Partitioning a room.

[Kevin]

I have an opening between two rooms of about 8-foot that I want to partition. The plan is to use 4 x 2-foot doors within a frame. The usual way of doing this seems to be to effectively arrange these as 2 x 4-foot bi-fold doors e.g. see projects 22 & 23 in the wickes good-idea leaflet :-

problem is that SWMBO want to be able to open the middle two doors leaving the outer two bolted to the frame for normal use, but then open all four, folding them back to the wall on either side for special occasions. The arrangement of the hinges in the wickes designs would not permit this as the rebate would prevent the middle two doors from opening if the outer two were bolted closed.

The only way that I can think of doing this is to use some kind of double-action hinge, but the only ones I can find are spring-loaded which would not be suitable. Does anybody know where I can get unsprung double-action hinges in the uk ?

Anybody got any alternative methods ? I think I have seen a similar arrangement in a friends previous house but I'm not sure and cannot check. I have vague recollections of parliament hinges being used but cannot think how they would work to fulfil my requirements.

Suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks. Kevin.

[fred]

In article , Kevin writes

Is the rebate on the frame? How about removing it from the centre section.

Parliament hinges would let you have the doors opening into one room irrespective of whether one or two halves were open and let you have a proper latch, but depending on how you hinge at the frame side you may limit the opening of each door pair. At least the bi-folds could be hinged in such a way as to fold back flush against the partition wall. I'd def prefer the former, I can't help thinking 70s DIY every time I see bi-folds.

[Bob Mannix]

I asked my builder how to solve the same problem. The opening bit is fairly easy. You get 2 pairs of doors and fit two lefts on one side and two rights on the other. Where each newly made pair join you remove the rebate and fit hinges. You are then left with two doors on each side and a rebated join in the middle. the middle doors can then open as a normal pair, back against the outer ones. They can't go flat against a wall if you open right up, as the next open has to go in the same direction because you generally have one door stop (otherwise they won't shut nicely).

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[Set Square]

I don't know about Wickes' bi-fold doors specifically, but most bi-fold doors work thus: The outer leaf is hinged to the frame using pin-type hinges at the top and bottom. The 2 leaves are hinged together down one vertical edge. The far edge of inner leaf (in the centre of the room in your case) is constrained to move in a straight line by a pin in the top which moves along an upturned channel in the top of the frame. As the doors open, the hinged joint between the two leaves swings out into the room.

If you put a bolt in the outer leaf which keeps the hinged joint in line with the frame, the doors cannot open in the normal way. One thing you

*might* be able to do is to cut a slot in the upturned channel, which lines up with the guide pin in the "doors closed" position. This would allow the pin to come out of its channel, and the inner leaf could be opened using the hinges between the leaves. You may need to cover this slot with something removeable to stop the pin coming out of its channel when you want to use the doors "normally".

[Kevin]

Thanks for the advice so far. Just a couple of points to clarify. I am trying to avoid the bi-fold door arrangement, but it is useful in that it allows the doors to be folded back on each other, maximising the size of the opening.

The problem with the bi-fold door arrangement is that the rebate on the door frame prevents the middle two doors from opening if the outer two are bolted to the frame, which was one of the requirements.

What I would need to do is fold each of the middle doors back onto the outer doors and then fold these back again towards the wall. The problem here is that the thickness of the door pair would probably prevent them from opening all the way back to the wall.

One way of fulfilling both requirements would be to use double-action hinges, e.g.

only ones I have been able to find in the UK are spring loaded as you might find in hospitals or restaurant kitchens etc and I don't really think these are suitable. I haven't been able to check screwfix as their site is down at the moment. Obviously any that I did find would have to be strong enough to carry the weight of the doors.

[Rob Morley]

How about a tri-fold door (no track, all hinges on the same side)? The outside panel should be just wide enough to allow the assembly to fold flush against the wall. Or did I misunderstand the question?