Many systems companies offer a commercial aluminium entrance door.
In most cases, commercial aluminium doors are narrow stile doors, designed to operate with a concealed overhead closer and bottom pivot. There are other variations on the commercial door such as those with a face fixed closer and pivot hinges. They can even be converted into hinged or sliding automatic entrance doors.
Most systems work along this principle with a thermally broken or non-thermal variant. Study these commercial doors carefully, and you will see many similarities between most of the systems. One commercial door system, the 190 and 350 commercial door from Kawneer, does work on a similar principle but as a product has several distinct differences.
Kawneer aluminium commercial doors.
Kawneer is one of the world’s best-known aluminium systems companies. Within their range of sophisticated windows, curtain walling, specialist glazing and sliding doors are their long established commercial aluminium entrance doors.
The Kawneer commercial door range comprises the 190 and 350. Both are highly engineered commercial doors that go beyond the average mechanically jointed aluminium shop door designed to work with a concealed overhead closer.
Kawneer 190 Commercial Door.
The Kawneer 190 commercial aluminium door is a narrow stile door suitable for any commercial entrance. Kawneer designates this door as being for Heavy Duty Applications.
The 190 door is a slimline non-thermal commercial door having a 54mm door stile, a 57mm top rail and a 98.5mm bottom rail.
An anti-finger trap hinge stile is provided as standard.
Kawneer 350 Commercial Door.
The Kawneer 350 door, features larger profiles and is the recommended product for ‘Severe’ applications. We would regard a severe application as any building that has to manage a large number of people such as schools, universities, theatres, sports venues and concert halls.
Wider door stiles are provided on the 350 model that are 89mm. Top rails are also 89mm, with a 165mm bottom rail.
An anti-finger trap hinge stile is an optional extra.
Features of Kawneer Entrance doors.
While very much a non-thermal commercial aluminium door, Kawneer doors have details not found on similar narrow stile aluminium entrance doors.
A welded construction.
Most commercial doors feature a mechanical construction with square corners. Brackets and cleats are used with bolts holding the stiles to the rails. With some doors, even tie rods can be utilised.
Kawneer doors feature a welded construction. Called, Dual Moment, Kawneer say that this method of welding the corners of their commercial door provides the strongest possible construction and joint.
A lifetime guarantee.
Most fabricators of commercial doors only offer a limited warranty, covering mostly the hardware provided. It is fair to say that in our experience, commercial doors pose few problems once installed. Any issues are down to adjustment of the closers and the hardware rather than the door leaf itself.
This aside, Kawneer 190 and 350 commercial doors are available with the Kawneer Lifetime Guarantee. Because Kawneer fabricates the welded leaf before it is shipped to the fabricator for completion, a manufacturers warranty can be provided.
Five low threshold options.
Where many commercial doors offer a low, square back or rebated threshold, Kawneer offers nine.
864-528 is a 76mm x 12.5mm high threshold designed for offset pivots, butt hinges and where used with the 300mm framing system.
69-140 is a 100mm x 12.5mm standard threshold with a double ramp.
69-139 is a 100mm x 12.5mm standard threshold with a double ramp and a slightly raised rebate with weatherstrip.
864-340 is a 100mm x 12.5mm flat threshold suitable for automatic entrances.
69-141 is a 170mm x 12.5mm wider threshold where a floor spring is used.
A further four rebated thresholds are available where doors are provided with a rebated frame, face fixed closer and door hinges.
Full range of locking systems and exit hardware.
In line with other commercial door products, Kawneer doors can be provided with a wide variety of locks, access control systems, panic exit devices, electric strikes, keypad locks and more besides.
The 190 door carries PAS24 for both single and double doors.
In most cases, Kawneer aluminium doors are offered with Adams Rite hardware and Dorma door closers.
Kawneer commercial doors as bifolding doors.
While simple in design compared to a residential bifold or the excellent Kawneer AA3720 bifolding door, the 190 can be converted to a basic folding door. Available only as a single glazed product and a 3-panel door at no wider than 2828mm, it still has many uses in commercial shopfront applications at less cost than a normal bifolding door.
Kawneer 190 door stiles are connected with hinges, riser blocks and primary to provide an access leaf and two folding leaves.
A successful entrance door over many decades.
The commercial door in its basic narrow stile format utilising closers, locks and handles from external hardware suppliers is a successful concept that has been in place for over 30 years.
European countries do not all have the same requirements as the UK for public entrance doors. As Kawneer was the first storefront company in the world, some countries refer to this design of commercial door as ‘The American Door’.
Despite the age of the product has an excellent reputation with architects, specifiers and professional aluminium fabricators.
If you would like more information about the Kawneer commercial aluminium door, please contact us.
