Wicona is an aluminium facade specialist that for a short while has been part of SAPA Building Systems. Also in the group are Technical Systems. Wicona is a long established company specialising in advanced facade glazing solutions with many prestigious buildings having Wicona products installed.
Also in their product range are windows, sliding and folding doors, solar shading solutions and sun protection systems.
The new Wicslide 160 from Wicona
The Wicslide 160 is an advanced lift and slide door that is ideal for apartments or houses that require either advanced balcony or patio doors. It is also designed for commercial applications as well.
As you would expect from a latest generation product, the Wicslide 160 offers excellent thermal performance and meets the latest PAS 24:2012 high security standards.
Advanced German engineering in an exceptional sliding door.
What we like about this particular door is the excellent aesthetics, large span capabilities and the lift and slide feature.
Lift and sliding doors have not always had the best press regarded by installers as prone to ongoing operational issues and too expensive. In PVCu, early generation lift and slide patio doors were indeed problematic but as with any door or window required to open in more ways than just a simple hinged operation, quality of hardware and design is key.
Schuco and Reynaers for example offer excellent lift and slide patio doors in aluminium and the Wicona product appears as good.
Specifications and features of the Wicona Lift and Slide Patio Door.
Aesthetically the Wicona product offers contemporary sight lines thanks to its flatline appearance and square beaded arrangement. A choice of single, double or triple track options are available .
It is marketed by Wicona Systems as being easy to fabricate and install making it ideal for residential or commercial installations.
Wicona offer their WICONA Unisys principle based upon ease of fabrication, few tooling requirements and time saving fabrication. Other features include:
- A thermally broken interlock between the door leaves helping to keep the aesthetics of the door clean.
- A maximum leaf size of 3240mm wide and 3400mm high. These sizes make these doors ideal for the large panoramic sliding doors typical of today’s ultra modern homes and extensions.
- A system built into the tracks that has integrated brushes helping to keep the bottom track clean and operation smooth.
- The lift and slide hardware is not off the shelf to suit the product but is instead specially designed for and exclusive to the product.
- A recessed threshold option for consistent floor levels inside and out.
Cleverly designed into the system are the rollers. These have the facility to lift the slide by a marginal 5mm, but what it does is move the door by this small margin making it easy to operate even with the largest sliding doors.
A lift and slide aluminium door that can integrate with other framing systems.
The Wicona Wocslide 160 can integrate with framing, windows and even commercial doors making it ideal for commercial applications.
It can also accept glass right up to 50mm thick enabling triple glazing to be used if required.
Why we like the Wicona product.
Examination of the technical drawings shows a product with excellent hardware, great design and a host of features. With many “me too” products in the marketplace, installers or fabricators looking for an established system from a very reputable systems company with a global reputation have the opportunity to offer an advanced “next level” and highly contemporary lift and slide door for balconies or patios to compete against the comparable Schuco and Reynaers products.
If you would like more information about the Wicslide 160 door, please contact us.
