Alumil MF65 Bifold Door Review
Slim bifolds usually ask you to give something up. Panel width or height, glass weight, The Alumil MF65 is the UK's slimmest bifold, with just 88mm at the panle junctions, sashes up to three metres tall and glazing up to 44mm thick. Plenty of UK homeowners already own one without knowing the name, because Express Bifold Doors have been fitting it for years as the XP88
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Pros
- 88mm sash to sash sightline, slimmest in UK
- PAS 24 edition available
- Ulra-Slim Single doors and French doors.
- Proven in the UK for years through Express Bifold Doors XP
Cons
- Limited nationwide availability
- Few handle design options
- Few profile stocks in the UK
The MF65 bifold door is designed and extruded by a Greek System company called Alumil. If the name is new to you, the product probably is not. Express Bifold Doors have supplied the MF65 in the UK for years as their XP 88 bifold. That matters significantly on a product which appears new in the UK but has been tried and tested by the UK’s most respected manufacturer and installer.
How the Door and Window Experts Website reviews products
In preparing this review we visited the Alumil foundry and factory in both Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece. It was possible there to see the product being shown to installers as part of product training, as well as examination of full-sized showroom models in both locations.
Substantial time has also been spent opening, closing, seeing it manufactured and extensively photographed. The technical manuals and profile drawings have also been studied. The product has also been seen at showrooms in London.
This review is written by Nick Dardalis, who has worked in the UK door and window industry since 1989. Every review on this site is based on direct product assessment. This is done with a combination of deep technical document examination, factory visits, showroom evaluations and real installation environments. No manufacturer pays for a review. No score is negotiated.
What is the Alumil MF65 Bifold Door?
The MF65 Bifold, full name is Alumil SMARTIA MF65, is a contemporary and ultra slim bifold door system, extruded by Alumil Systems in Greece.
Modern, highly-engineered, with bespoke hardware and excellent specifications, this door has an impressive 88mm sightline at the panel junctions and the slimmest bifold door in the UK.
Profiles, paint finish, locks, handles and components all work together to produce a product with impressive aesthetics, smooth folding action, large panel size capability and already tried and tested in the UK as well as multiple counties abroad. A non-thermal version is also available, branded 6500 suitable for internal use.
Alumil Systems. The Company Behind the MF65 Bifold Door
You may not know of Alumil Systems, but their international presence is substantial with operations in pretty much every major economy. With it’s own foundry, recycling, extrusion and paint plants, training and product testing facililties, Alumil has substantial vertical integration and control of how products are brought to market.
The company is heavily invested in growing construction markets with a product portfolio that covers virtually every product type. These include multiple windows and door products, facade systems, fire rated, acoustic and bespoke fenestration solutions. It is also the largest aluminium systems company in Dubai.
In the UK, Alumil products are provided to housing projects for both private, social and luxury homes, as well as a small fabricator network.
Alumil Bifold Door Design and Aesthetics
Slim, sleek and with a flatline appearance both sides, MF65 is designed to meet today’s contemporary tastes. You won’t see any curved frames or sashes on this product.
With a selection of outer frames, tracks and sash profiles to meet specific installations, MF65 follows a slimline theme throughout which is evident from both the inside and outside view of the product.
Overall sightlines are modern, balanced and consistent where possible as well as very slim, as shown without a cill or trickle vent add on.
The configuration range is extensive as well. Two, three and five panels folding to one side, 2+1, 2+2 and 3+1 splits, inward and outward opening, and a three panel arrangement with a secondary access door so you are not folding the whole screen to let the dog out. A low threshold option is available on both inward and outward opening versions as well.
Alumil MF65 Sightlines vs Other Brands
There are a number of slim profile bifold doors on the market today, so the better-known brands are chosen here that are comparable.
Sightlines are based on a three-panel bifold with a traffic door hinged on the panel side and all folding in one direction.
Side Frame and Sash to Glass Line
Aluk Iconik 80mm
Smart Visofold 6000 88mm
Alumil MF65 101mm
Sheerline Prestige 110mm
Origin Contemporary 130mm
Frame Head to Glass Line
Alumil MF65 75mm
Aluk Iconik 80mm
Smart Visofold 6000 88mm
Sheerline Prestige 110mm
Origin Contemporary 130mm
Bottom Track to Glass Line
Aluk Iconik 91mm
Smart Visofold 6000 88mm
Alumil MF65 101mm
Sheerline Prestige 110,
Origin Contemporary 130mm
Meeting Stiles Glass to Glass
Aluk Iconik 87mm
Alumil MF65 88mm
Smart Visofold 6000 94mm
Origin Contemporary 110mm
Sheerline Prestige 138mm
Large Panel Dimensions
Despite the slim sightines, Alumil MF65 Bifolds do have impressive large panel sizes. The sizes you get depend on both width and height, but this example shows a 1300mm wide door sash with a 2500mm overall height.
These impressive sizes create a 3 panel bifold that looks as slim as a sliding door when closed, with all the bifold functionality.
Like all bifolds, the same profiles create single and French doors, going wider, taller and slimmer than conventional residential doors, which is another advantage.
It is when you open and close the doors that you can feel the excellent design and quality hardware behind the Alumil product. Advanced rollers, modern locking systems, extensive sealing and a reassuring feel when each intermediate panel locks into position and the final traffic door closes and locks.
How a bifold door feels is often an excellent indicator of quality and we do recomment you try out several doors before committing to a particular type.
Technical Information on the Alumil MF65 Bifolding Door
Full detailed information with charts, wind loading calculations and inertia values are available on the MF65 technical manual and website, but are summarised as follows:
Aluminium alloy to all current stanards, including AlMgSi, EN AW 6060, 70HBW to EN 755-2
Thermal break is a 32mm glass fibre reinforced polyamide in sash and frame
Additional insulation NRG BAR and PE insulation foam is available for the lowest U-Values
Maximum sash size 1300mm wide or 3000mm high
Maximum sash weight 140kg
Glazing Double or triple, 24mm to 44mm
Running gear Bottom rolling on stainless steel track
Five-point locking system with designer handle and star-rated cyliner, PAS-24 security tested
Quadruple shoot bolts to secondary leaves
Powder coating to Qualicoat Standard, 60 microns minimum
Air permeability Class 3 to EN 12207
Watertightness Class 8A to EN 12208
Wind resistance Class C2/B2 to EN 12210
Thermal insulation triple glazed 1.1 W/m²K, double glazed 1.4Wm2K as explained further on in more detail.
The 140kg sash weight and the 3000mm height are unusually generous for a bifold at this section width. They are what allow triple glazing at full room height without the system running out of capacity, and they are the reason the MF65 turns up on projects where other slim bifolds have been ruled out.
The maximum sash width is also more than the number would suggest. Alumil publishes dimensional limitation charts for three wind load cases, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.2 kN/m². The standard version runs to 1200mm wide. The 1300mm figure requires the M65129 reinforcement, and even then the permitted height falls as the width rises and as the wind load increases.
This means that a sheltered suburban garden and an exposed coastal elevation are not the same specification. If your installer quotes maximum panel sizes without asking where the bifolds are being installed, you must question it.
Whilst slim sightlines are important in the buying decision, the strength and integrity of the door matters a lot as well. This is why where you live affect the choice of doors you can have, not just with his product, but with any properly designed brand.
Finishes follow Alumil’s standard Qualicoat powder coating programme at a minimum 60 microns, with RAL, super durable and ultra durable powder classes available, plus anodising.
Security and Energy Efficiency
Alumil offers a PAS 24 edition of the MF65 with its own hardware schedule. That includes a dedicated bottom carrier component for PAS 24 and RC 2, PAS 24 stoppers for the intermediate sashes, an active shoot bolt and a three star high security cylinder, with 3 star rated glazing.
This is a designed security variant rather than a bolt on upgrade, which is the right way to do it.
Two things follow. PAS 24 is a property of a tested configuration, not of a system name. If you do want a PAS 24 door you need to ask for it, it does not come as standard, because you see a PAS 24 badge on a website.
Ask your installer to confirm in writing that the doors being supplied are the PAS 24 types with the full hardware schedule, and get the certificate reference. Under Approved Document Q this matters on new dwellings and on some changes of use, and a general statement that the system “is PAS 24 certified” is not the same as confirmation that your doors are.
Transparent U-Values
Alumil does not publish ‘as low as’ figures like most other system companies On thermal performance the company provides U-Values based on the actual sizes and glass specification rather than marketing or headline figures.
The systems company that publishes a Uw calculated on a size of its own choosing, means manufacturers’ U-values cannot be compared directly against each other. The Uf figure of 2.2 W/m²K is the more useful number, because it describes the frame itself. Ask for the Uw calculated at the actual size and glazing of your opening, and remember that the figure still excludes installation and perimeter detailing, which is where real heat loss tends to happen.
As a result, based on a 3600mm wide and 2500mm high bifold door as the pictures on this Alumil MF65 bifold door review, the actual U-Values would be:
Glass centre pane U-Value of 1.1 = overall product U- Value of 1.4Wm2K
Glass centre pane U-Value of 1.0 = overall product U- Value of 1.3Wm2K
Glass centre pane U-Value of 0.6 = overall product U- Value of 1.0Wm2K
Product Guarantees
With a lot of systems companies having to stand behind their product guarantees, Alumil publishes it clearly.
Powder coating is guaranteed for five years on standard RAL Class 1 powders, ten years on Class 2 super durable, and fifteen years on ultra durable and on 15 micron anodising.
Insulation gets ten years, gaskets and synthetic profiles eight, mechanisms and accessories five.
The clause that matters most in the UK concerns severe environments. For coastal and industrial locations, and anywhere near a swimming pool, Alumil requires pre-anodising or anodising before powder coating in order to hold those guarantee periods. Without it, the guarantee drops to two years, and only if a Class 2 super durable powder has been used. If you live within sight of the sea and nobody has mentioned this to you, raise it before you sign.
Hardware also falls under a ten year warranty, depending on the type fitted. Installers therefore should be providing a ten-year guarantee with this product, supplied and installed.
How Much Does the Alumil SMARTIA MF65 Cost?
Typical prices range from £1,100.00 plus VAT per panel up to around £1,400.00 plus VAT per panel including survey and installation. This typically allows for a non PAS 24 secure door in a standard black, grey or white RAL colour. Doors are glazed with toughened safety glass, having a soft-coat low-emissivity coating, warm edge spacer bars and argon gas fill.
UK Regions, installer profit margins and fitting costs, individual door specifications and where the doors are being fitted can all affect the price you pay.
Other bifolds to consider with the Alumil SMARTIA MF65
There is no bad bifold door on the market. Where they differ, who makes them, the overall supply chain and the quality of the installation. All the current systems are designed to meet or exceed industry standards for weather performance and security, as well as quality of aluminium and quality of paint finish. Any correctly made and installed door should give you reliable service long term. Where they can differ is in:
- their aesthetics
- overall sight lines
- engineering
- quality of the hardware/components
- options available
- brand reputation
Express Bifolds XP88
You can consider this Alumil MF65 Bifold Door review as one that you can also use for the Express XP88, although their product has not been seen at their facility in Leeds. Neither do I know what, if any, enhancements Express Bifolds make to the product, but it is understood it is the standard product. This is the system that the XP88 uses. Express are a standout company with an outstanding reputation, nationwide presence, and excellent product quality and service.
Aluk Iconik
Aluk’s new bifold door, the Iconik is indeed ultra slim and 1mm thinner on the panel junction. The rails and stiles are also slim as is the contemporary appearance. I think on sightlines, technical specifications, this is probably the best direct new competitor to the MF65 on sightlines.
AluK publishes two frame options, a slim interlock at 87mm and a standard at 110mm, on an 80mm system depth, with glazing from 23mm to 46mm and 17 configurations across two to seven panels.
On paper the slim Iconik and the MF65 are within a millimetre of each other on the interlock. Where they separate is capacity. AluK publishes a maximum leaf weight of 130kg against Alumil’s 140kg, and the Iconik’s own literature is inconsistent on maximum leaf height, giving 2400mm in one place and 3000mm in another. Published U-values are 1.3 W/m²K double glazed and 1.0 W/m²K triple, against Alumil’s unqualified 1.1. Air, water and wind classes are 4, 5A and C3.
The Iconik’s advantage is the UK fabricator network behind it. AluK has depth of supply, technical support and spares availability that Alumil does not yet match in this country. Its disadvantage is that it is new. The MF65 has years of UK installation history behind it through Express. If you want a slim bifold that has already been proven here, that difference is not trivial. We will review the Iconik properly once there are installed showroom and examples to look at.
Schuco AS FD 75 Bifold
Schüco AS FD 75. The AS FD 75/90.HI has a 90mm face width with panel sizes up to 1500mm wide, three threshold options including a flat threshold, and RC 2 burglar resistance. Schüco’s engineering, testing programme and UK support are first class. This is a top-of-the-market door and reflected in the price.
You can read our Schuco AS FD 75 review and this would be worth comparing for look and feel with the Alumil or Express Bifolds XP88
Smart Systems Visofold 6000.
Smart publish a 94mm sightline, an 88mm frame width and a frame depth of 76mm or 82mm, with a maximum sash of 1000mm by 2200mm at 100kg. It is the most widely available of these systems in the UK by some margin.
Given the large fabricator network, the quality of the manufacturer and the insatllation will vary. However, well-made and fitted this is a fine bifold at a great price that hsould serve you well. Panel capacity is well below the MF65, which matters on tall openings, despite the very similar sightlines overall.
Origin OB-36.
Origin market a 36mm sightline, which is the figure for one sash edge rather than the aluminium you actually see between two panes of glass including the lockbox. Therefore it is not as slim as the Alumil or other bifold doors for that matter, it is there as a steel look bifold only.
Origin’s strengths are the marketing, extensive dealer network and the excellent nationwide dealer network. However, it is a very expensive door for no obvious benefits over other brands when compared like-for-like. Don’t be persuaded that premium grade aluminium or Qualicoat finishes are unique to Origin. These apply to any reputable brand. Alumil have been Qualicoat members for nearly three decades as an example.
Alumil SMARTIA MF65. More information and where to buy
Alumil does have a growing network of manufacturers and installers in the UK. If you want prices quickly, our recommendation is via Express Bifolds, with showrooms in most parts of the country. Alternatively, get in touch for prices from other installers.
Disclaimer
Nick Dardalis provides UK marketing and market development consultancy to Alumil. Alumil have not paid for this review, nor is the Door and Window Experts Website incentivised to write it. This website focuses on publishing regular reviews of all brands. It is my opinions only and from independent assessment of the product against competing systems. The Door and Window Experts Website does not sell doors, does not accept payment for favourable reviews and does not sell rankings.
