Making a Bi-fold door from a standard door

I have a very small bathroom and it would really help to create a feeling of more spaciousness if I had a bi-fold door to the bathroom versus a regular door. First, does anyone have any thoughts about the appropriateness of a bi-fold door for a bathroom? Somehow it seems less private to me, but I'm hoping that someone out there has seen one or had experience with one. Second, is it possible to just take the current bathroom door (solid wood and paneled) and make it into a bi-fold? If so, what would we need to do to make it work? Thanks.

 

I would not want a bifold door as my bathroom door. No security and not much privacy.

How would a bifold door make the bathroom more spacious?

 

It's very hard to explain how a bi-fold door would make the bathroom more spacious but I'll try. When you open the bathroom door (opening left away from you when you enter), the door can only open to a 90 degree angle because there is a built-in cabinet behind it. So you immediately feel cramped by the door since you can not even open it beyond the 90 degrees and the wall is immediately on the right. Then, immediately in front of the doorway is the sink on the right wall and it's not much past the end of the door when it is open. So you have to kind of maneauver around left to get in front of the sink, but the doorway is in your way. It's a real pain. I cannot take the built-in linen closet out as it's part of the wall structure. I'm looking for solutions to this space problem because frankly I think it's a negative when we go to sell the house. I am also exploring moving the sink about a foot further away from the doorway and this would also help.

 

Perhaps it would help if the door swings from the opposite side or swings out.

 

That would be my choice, too, reversing the entire door and frame so it opens left handedly out against the outside wall.

 

Is converting the current door to a "pocket door" an option?

 

A sliding door would be the best if you're able to do that. Still lockable, and takes up no space as it hides itself inside the wall, but may be the most work out of all of your other options as you would have to ensure there are no studs, insulation, wiring etc that will get in the way.

 

The cost and time it would take to convert the door would easily cover the cost of a new bi-fold door. Not only that but a bi-fold as a bathroom door is quite out of the ordinary and probably would hurt resale. Swinging the door outwards would be much better. Pocket doors unless installed at time of construction do not make sense since you would have to open the walls on either side of the door to install the frame.

 

I agree with jampac that a bifold door is not appropriate for a bathroom at all.

Either an out swinging door or a pocket door would be a better choice. Pocket doors can easily be installed as part of remodelling, since repairing the drywall is just another step. Running into existing electrical wiring that would need to be rerouted would be the only drawback. But that's also not usually a problem, provided you only open up the wall on the side opposite the light switch.

(Homeowners were sick of this former 2-0 outswinging door that blocked their hallway when it was left open... photo is of a rough opening prepared for a pocket door: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/thexsleeper/detail?.dir=4b29&.dnm=a3b3re2.jpg )