Friday 26 November 2010

Working with Design and Build Architects

At SunSeeker Doors, we have often worked with architects and builders to install bifolding doors in new or extended homes but since the launch of of our fairly unique Frameless double-glazed doors, there has been a greater interest from the design and build sector.

In the UK, if clients want to make the most of a spectacular view from their homes, the considerations are:
  • best uninterrupted view,
  • best view through the glass,
  • building regulations compliance.
The best uninterrupted view is to have nothing between yourself and the view, not even glass. This can be achieved by installing retractable doors and opening them fully, such as slimline bifolding doors, glass curtains or double-glazed frameless glass doors. SunSeeker Doors manufactures and installs all these types of doors.

The best view through the glass can be achieved with fixed frameless glass panels, sliding frameless glass patio doors or retractable glass curtains made from single-glazed tempered glass but none of these would meet building regulations approval if installed between the main house and the outside. Double-glazing is necessary to reduce heat loss from homes, therefore a narrow opaque edge is unavoidable around each glass panel. With this in mind, the best available options for the best view through glass doors are double-glazed frameless glass doors or sliding patio doors.

Traditional sliding patio doors that run left and right along tracks do not retract to improve the view or access area. Sunseeker Doors' frameless glass doors have been developed to slide then pivot ninety degrees to stack neatly at the side of the opening for maximum access, light source and viewing aperture.

Design-and-Build Frameless Glass Doors Installation

SunSeeker Doors has experienced teams to perform a site survey and who can install our doors - frameless or bifolds - with minimum fuss in minimum time, leaving a tidy site within a few hours.

Architects benefit from fast but professional service, customers are pleased to be free of workmen and their debris and have working doors the same day.

We have the flexibility to work with architects, developers and building professionals to meet deadlines and other requirements. Read more about us on our web site, email or call 01582 492 730 to discuss including our quality, innovative doors in your plans.

Thursday 11 November 2010

Double-glazed Frameless Doors - as much space as you can handle!

Earlier this week, a customer told us that they had never heard of FRAMELESS bi folding patio doors until they accidentally discovered them on our website.

That's the problem with being ahead of the game - spreading the word takes time and/or money and, as SunSeeker Doors is not a large corporation, getting the message across is a slow but rewarding task.


Frameless Glass Doors look similar to bifolds but don't actually fold. The doors hug each other tightly until they are required to part. The main door opens so that the other doors may be spread across the opening or fully retracted for maximum access between the two areas.

Our double-glazed frameless doors exceed UK building regulations for use between the inside and outside of your home.

A single glazed version is available if you just need a classy plain glass room divider - it's so understated that people sometimes assume it's a glass wall and don't realise that it's fully openable.

Treat yourself and wow your friends...
Our website has full details of Frameless Glass Doors, including photographs of some installations, or you can call us with your questions on 01582 492730.

Friday 5 November 2010

An Ordinary Door Amongst Extraordinary Doors

It occurred to us recently that, due to our over-enthusiasm, we effuse about how our bi folding doors and our frameless glass doors open and close during the better weather yet we forget to mention that, for everyday usage, they are all equipped with a traditionally opening door.

To clarify, both styles of door expanse include a traditionally hinged or pivoting main door. This can be locked and unlocked with a key, opened and closed with a handle. You can walk between rooms or into the garden as if it was just an ordinary door - which it is.

The other (extraordinary) doors are its accomplices.

  • On bifolds, the other doors are linked with hinges that allow them to be opened in a concertina / accordian style.
  • Frameless doors have no hinges but snuggle together until separated by first opening the (almost) ordinary door then moving the nearest extraordinary door, by sliding it across the gap. When it reaches the furthest point along the guides, it can swivel to rest next to the first door. The process is repeated for each door, as required, or any of the doors can remain in a closed position anywhere along the guide rails.

For visual enlightenment, please see our photograph galleries for bi folding doors, double glazed frameless doors and frameless glass doors for enclosures and room dividers.

Monday 1 November 2010

Now that Bi Folding Doors are so popular, there's nothing new to say ... or is there?

republished from www.goarticles.com

It is easy to find information about Bi-Folding doors on the Internet: how they work, who supplies them, which frame type is best, and so on. There is very little information about the Frameless glass door that has recently evolved and poised to become the next hot home improvement 'must have'.
The frameless glass patio doors system is based on the 'glass curtains' (single glazed doors) method of using separate panels that slide and pivot to stack at right-angles to open, then slide back to their original positions, butting tightly together, to close.
When closed, the view through the glass doors is maximised as there are no side frames between the glass. When fully open, the doors are stored to the side of the opening, similar to stacking bifolds, for maximum access ans well as uninterrupted views.
These single glazed frameless doors are the ultimate is room dividers but for patio doors, frameless double-glazed doors are necessary to meet building regulations.
Frameless double-glazed doors do not provide such a purely uninterrupted view as can be achieved with single glazing. This is because the thermally compliant double glazed unit has to be sealed with a gasket that is approximately 20mm wide. Insulated glass or double glazing has insulation and acoustic properties attributable to the a vacuum or special gas in the cavity between the inner and outer glass panels. A gasket needs to be reliably airtight to retain the gas or vacuum and to prevent humidity and condensation.
There is no frame at each side of the frameless glass doors but the gasket is opaque and forms a frame-like interruption to views through a set of double-glazed door panels, though minimal, especially when compared with bifolding doors.
If you long to have a view through a wide expanse of uninterrupted glass doors, there are places where you can install frameless single glazed doors. For example, conservatory doors, balcony enclosures, outbuildings and commercial premises, as well as room partitions.
Commercial premises do not have to comply with the same insulation standards as domestic dwellings therefore the single glazed frameless doors can stretch across the front of house, in place of a plate glass window, for instance. Restaurants and cafés have embraced the frameless glass door system because it enables them to seemlessly extend their services beyond the front door.
Frameless glass doors, like bifolds, can easily provide access in excess of seven metres.
Information regarding single-glazed or double-glazed frameless doors or aluminium-framed bifolding doors can be read on SunSeeker Doors web site. This UK manufacturer will provide a competitive quotation for both bi folding doors and frameless glass doors, including installation and full product and workmanship guarantee.

Bee Primrose has been writing about bi-folding doors since 2007. This and various other topics are covered in http://www.myportfolioltd.blogspot.com