Shower enclosure with folding door
In the shower enclosure with folding doors, also called bellows doors, accordion or retractable doors, the doors can be inserted in an upper and lower track or with a hinge system that allows you to avoid the frame.
- Folding door: features
- Folding door and shower box types
- Advantages of the folding door
- When to avoid the folding door
Folding door: characteristics
The folding door is characterized by two glass panels, usually 4 or 6 mm, equipped with hinges or articulated profiles that allow you to open the panels in extension or fold as a package. It is a very used solution in small bathrooms, because it allows you to make the best use of the space available for entry into the shower area. Example: if it is placed in an 80 cm niche, the entrance space is 65 cm.
Folding door and shower enclosure types
Shower enclosure with frame
The shower enclosure with frame and folding door can be mounted in niche, angular, with a door and a fixed panel, and also with 3 sides with the door in the central position. It provides in the upper part a profile inside which flows a pin that allows the extension of the glass panels or their folding as a package. In this case, the opening of the folding doors can be internal and external or only internal, a request made by those who do not want to drip water on the floor. The opening both inside and outside must be equipped with a latch that keeps the doors aligned so that they do not bend either inside or out because otherwise, during the shower, they could let water through and out. The opening only inside, however, can be limiting if the person in the shower has an illness and remains leaning against the glass. The access could be so problematic that it requires the breaking of the glass to rescue it. The Relax Light PS solves the situation with a safety system inserted in the upper profile. Activated, it opens the door completely also to the outside, also useful solution for cleaning the door, turned from the outside rather than standing over the shower tray.
The Lyra PS model of Relax with frame is also equipped with a safety system that allows the internal and external opening of the door.
Shower enclosure without frame
The shower enclosure without frame and folding door is used in niche, either with one or with two doors, or angular with two doors or with a door and a fixed panel. It is recommended with door lift system when opened for two reasons. Since the doors are equipped with a lower gasket, if they are raised in opening and closing do not crawl on the dam profile or, in the case of flush mounting, on the shower tray and then their water blocking capacity is preserved. Secondly, the lift system makes it easier to align doors when they are closed and therefore the watertight function is performed more effectively.
Advantages of the folding door
In the folding shower enclosure, The folding doors take full advantage of the entrance space which is therefore very convenient for people with physical disabilities and when you need a space-saving shower cabin because the outdoor area is already occupied by furniture or sanitary and the shower compartment is very small. The new models have frames with a light structure and a better aesthetic than in the past, or are even without frame. Often they are equipped with the practical cleaning system and the antipanic opening system to the outside, useful in case someone gets stuck inside the box.
When to avoid the folding door
The folding door in the shower enclosure is not recommended when the tap is in a position to prevent the complete absorption of the door or the floor is made of wood: the model could drip and, in the long run, spoil the material.
It can not be used in large sizes and is often considered a disadvantage from the aesthetic point of view because it consists of two glass panels that make the structure aesthetically unpleasant.
Some examples of folding doors for Relax shower enclosures
