Insulating edge of bifold doors

[Chris R]

I have a pair of wooden bifold doors to a conservatory. The head jamb is a plain piece of wood - the doors do not close against anything, so they are free to open inward or outward. There is a gap of about 3 to 7mm between the top of the doors and the head jamb, which I need to insulate. Can anyone recommend a product to do this please?

Most insulation strip products are designed to have the door close against them, rather than to bridge a gap to the edge of the door.

I had reasonable results with a stick-on V-shaped paper or plastic strip, which brushed the top of the doors, but the movement of the doors soon tore it. Rubber D- or P-section strips sold in DIY stores might do it, but I fear the friction would be too great (ie it would inhibit opening and closing the doors), and the uneven gap is a problem; certainly it would not work if I needed opposing strips on both surfaces to bridge the gap, as the doors need to move in both directions and also longways as they fold.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Chris R

[robgraham]

I can't decide if this is a daft question or not but why not put a strip of wood for the door to close to?

Rob Graham

[Bob Minchin]

There used to be a draught strip made from beryllium spring copper which came on a roll and was fixed with copper/brass nails. Not seen it for years but it might still be around or a plastic equivalent.

Just had a Google for it.

hth

Bob

[Chris R]

Because the doors (or at least the two central sections of them) need to move in either direction. You can open the central sections by swinging them into the room by themselves, or by pushig them outward so the whole door (two panels) opens out into the conservatory. Each panel has bolts, so the outer panels can be left in position and one or both inner panels opened.

Chris R

[Chris R]

Thanks Bob - that looks promising, though none of the sites I can find seem to describe how it works or what the dimensions are (eg minimum and maximum gap). Is it a V-section, like the tape I described? Will it cope with friction in any direction?

Chris R

[Cash]

Chris R,

Just an untried idea of mine.

Have you tried fitting draught brushes (usually found at the bottom of the door)? Fit on the frame and allow the door to close against the brush.

This would be a problem if the frame is fairly wide and the doors are hung centrally - but you may be able to adapt the brushes.

As I said, just an idea

Cash

[Bob Minchin]

>

Chris, Now that I have read your response to the suggestion of fitting a stop, I see how the doors can move either way. The copper strip is essentially flat but has a preformed crease line and you can bend it in situ to provide the correct degree of resistance. It is intended to fit a conventional door jamb. I'm not sure if it would work for you and it is a bit expensive to buy to experiment.

Have a look at 'routerseal' 'aquamac' and 'carripile'

Trend supply router cutters for the above.

hth

Bob

[Chris R]

Most brush types fit to the surface of the door, where they would be extremely unsightly at the top. I did see one that required routing a slot in the frame, which might work - though I'm not sure about using a router upside down, or how to get into the corner of the door frame. The brushes tend to be black, which is not ideal against a white frame.

Chris R

[Cicero]

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A compression draught excluder might work although they're usually used on thresholds. You might have to even up the gap at the top of your doors to get the best fit. They often need a bit of lubrication.

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[robgraham]

Right. In which case the following draught excluders that I have seen from time to time might work. These normally fit to the bottom of a door and self-retract into the door when the door is anything but shut. When the door approached the shut position a projecting portion of the excluder meets the door frame and leverage pushes the excluder down to the floor. This arrangement could be fitted to the top of a door and would be retracted except when it's shut or approaching the shut position.

Rob

[Chris R]

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At 19mm thick those wouldn't fit in the gap. I don't think it's posssible to even the gap - it's largely due to the inevitable sag in heavy bifold doors supprted only by the hinges.

Chris R

Chris R

[Chris R]

That could work. Can you point me to an example? One concern would be to make sure the mechanism works in either direction.

Chris R

[AJH]

I think you might need to look at the Reddiseals website-

AJ

[robgraham]

Unfortunately, I've only seen them in people's house - and that was some time ago. A Google might hit the spot.

They would definitely work in either direction because it's the approach of the hinge edge of the door to the frame that causes the excluder to come down (or up, in your case). The excluder is a bar which is connected to the door itself by several parallel pivots. A spring holds the excluder bar into a slot in the door and the pivots are then virtually parallel to the bar. When the door frame approaches it pushes against the protruding end of the bar which swings on the pivots and emerges from the door.

But where you get them from I regret I don't know. If you are handy (and, of course, if you're in this NG you are) I wouldn't think they would be too difficult to make.

Rob

[Chris R]

Sounds clever. I'm not sure it would have the desired effect in my case, though, because of the bi-fold. The inner sections would think they were shut if they were being opened at the same time as the outer panels. May be worth a look if I can find them, though.

Chris R

[Chris R]

Thanks - that looks promising.

Chris R

[The Medway Handyman]

I've seen the things Rob mentions in someones house, they were built into the door & the horizontal activator would have clashed with the pivots on a bi fold.

Brush strip no good? It would move either way?

[Chris R]

Brush strip would be ideal if I could find a product of the right depth, ideally surface mounted, or which can be easily installed othrwise; but most products seem to attach to the surface of the door, which would be unsightly.

Chris R