Frameless doors are designed to maximize visible glass with minimal frame, and are usually made of aluminium, but are frameless doors weather resistant?
Homeowners choose frameless glass doors because of their minimal aluminium frame appearance, lack of visible mullions, and the small space they occupy when fully open. They offer a minimalist aesthetic, maximize views and light, and can be a stunning feature of architectural glazing .
Frameless doors weather resistant expectations
An expectation of a new patio door is that they are weather resistant. Frameless doors, such as those by Frameless Glass Curtains, promote the lack of visible framing, but how do these doors stay weather-resistant?
If you compare standard aluminium bifolds to frameless glass bifolding doors, you may be thinking, how can a predominantly all-glass door be weather-resistant and sealed?
In comparison, how are bifolding doors weather resistant?
Bifolding doors are designed to open in or out, slide to the left and to the right. Frameless glass doors also have these features as well as the advantage of panels that slide and hinge independently rather than being concertina type doors, connected by their door hinges.
A conventional all-aluminium door uses a combination of design, engineering and components to provide air, wind and water resistance. If you then look at a regular single or double entrance door, weather resistance is much easier to achieve. This is because you have less frame, a rebate all around and, on French doors, the facility to apply a rebated mullion as well.
A bifolding door will still use many of the principles found on a hinged door; however weather performance needs to be more sophisticated because of the number of panels that butt up together when the doors are closed. There is already a rebate provided to the perimeter frame and the threshold, but how do the connecting panels remain weather resistant?
The answer is sophisticated gaskets that are designed to seal the door effectively with good compression when the doors are closed. Quality gaskets, the right tolerance gaps between the doors and correct installation all work together to keep doors sealed. In addition, drainage is provided to the threshold of the door meaning should any way penetrate the seals, it falls to the threshold and drains away to the outside.
As a result, aluminium bifolding doors meet the current standards for air, wind and water resistant measured in Pascals.
How are frameless doors weather resistant?
A frameless door features its own weather protection system to ensure doors that are predominantly glass remain sealed where the doors meet in the middle. The outer frame already provides the rebates found on an aluminium bifold, but frameless bifolding doors do not have the flush bolt locks found on the intermediate doors that also help keep the door panels sealed because they are locked shut and tight.
Frameless Glass Curtains use a unique design. They are engineered to ensure each intermediate panel is locked secure, but at the same time, weather resistant. Just like a conventional bifolds, frameless bifolds still meet British and EU standards for air permeability, water-tightness and wind resistance. Specifically these are:
- BS EN 1026:2000 for Air Permeability
- BS EN 1027:2000 for Water Tightness
- BS EN 12211:2000 for Wind Resistance
- BS EN 1279-2: for Moisture Penetration in Insulating Glass Units
- and PAS 24:2012 for Enhanced Security
In the middle of the doors, a highly sophisticated grey PVC bubble gasket is located on each vertical edge of the connecting doors. This gasket has exceptional weather resistance and compression properties. When the frameless door leaf is closed, the gasket compresses with the adjoining one to provide superior weather performance as well as an uninterrupted sight line and no visible mullion.
So, if you are wondering if a frameless glass door has less weather resistance than a conventional aluminium bifold, the answer is no!
Even though doors like the Frameless Glass Curtain from FGC has no visible mullion and no capping pieces found on other doors marketed as frameless, they are independently tested to meet the very latest weather performance standards. They also keep your home dry and secure.
Conclusion, are frameless doors weather resistant?
Yes, frameless patio doors can be weather resistant. However, they must have the right specification for external use and have all the appropriate weather testing done on them. They must also adhere to Building regulations and security testing certification.
There are other frameless door and window products available.
If you would like more information about the technical and performance aspects of frameless bifolding or frameless glass doors, please contact us.
