most modern aluminium bifolds have a suitable bead, some slimline systems do not, and we check this at the measuring visit. Our Perfect Fit blinds page covers the frame colours and the no drill blinds guide explains the fitting in detail.
Electric or manual per panel
Perfect Fit roller and pleated blinds are usually spring operated, with no chain, and that is often enough on a door because you raise and lower each one by hand as you pass. Battery motors that fit inside the Perfect Fit frame are available on the roller and pleated versions, grouped on one remote so the whole run moves together. The slim battery lives in the frame and charges by USB. It is a more expensive route per door than a single wide roller, but it is the only electric option when the doors open inwards or the blind has to stay down while a door is used.
Electric curtains as an alternative for bifolds
Electric curtains on a motorised track are the best answer when you want a soft look, full blackout or warmth, because the fabric stacks back to one or both sides and leaves the whole bifold clear when open. A wave heading on a slim ceiling fixed track gives even folds and a stack that takes up less wall than you might expect. The motor sits at one end of the track and runs on battery or mains like a blind motor.
Curtains suit a living room extension more than a kitchen, where steam and cooking splashes argue for a wipe clean blind. They also need wall either side of the opening to stack onto, which some extensions with full width glazing do not have. Our electric curtains page shows the tracks and the heading styles.
Electric blinds for sliding doors and French doors
Electric blinds for sliding doors follow the same three options, but a single wide roller above the frame works even better because the doors slide behind each other and never swing into the room. French doors, which open inwards in most older houses, suit a Perfect Fit blind on each leaf or a slim roller fixed to each door, since a blind above the frame would block the door from opening.
On a sliding patio door the fixed pane can take a blind that stays down while the sliding pane has its own, so you can step out without raising everything. We wrote a separate guide to Perfect Fit roller blinds for patio doors that covers the measuring points.
How wide can an electric blind for bifold doors go
A single electric roller blind can be made up to around 3 metres wide on a standard tube and fabric, and wider than that with a heavy duty tube, a stronger motor and a fabric that comes on an extra wide roll. Beyond roughly 4 metres we normally split the opening into two blinds on one remote, meeting in the middle, because the fabric rolls start to run out and the tube deflection becomes visible.
- Up to about 2.5 metres: standard tube, standard battery motor, almost any fabric.
- 2.5 to about 3 metres: larger tube, heavier motor, fabric widths checked at the quote stage.
- 3 to about 4 metres: heavy duty tube, mains or high torque battery motor, limited fabric range.
- Over about 4 metres: two blinds grouped on one remote, or Perfect Fit per panel, or electric curtains.
Drop matters as well. A 2.2 metre tall door set with a 4 metre span carries a lot of fabric, and that weight decides the motor more than the width does. We measure the opening, weigh up the fabric and specify the tube and motor to suit, and the written quote states exactly how the opening will be covered.
How much do electric blinds for bifold doors cost
The cost of motorised blinds for bifold doors is set by the width, the fabric and whether you choose one blind, one per panel or a curtain track. Our electric and motorised blinds start at £250 and most fall between £250 to £600 per blind, with a bifold usually towards the upper end because of the size. Perfect Fit blinds start at £60 per panel, and adding a motor to a blind starts at .
| Option | Price basis | What moves the figure |
|---|---|---|
| One wide electric roller | From £250 | Width, drop, fabric, cassette or open roll, battery or mains |
| Two electric rollers meeting in the middle | Two blinds, one remote | Each blind priced on its own size |
| Perfect Fit per panel, spring operated | From £60 per panel | Number of panels, roller or pleated, fabric |
| Perfect Fit per panel, motorised | Panel price plus motorised upgrade | Motor per panel, grouped remote |
| Electric curtains | From £160 | Track length, fabric quantity, lining, motor |
A mains motor adds an electrician’s visit, which is cheap if the extension is still being built and dearer once it is plastered. We do not quote that figure because it is your electrician’s, but the written quote tells you what they will need to provide. For a broader picture see our electric blinds installation cost guide.
Bifold blinds in East London and Essex extensions
The typical bifold we measure in Rainham, Hornchurch and Elm Park sits in a single storey rear extension on a 1930s semi, 3 to 4 metres wide, aluminium framed, opening out onto the garden, with a steel beam above and a flat ceiling. That layout suits one wide electric roller top fixed to the beam or ceiling, in a sunscreen fabric for the day and often a second dimout roller in a double bracket for the evening.
In Upminster, Grays and South Ockendon the extensions run wider, sometimes 5 or 6 metres with a roof lantern above, and there we split the span into two blinds or suggest electric curtains with the track running the full width of the room. In the flats around Stratford, Canary Wharf and Canning Town, bifolds and sliders onto a balcony often open inwards and the lease may forbid drilling into the frame, so Perfect Fit per panel, which needs no screws, is usually the only sensible route.
Terraces in Ilford, Barking and East Ham with a narrow side return extension tend to have a smaller three panel bifold, around 2.4 metres, where a standard battery roller does the job without any heavy duty parts. Whatever the layout, we measure the opening, check the bead and the handle projection, make the blind in our Rainham workshop and fit it ourselves.
Every blind we make is fitted to current UK child safety rules. The Make it Safe campaign from the British Blind and Shutter Association explains what to check on blinds you already own.[1]
Frequently asked questions
Can one blind cover a 4 metre bifold?
Usually yes, with a heavy duty tube, a stronger motor and a fabric that comes on an extra wide roll. Past about 4 metres we normally split it into two blinds on one remote so the fabric stays flat and the tube does not sag.
Do the blinds stack with the doors?
Perfect Fit blinds clipped to each panel fold and stack with the doors because they sit flat on the glass. A roller fixed above the opening does not move with the doors and needs to be raised before they are folded back.
Can I open the bifold doors with the blind down?
With Perfect Fit per panel, yes, each door opens with its blind in place. With one wide roller above the doors you raise the blind first, which on an electric blind is one button press.
Are electric blinds for bifold doors battery or mains?
Either. Battery suits a finished room and spans up to about 3 metres, mains suits a wide heavy blind or an extension still being built where the cable can go in before plastering.
Can bifold door blinds be blackout?
Yes. A blackout roller above the doors gives a dark room with a small light gap at each edge, and electric curtains with blackout lining give the fullest darkness. Perfect Fit pleated blinds are available in blackout fabric per panel.
Do you fit blinds to bifold doors that open outwards?
Yes, and outward opening doors are the easiest, because a blind inside the room never touches the doors as they move. All three options work on them.
Get a free home visit in Rainham and East London
If you are still deciding on electric blinds for bifold doors, if you have bifold, sliding or French doors and want to know which electric option will work on them, book a free home visit or call 01708 505379. We measure the opening at your home across Rainham, Romford, Hornchurch, Upminster, Ilford, Stratford and the rest of East London and Essex, make the blinds in Rainham and send a written quote after the visit.
References
- ^ Make it Safe from the BBSA. Make it Safe (British Blind and Shutter Association). Retrieved 25 October 2026.
