Open Corner Post – Surrey

Background

Armed with architectural plans for a large detached new build this homeowner first came across Express Bi-Folding Doors at the Grand Designs Live exhibition in Birmingham back in 2016. Suitably impressed with our products on display & the informative assistance of our staff they quickly followed up on the exhibition with a visit to our extensive Weybridge showroom that is close to their home in Coulsden, Surrey.

Visiting a showroom is an absolute must when undertaking a project such as this. A considerable investment into your home needs to be made after fully inspecting the quality of the products & Company themselves to give the reassurance that they have the skills, knowledge & infrastructure to carry out a bespoke project such as this renovation in Surrey.

What we delivered

We measured, manufactured & installed all the bespoke glazing throughout this property. Two large screens of glazed curtain-walling dominate both the front and rear elevation of this house. The second-floor shaped curtain-wall screen is the main feature on the front elevation, acting as a huge light-well that pours natural light into the front entrance, hall and landing. The rear elevation boasts an architect designed extension benefiting from a large glass screen that acts a shaped picture window connecting the garden views with this open-plan family home. Traditionally a product used in commercial projects, aluminium curtain-walling is strong enough to create large dominant windows such as the two used expertly in this project. Dramatic feature glazing is common on luxury new-builds and extensions and curtain-walling has allowed these homeowners to place a window nearly four metres high on the back of their house.

Our contemporary casement windows have been used throughout the project, the perfect complement to the mixture of cream render and modern stone cladding that have been used to complete the external fabric of the building. Additional products include French doors & sidelights in the master bedroom, with the sidelights manufactured from large tilt only windows, which are a perfect solution for a bedroom as they can be manufactured to the same height as a door but tilt inwards to allow much-needed ventilation into the bedroom.

The new extension boasts a large cantilevered steel, which has allowed for two bi-folding doors to be installed together without the need for a structural corner post. Typically, two doors will meet at a fixed post which is cloaked in aluminium, but this project has the additional wow factor of the post folding away with one of the bifold doors. This stunning architectural detail means a much smaller post and sightline when the doors are closed but they also open-up completely, creating an impressive broad open corner. The two-moving corner-post folding doors include electronically operated integral blinds. The blinds sit within the glass themselves and are controlled by a remote control. The blinds never need cleaning, can screen off the living and kitchen space at the touch of a button and literally fold away with the doors when they’re opened, alleviating the need for an external curtain rail or external blinds. We can offer a moving corner post solution with two bi-folding doors each boasting an odd number of folding door panels just like this one. We also offer a moving corner post solution with our sliding doors also so if your architects plans include this bespoke solution then contact our sales team and we’ll be happy to help you.

The homeowners are delighted with the end results, a modern, family home benefitting from huge amounts of natural light, and the flexibility to seamlessly connect their open-plan family space with the garden. A complex project that thanks to the happy testimonials from the clients should lead to more of the same over the road at least: ‘Thanks once again for all your help – delighted that Jeff, building a house opposite us, decided to go with Express too. Hopefully my glowing reports helped sway him!’