Stylish screen

A long-established member of the Steel Window Association, Steel Window Services & Supplies, has worked with the owners of a north London property and their architects to produce a bespoke screen with double doors. This maximises the natural daylight entering the home while framing the view of the outside space.

Steel Window Services & Supplies took the design brief from Charlton Building Design whose principal, David Charlton, wanted to respond to the client’s brief by taking advantage of W20 steel frames’ ability to optimise daylight transmission and minimise sight-lines, while offering strength and durability.

The custom-built screen, which Steel Window Services & Supplies fabricated and installed in the kitchen-dining area to the extended dwelling, was produced as three separate units – the double doors and two sidelights – plus a curved head unit to match the arched opening in the brickwork. While the doors are side hung, outward opening, the sidelights also each feature a top hung opening window.

“The project in Stoke Newington involved constructing a side return extension that required altering the whole back elevation to the building for the creation of a new kitchen dining space,” David said. “The client was already keen on the concept of using 1930s-style windows so I looked around at what was available from manufacturers in the London area, with Steel Window Services & Supplies coming out best in terms of both cost and quality.   

“In terms of energy performance, the Building Inspector was happy to take a view on the extension as a whole and so we increased the thickness of the floor and wall insulation slightly to balance the U-value calculation. I was very pleased with the appearance of the frames, with folded rather than cast material and attractive beads. The fabricator performed very well and we are about to do another job with them in Highgate.”

The patio door screen was finished in RAL 7016 30% blue-grey powder coat paint over hot dip galvanising to present an extremely hardwearing and low maintenance appearance. Specialist hinges were used to enable the double door leaves to open 180º. The addition of stylish, hand-made, solid brass ‘Frank Allart’ ironmongery gives the screen a timeless and elegant appearance.

The glazed units feature a 4-8-4 make up with krypton gas filling to offer a centre pane value of 1.2W/m2K, helping to reduce energy losses and providing a comfortable indoor environment. The overall door U value is 1.8W/m2K based on the standard reference door measurement.

www.steel-window-association.co.uk