Bi-fold doors are great when they work properly and frustrating when they do not. Luckily, the doors come equipped with several adjustment mechanisms. With a little trial and error, any bi-fold door can be made to work smoothly and close fittingly.

Step 1: Before making adjustments, examine the doors and note where they are out of alignment. Properly functioning doors are aligned squarely in the center, are set an equal distance from either side of the door jamb, and are parallel to the floor and the top of the door jamb.

Step 2: Open the door to be adjusted and free the door from its track by pressing down on the wheel located on the upper corner of the door. For doors without a wheel, pull down slightly on the center edge of the door to free the pin from its track.

Step 3: Once the door is swinging freely, fold the door in half and lift it up slightly to free the bottom pivot from the lower bracket. Pull the bottom half of the door out a little and detach the door from the top bracket near the jamb.

Step 4: Lay the door down so the bottom pivot of the door is accessible. This pivot is used to raise and lower the door height. As the pivot is turned into the door, the shorter length will move the door closer to the ground when it is remounted. Working in conjunction with the top pivot bracket, the bottom pivot can also be used to align a door that is askew. Placement of the pivot in the grooves of the bottom bracket serves as an additional alignment tool.

Step 5: Use a screwdriver to loosen the top pivot bracket and slide the bracket closer to the jamb to raise the center edge of the door or away from the jamb to lower the center edge. Moving the bracket closer to the door jamb will also move the door edge closer to the jamb.

Step 6: Once adjustments have been made, remount the door so it is parallel with the door jamb. Make additional adjustments until the door fits properly and operates smoothly.

— Have a question? Email Linda Cottin at hardware@sunflower.com.