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News MW4+ Hurricane Resistance Testing
Can Your minimal windows®4+ Handle A Hurricane?
minimal windows®4+ have the same minimal design and detailing as minimal windows® but are larger, taller and more thermally efficient. Triple glazing is used for these sliding glass doors which provide a better thermal performance.
Due to the large sizing and triple glazing of these glass sliding doors, they are tested for certain weather resistance that minimal windows® are not tested for. These tests include impact resistance and hurricane resistance.
A hurricane is a tropical storm that has taken a cyclonic form and has reached wind speeds of 74mph or higher. Strong hurricane winds can cause moderate to severe damage to any surrounding buildings and can also cause flooding in coastal areas. Testing windows and doors for hurricane resistance means making sure that they will be able to withstand strong winds as well as making sure that the doors are manufactured correctly to prevent any water leaking through the frames. Preventing a water leak means less damage to the home during a hurricane or coastal storm.
Although it isn’t very common for the UK to experience hurricanes, it is very wise to be fully prepared for severe storms. minimal windows®4+ are tested for their wind resistance by being put with high pressures of wind that would equal the pressures of a hurricane wind.
The hurricane resistance of these sliding glass doors has been approved by the cyclic wind pressure test in accordance with TAS 203. These doors can stand cyclic wind pressures of up to 3510 Pa.
Advice The Benefits of Hidden Pocket Doors
Why You Should Consider Adding A Hidden Pocket Door To Your Home.
The first major benefit of hidden pocket doors is that they can allow an entire face of a building to be open. This can help create the perfect indoor-outdoor living spaces by preventing any obstruction to views and allowing easy access to the garden or patio area.
KELLER minimal windows sliding glass doors can be designed to slide into hidden pockets within external walls or over the internal or external face of buildings to help open a larger area. These hidden pocket doors can either be a single pane, multiple panels or bi-parting, sliding into opposite pockets.
This type of door can also allow you to create the perfect passageway between two spaces in your home especially those that have two very different climates. For example, between a living area and an indoor pool area. These hidden pocket doors will allow you to keep both climates separate as well as providing easy access between the two rooms.
Bifold doors have become very popular recently due to their ability to create an indoor-outdoor living space and opening up whole faces of a room. However, the weather in the UK doesn’t always allow for homeowners to have these doors open often. Hidden pocket doors, however, will be able to provide you with slim framing as well as being able to open up walls of a room.
The possibilities are endless when having a hidden pocket door. KELLER minimal windows sliding glass doors can provide you with a single cavity pocket door for much smaller openings whilst still creating a similar design appearance when this door is either open or closed. These pocket doors can also be incorporated into an open corner sliding door, providing you with a corner connection that the doors part from and enter into the hidden pockets within the walls.
Advice Aluminium Sliding Doors Vs uPVC Sliding Glass Doors
Which One is Best For You?
There are some differences between aluminium sliding doors and uPVC sliding glass doors. The first difference being that aluminium framed sliding doors are able to last for many years with no problems due to its robust metal compound. uPVC sliding glass door frames could potentially degrade over the years even though they can have a very long life.
Aluminium sliding doors can be made with a very slim frame as the material itself is very strong. uPVC sliding glass doors on the other hand must have a thick frame due to how weak it is. Having slim frames is more ideal as they allow the maximum amount of light to pass through into the home as well as being more aesthetically pleasing due to the higher ratio of glass to frame.
Architectural design is constantly changing and so using aluminium for windows and doors, architects can keep up with these changes as they are much more versatile. Clients can choose any RAL colour for the framing on aluminium sliding doors whereas uPVC can only offer a small range of set colours. Aluminium framing can also be curved or arched to fit more contemporary building styles.
uPVC sliding glass doors can be prone to expansion and contraction with heat, aluminium is much more robust and stable. This is shown in large panels of moving glass such as French doors or bifold doors as the aluminium frames are able to withstand the elements to remain consistent from year to year.
After comparing these two sliding doors it is clear to see that aluminium sliding doors are the better option for the aesthetic and longevity of the product.
Case Study's Willow Road Case Study
minimal windows® transformed this dated home in Hampstead, London into a bright, light-filled modern family home with a clever architectural design.
The minimally framed sliding glass doors were used to enhance the internal living environment of the property creating a larger open plan living area. The contemporary renovation creates a seamless connection between the living and seating areas as well as to the carefully landscaped garden.
The flush base track and head detail provides an idyllic, seamless transition between both inside and outside living areas. The slim 21mm sightlines allows the minimal windows® to take advantage of and provide uninterrupted views of the garden and a striking external aesthetic to the property.
The aluminium framed, minimal windows® has an excellent thermal efficiency, retaining heat even in the colder winter months. This was a specified design element by the clients as the traditional London town house previously suffered from heat loss.
KELLER minimal windows® used in this contemporary renovation are perfectly suited for modern design projects where minimal sightlines are desired with high levels of thermal and weather performance. The minimally framed sliding glass doors were finished in a dark grey powder coat for a contemporary design contrasting effectively with the white rendered walls.
View more images of the Willow Road project at our Pinterest Board.
IQ Glass UK installed this installation of minimal windows® and are the sole installer for minimal windows® within the UK. Contact IQ Glass UK for more information about installing minimal windows® on contemporary design projects within the UK
01494 722 88
Case Study's The House in the Wood Case Study
This woodland home has been completely renovated and extended, bring natural light into the home with the use of Keller minimal windows® sliding doors giving the brick building a new contemporary look.
Minimal window sliding doors have been added onto the front of the house which allows more light through to the kitchen and living room. These additions also allow the owners of the house to create indoor-outdoor living spaces from the indoor areas to the spacious gardens that surround the home. They are able to merge their living room and kitchen onto the patio outside, creating a much larger open space. These slim framed sliding glass doors have also been mirrored at the back of the house allowing all sides of the house to benefit from natural lighting throughout the day.
To the upper floors minimal windows have been used to continue this feeling of light and space through the home. To achieve this mirrored glazing design on the upper floors minimal windows® sliding doors have been engineered into minimal Juliet balconies. As the sliding windows open, frameless glass balustrades have been integrated to create these minimal Juliet balconies. By using slim framed windows, there is no obstruction to the views of the woods surrounding the house.
Several small glass extensions have been built onto the front of the house from the kitchen. These glass extensions have integrated minimal windows® within the structural glass design allowing more space in the room as well as letting more natural light in from various angles.
IQ Glass UK installed this installation of minimal windows® and are the sole UK installer for minimal windows® within the UK. Contact IQ Glass UK for more information about installing minimal windows on contemporary design projects within the UK.
01494 722 880
Case Study's Bedford Gardens Case Study
minimal windows® were used to connect this original London townhouse and a neighbouring mews property together via courtyard garden.
The demolition of both the original home and the adjoining mews property made way to create a single luxurious family home whilst retaining the historic façade of the 19th Century house.
A contemporary, light filled, family living room and kitchen now overlooks a carefully designed courtyard garden through our slim frame sliding glass doors. For the architectural design, the minimally framed sliding glass doors were used to mirror the design on the original house onto the adjoining mews property. The two sets of minimal windows® are completely parallel with each other allowing access to the courtyard from both the dining area to the home office.
Access to the basement can be made via the courtyard and required handrails, therefore frameless glass balustrades were used to allow the natural light to flow into the family home and provide uninterrupted views through the minimal windows®.
The flush threshold of the minimal windows® creates a seamless transition between both internal and external living spaces, which is enhanced by the cohesive flooring across both living spaces.
The adjoining mews house has also been re-built in a contemporary style providing ancillary accommodation with a new 300m2 basement below. This large, light-filled basement accommodates a well-appointed pool and spa, family media room, and formal entertaining space, and also includes a second ‘catering’ kitchen, large staff flat and plant and utility rooms, walk on glass floors have been incorporated to maximise the natural light levels.
View more images of the Bedford Gardens project below or at our Pinterest Board.
IQ Glass UK installed this installation of minimal windows and are the sole UK installer for minimal windows® within the UK. Contact IQ Glass UK for more information about installing minimal windows® on contemporary design projects within the UK.
01494 722 880
Case Study's Wiltshire Garden Room Case Study
A contemporary garden room was added to the rear of a listed property in Wiltshire using minimal windows®. The new modern extension uses a large elevation of minimally framed sliding glass doors to maximise the natural light providing a seamless transition between the interior and exterior, enhanced with the smooth limestone floor tiles that continue between both living spaces.
The large minimal framed sliding doors enable the new living space to be opened up onto the garden, enjoying the views of the perfectly landscaped grounds. The flush threshold creates a seamless transition between both internal and external living spaces
With excellent thermal efficiency the minimal windows® retain heat, even in the colder winter months. This was a key design element required as the listed property already suffers from heat loss. The high thermal performance in the new contemporary garden room helps retain the heat in the property and creates a warm and bright place to sit.
With flush floor finishes, 21mm framing and frameless surround finishes these minimal framed sliding doors create an impressive architectural design and striking external aesthetic to the new modern garden room.
The dark grey RAL finish provides a cohesive design matching the powder coated aluminium frames of the sliding glass doors with the aluminium pressings around the roof.
View more images of the Wiltshire Garden Room sliding glass doors project below or at our Pinterest Board.
IQ Glass UK installed this installation of minimal windows® and are the sole UK installer for minimal windows within the UK. Contact IQ Glass UK for more information about installing minimal windows® on contemporary design projects within the UK.
01494 722 880
Case Study's Turney Road Case Study
KELLER minimal windows® have been installed onto the back of this family home in London to create an open plan extension for the living room. The slim framed design of these sliding glass doors provides the home owners with the perfect view of their garden. The positioning of minimal glazing allows the kitchen and living room area to be lit naturally, especially with the slim frames as there is no light obstruction.
minimal windows® Sliding Glass Doors have been used to give the home an indoor-outdoor living space, extending the living room area to the decked area outside even when the doors are closed. The flush threshold allows easy access to the decking and garden area and the large sliding glass unit provides ample natural ventilation to the living room, especially in the summer.
Aluminium pressings were used to create a neat look to the home and all of the façade materials were powder coated to the dark grey as the minimal windows® to give the home a contemporary finish.
To find out more about this project and the products used head on over to the minimal windows Turney Road project page in our portfolio.
IQ Glass UK installed this installation of minimal windows and are the sole installer for minimal windows within the UK. Contact IQ Glass UK for more information about installing minimal windows on contemporary design projects within the UK
01494 722 88
hello@iqglassuk.com
News Welcome to the first blog post on our newly…
We hope you like our new look which is designed to make it easier to find the information that you are looking for. In particular, we hope you like the feel of the design which is specifically intended to be easy to navigate and to reflect our forward thinking and modern approach. The site is now compatible with modern tablets and smart phones to allow you to keep in touch while on the move.
Our new site emphasises ‘the beauty of minimal windows®’ at the very heart of the design. To prove this we have explained the adaptations and technical details of the minimally framed sliding glass doors and opened up ‘recent projects’ on the homepage to inspire everyone who visits the site.
We will be updating this Blog on a regular basis to keep you in touch with all the new things happening at minimal windows® UK as well as regular updates on our latest projects – there is plenty to tell you about!
Take a moment to explore our new site, perhaps bookmark us, and be sure to check back regularly for more information about our products.
If you have any questions about our new site or, indeed, would like further information on minimal windows® then please don’t hesitate to get in touch via phone 01494 722 880 or email hello@iqglassuk.com we’re a friendly bunch and would love to hear from you.
Don’t forget you can also follow the minimal windows® profiles on the following social media channels, so you can stay up to date with all the latest news and activity from minimal windows® – Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Google Plus, Blog Lovin
Case Study's Dunloran House Renovation: Case Study
A contemporary renovation project has recently been completed taking advantage of its idyllic location with a minimal design using thin frame sliding glass doors.
The clever architectural design merges the traditional property with a new modern extension seamlessly with minimal windows®. Large elevations of thin frame sliding doors are the key focal point to this family home. The new modern home features large elevations of minimally framed sliding glass doors maximising the natural light throughout the property, providing a seamless transition between the interior and exterior.
The flush threshold of the minimal windows® creates a seamless transition between both internal and external living spaces, which is enhanced by the hardwood flooring across both living spaces.
The large minimally framed sliding doors enable the new living space to be opened up onto the decked terrace. The minimalistic design captures the views overlooking the perfectly landscaped Dunloran Park.
Frameless glass balustrades have been integrated within the minimally framed doors on the upper floors, enabling the minimal windows® to be opened up on the upper floor to the property. With an excellent thermal efficiency the minimal windows® retain heat, even in the colder winter months. This was a key design element as the old traditional property previously suffered from heat loss.
With flush floor finishes, 21mm framing and frameless surround finishes these thin framed sliding doors create an impressive architectural design and striking external aesthetic to the property.
View more images of the Dunloran House project here or over on our Minimal Windows Pinterest Board.
IQ Glass UK installed this installation of minimal windows and are the sole UK installer for minimal windows® within the UK. Contact IQ Glass UK for more information about installing minimal windows on contemporary design projects within the UK.
01494 722 880
hello@iqglassuk.com