Clearview National June 2016 - Issue 175 | Page 72

ALUMINIUM

Breaking new ground
»»LINIAR ASTONISHED
visitors to the 2016 FIT Show by
revealing its latest innovation – a
pure aluminium bi-folding door.
‘Alumina by Liniar’ has been
designed and developed by the
same team as the Liniar window
system – and offers superb
thermal performance and a host
of other features.
Liniar first launched a bespoke
PVCu bi-folding door system in
2011, then broke new ground
with its ModLok™ bi-fold in
2014. The thermally efficient
PVCu bi-fold has become
a market leader, combining
standard PVCu fabrication
techniques with an industry first
patented exo-skeleton, giving the
bi-fold doors the technology and
strength for bigger and wider
door apertures.
Now, in response to customer
demand, Liniar has created a
100% aluminium bi-fold system
designed for heavy duty use,
spanning even larger openings
and ideal for commercial projects
- Alumina by Liniar.
Group CEO Roger Hartshorn
said: “It became clear that there’s
a need for aluminium bi-folds
for larger and more heavy-duty
applications – but there was
nothing on the market that
exactly matched a window
system.

“This got us thinking – what
if there was a way to create a true
aluminium door with the same
sculptured profile as our window
system? What if we could make
it the most thermally efficient
aluminium bi-fold? And what if
we could foil the exterior, so it
matched perfectly with PVCu
windows? Finally, we wanted
our customers to be able to
manufacture it using traditional
techniques and machinery, so that
was an important criteria.
“We did look at multi-material
clad hybrid doors – however
our feedback showed there are
inherent problems with this
type of bi-fold. Not only do
they require specialist machinery
and set-up costs, they can be
extremely difficult to fabricate.
“Furthermore, the warmth of
the PVCu is hidden away inside
the profile so it’s difficult for
consumers to see the benefits of
such a system. A true aluminium
bi-fold was the answer.”
Able to span 1.2 metres
wide per sash and 2.5 metres
high, Alumina by Liniar can be
manufactured using standard
aluminium machinery by
fabricators who are equipped for
it.
Customers who would prefer
to buy it prefabricated, can place
an order direct and the team will

72 » JUN 2016 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

make the doors to exact
specifications.
Alumina by Liniar has
an optional ‘warm touch’ foiled
exterior and can be offered in just
about any powder-coated colour.
What makes it different is that
consumers can choose a beautiful
wood grain or flat foiled finish for
their doors – perfectly matching
their Liniar PVCu windows for a
more energy efficient home.
Alumina is the only fully
sculptured (curved) aluminium
bi-fold door on the market so
not only will consumers be able
to choose Alumina doors that
match the exact colour of Liniar
sculptured PVCu windows, they
will also be the same shape.
The product has been designed
from scratch with a combined
lock and thermal insert. This lock
unites the ultimate specification
of security with a high strength
engineering polymer lock body –
so the lock itself acts as a thermal
break, boosting the door’s thermal
performance compared to a
traditional aluminium door.
With 28mm double glazed and
36mm or 40mm triple glazed
options available, Alumina offers
‘true’ U-values as low as 1.2W/
m²k.
There is also a suite of hardware
f ollowing the same principles
as the Liniar ModLok™ bi-fold

system, including multiple bidirectional locking points, shoot
bolts that secure firmly into the
track, built-in anti-lift features
and anti-bump cylinders.
Alumina obtained PAS 24
accreditation and was awarded
Secured by Design status at the
first attempt.
All Alumina bi-folding doors
are available with three threshold
options, and the bi-folds move
smoothly along a sleek stainless
steel track and are ‘bottom
rolling,’ not top-hung – meaning
no extra stresses are placed on the
building’s lintel.
PVCu beads are offered with
Alumina, making the door panes
a dream to glaze, while other
features include folding keys,
ergonomic handles, hidden fixings
for hinges and discreet magnets.
Roger Hartshorn added:
“Alumina doors will be
manufactured in-house and
by selected Liniar fabricators,
using Liniar’s normal delivery
channels. This means we can
deliver shorter lead times than
other suppliers making it easy for
Liniar fabricators to offer a fully
matching aluminium bi-fold.”
www.alumina.liniar.co.uk