bi-fold doors where the door leafs are hung from rollers that run in a track across the top of the door. This can work well in isolation, but it is worth considering that as the top of the door frame is secured to the lintel above the door, the extra weight of the door suspended from the frame will be transferred to the lintel. If the lintel is not strong enough to carry this extra weight, there is the potential for catastrophic consequences.
8. Threshold Most marketing photos of bi-fold doors usually feature a door that has a flush threshold, mean- ing there is a continuous floor with no step between inside and outside. This can certainly be achieved, but it is worth considering that most bi-fold doors come with a choice of as many as four different options. This is because there must be a trade-off between the height of the threshold and the level of weather resistance the door can offer. Flush thresholds won’t be very good at keeping out draughts and the doors with the best weather ratings will have a higher threshold to step over. It’s certainly worth considering how exposed the door will be to the elements, but most people find a compromise by using one of the intermediate thresholds.
[ 54
Whether you are considering bi-fold doors or patio doors, keeping the tracks clear of debris will be important to the long-term reliability of the doors
] selfbuilder & homemaker
www.sbhonline.co.uk
9. Ease of track cleaning Whether you are considering bi-fold doors or patio doors, keeping the tracks clear of debris will be important to the long-term reliability of the doors. It’s usually just a question of running a vacuum cleaner over the track, but some slid- ing doors have a design that makes it tricky to clean. Rather than having the wheels attached to the door leaf, the doors sometimes run on wheels that are set into the track at intervals. Most of the track is covered by a cap with slots for the wheels to poke through. This solution is considered by some to be fundamentally flawed as a build-up of dirt in the track may eventually stop the wheels from turning. It’s also possible that in winter, any water that has not drained properly from the track may freeze and stop the wheels from turning altogether.
10. Slide or lift-and-slide Patio doors are designed to achieve a compromise between being easy to open and close and being good at keeping out wind and rain. The majority of patio doors are opened by pushing the door leaf to the side. When doors are of moderate size and weight this ‘slide’ mechanism allows the doors to be opened easily enough. For bigger doors – it is possible to have door
leafs that are up to 3m high and weigh up to 400kg – it is advisable to opt for a lift-and-slide mechanism. Turn the (slightly longer) handle through 180° and the door leaf is lifted by a few millimetres to reduce the friction bet- ween door and frame. This makes it possible to move even the biggest and heaviest doors with relative ease.
Enq. 194
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