The same words describe three different doors
Accordion doors fall into rough grades. The lightest is a visual divider: it closes the opening and claims nothing else. Above that is a door with an insulated core that slows draught and temperature. Above that is a build aimed at sound, with mass in the panel and seals on every edge. A quote that says "accordion door" could be any of them, and the grade is the price. Ask which one it is.
Hardware rated for a house, fitted to a workplace
Carriers and trolley wheels are rated for a cycle count. A door in a house opens a few times a week and the light grade lasts. A door between two classrooms or across a servery opens several times a day for years, and the light grade starts dragging in its second year. This is the single most common reason a cheap door becomes an expensive one, because replacing the carriers means most of the cost of the door again.
No seals, or seals that are not there for long
A bare door leaves gaps at the head, at each jamb and under the bottom edge. Those gaps are where light, draught and conversation get through. Sweep seals at the top and bottom and a seal down the lead post close most of it, and they are exactly what a cheap quote leaves out because they are invisible in a photograph. Ask what seals are included and what they are made of.
Track that was ordered off a length
Track cut to a stock length and fitted to an opening it was not measured for leaves a gap at one end, or a door that never quite reaches the closing post. Curved and angled runs are worse, because the set-out has to come from the site. If the supplier is not measuring the opening before manufacture, that is the reason the price is lower.
Finish that does not suit the room
Fabric faces are the softest and the cheapest to look at on a sample, and the first to tear where hands, bags and trolleys reach them. Wipeable vinyl handles corridors, kitchens, clinics and schools. Timber-look laminate suits an office where the door is looked at more than touched. A cheap quote often defaults to the finish that photographs best rather than the one that lasts.
Questions that expose the difference
None of these is rude. A supplier who has specified the door properly will have the answers ready.
- Which grade is this: visual divider, insulated core, or acoustic build?
- What are the carriers rated for, and how often will this opening actually move?
- Which seals are included, at the head, the floor and the lead post?
- Is the opening measured on site before manufacture?
- Are panels, track, seals, hardware and installation priced separately?
- Who services it afterwards, and do they service doors they did not install?