Folding doors are rapidly gaining ground in residential and commercial construction

Folding doors and sun-protective sliding panels are being used more and more often in residential and commercial construction. René van den Biggelaar, Business Unit Manager at Henderson Nederland BV, also recognizes this trend. "We see a growing demand for folding walls that can fold inward or outward and meet all the set requirements for exterior applications," he says.

For use on interior doors and garden doors, the burglar-proof elements, brushes and rubbers can simply be omitted. The same applies to the bottom guide.

"And this is not surprising. In fact, folding doors significantly increase our living space by literally connecting living room or kitchen with the garden. Both when open and closed, daylight can also flow into the house to the maximum extent, increasing living comfort."

Folding walls offer the possibility of opening the facade in its entirety, where sliding walls only partially do so, Van den Biggelaar says. "In this way, a spatial effect and optimal contact with the outside are created."

Henderson Nederland BV, specialist in various types of sliding and folding door hardware and track systems, responds to this with, among other things, the Securefold folding wall hardware, which comes complete with track, frame and door rubbers and guarantees optimal sealing, weather resistance (600Pa) and burglar resistance (class 2). Without the worry of corrosion. Within the Securefold systems, some recent extensions and innovations have made the folding wall hardware even more versatile.

Complete and versatile
"The Securefold folding wall hardware lends itself perfectly to application on wooden doors, which can be custom-made by the joinery or end customer," says Van den Biggelaar. Regardless of whether one chooses a lot or little glass, a high or low parapet, wide or narrow panels, .... The possibilities are endless, provided one stays within a width of 1 meter, a height of 3.30 meters and a weight of 100 kg." The great advantage of Securefold in this regard is that the folding doors can swing inward as well as outward, he says. "Not for nothing is Securefold very popular with garden and patio doors."

Until recently, users sec had a choice of overhead systems, which required the rail and support structure to be provided at the top of the folding doors. "This required a strong construction, which, due to the use of a lot of glass or skylights in the façade, proved to be not always structurally possible," Van den Biggelaar says. "Sufficient reasons for Henderson to also introduce a lower system, where the heavy, load-bearing parts are mounted on the ground. At the top, only a guide needs to be placed. A godsend in existing homes and utility buildings."

A unique feature of the Securefold underflow system is that when the facade is closed, the rail disappears invisibly under the folding doors.

Now also for heavier folding doors
Especially for doors weighing up to 150 kg, Henderson Nederland BV recently added a top-hanging system to its range, in which the rails, hanging rollers and hinges are heavier. "This system is popular with cafés and restaurants, among others, where the façade is not only opened and closed more frequently, but where there is also a high demand for a robust, lout-proof solution," said Van den Biggelaar. "All Securefold systems are equipped with a lower sill. Aluminum sills were chosen for the overhead systems. DTS (plastic) lower sills are used in the bottom-hanging systems, guaranteeing a long service life."

In stainless steel or black
Very trendy at the moment is also the application of steel, black doors or (wooden) doors in steel look, for which the slender, slim, but also very strong Securefold systems are perfectly suited. "For application on interior doors and garden doors, the burglar-proof elements, brushes and rubbers can easily be omitted," says Van den Biggelaar. "Moreover, users can install our system without underguiding. All visible parts are available in both stainless steel and black, with which we optimally fulfill the aesthetic wishes of our end customer." 

Text: Lieke van Zuilekom    |  Image: Henderson Netherlands BV
Featured image: Folding walls offer the ability to open the façade in its entirety, where sliding walls do so only partially.