Bi-Fold doors - LaCantina, NanaWall or others?

8 years ago

I have seen plenty of older reviews and thoughts on these companies and doors, does anyone have any very recent experience? For a small opening, 8 feet wide, these doors are pricey but make a lot of sense opening onto a screen porch. Quotes from LaCantina and NanaWall are oddly similar (I thought Nana would be much more expensive). Are there other companies I should look at? And should I have my GC install them or pay to have one of the dealers' guys do it at a reasonable cost? Thanks!

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markbanshee
Original Author

8 years ago

Just over 7k for the doors which was the lowest I found. La Cantina was close but Marvin, Anderson, Jeld Wen were all over 10k. I did find that most dealers had no clue about their own products and gave me bogus quotes without really looking into getting me a decent price. I think they assume I am willing to spend big on these, but quoting me $10k when I could really get it for $7k is ridiculous. We are using an authorized installer to work with my GC to install the door...this gives me peace of mind AND adds an extra year on the warranty from Nana Wall. Hope to write back in two months with good stories about the doors and the instillation!

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Comments (9)

tamizami
8 years ago
fleetwood is another well known and reputable brand.
ddfl
8 years ago
How much did they quote you? We're doing a new build and looking for price comparison between bi-fold and sliding glass doors. Thanks.
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Thanks for the follow-up. I still could engineer it for a steel header but I will have to do it by hand since the software I have only does wood/engineered products. I will look into it though and see if I can remember how to do that. I should have added that the wall construction is ICF so I guess I could actually just design a lintel out of concrete. It just seems like it would be easier to use an engineered beam. Also, FWIW the Nana Wall site specifies the lesser of L/720 or 1/4" deflection for the minimum header over their doors. I can't assume that the same would work for La Cantina doors but I am guessing it would be a pretty safe number to use. In any case, thanks for the reply and if anyone has anything else to add please feel free. Matt
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(Long) the reason I ask about the sill and covered porch is I’m in the process of designing a 15’ wide bifold door between a poolhouse and pool deck, and finding a big disconnect between the glam minimalist details in the online photos vs the reality of doing this in the mid-Atlantic in a nice way. Without many local examples or manufacturers I am trying to use Marvin’s bifold door, because I’ve spec’d their other windows & doors for years with excellent service. Having issues designing the details though, when the poolhouse wall is open I want no abrupt elevation changes at the floor level interrupting the smooth plane of material between inside and outside. The trouble is for Marvin’s standard sill “performance” detail it is a whopping chunk @ 2” high AFF and 10” wide that doesn’t show in photos but is in their technical documents. This high sill is in conflict with the idea of having a visually seamless plane of inside outside space. If there must be a large surface mounted sill IMHO there needs to be visual cues of pausing and then carefully stepping over a wide curb instead of creating a confusing situation of continuous flooring but a big trip hazard in the way. Marvin provides a nice detail for recessing the 2” channel of sill into the concrete floor when framing, but they are clear that this install will not be warrantied for water or air infiltration. I would like to use the recessed channel detail anyway and keep water away using proper slope and covered porch and a flush linear drain, but as you know our ”mild” mid Atlantic climate can dump 2 feet of drifting snow and hurricanes that will blow through a flush sill into any living space anyway. I could slope and waterproof the pool house similar to a garage and sweep out a watery mess if it happens, but was hoping to use the pool house as year- round living space for guests without flooding or infiltration worries.
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User
8 years ago
Remember that the quote for the doors, are that exactly: just the doors. The engineering and work for the header to support the large opening for the doors will be on top of the material and installation.
markbanshee
Original Author
8 years ago
Yeah, thanks for the heads up...the install is actually very reasonable. Going through a range of install prices from the various dealers, people were around $100 - $150 per lineal foot (for my door that means install would be between $1000 - $2000) with some people adding extra for materials and some say it was included. In my case the install SHOULD just be the doors and some shimming because I have a GC working on the larger project and he will remove the existing doors and create the rough opening.
Edward Lee
8 years ago
We just had our 12' 4 pane Nanawall installed last month in a new build. Our GC told us they always got the Nanawall installers to install, I guess so they wouldn't be liable for any problems. The wall was about $9500, install $1k. Another option we explored was Loewen walls who do make a nice door as well, but too expensive.

One suggestion if you're doing a new build is to instruct your GC and trades NOT to use the door for moving materials in and out. On their last project, I think a trade dropped drywall on the Nanawall track and bent it leading to finger pointing about who was supposed to cover the warranty.
cpartist
8 years ago
We had looked into the Nanawall as I love the look of them but for my large opening it would have cost close to 25k. Putting in sliding doors that slide into a pocket wall is 1/2 the cost. Guess which we chose?
markbanshee
Original Author
8 years ago
no doubt they are expensive....but I view (pun intended) this as the centerpiece of our project so I think it's worth it. if you want a similar look where each panel is independent but it does all fold together like a bi fold door I have seen Panoramic and some other companies that do that for much less $$$
cpartist
8 years ago
I have the additional problem that all doors must meet hurricane codes as this build will be in FL. I just looked at the Panoramic and they don't seem to have hurricane glass. And of course being compliant for wind ups the pricing too.

Bi-Fold doors - LaCantina, NanaWall or others?

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tamizami

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Comments (9)

tamizami

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