a door hinged on another door?

[RobertL]

I wonder if anyone can suggest where I could find some sepcial folding doors.

I have a 3m wide aperture to the back garden. I would like to have folding doors across the whole width but not the usual sort of thing you see, for example, here:

want four doors in total. The middle two doors are to open outwards (like french doors) and fold back against the outer two doors. Then I want the outer two doors (when unbolted), to open outwards with the inner doors still folded back against them,to leave the whole width open. This means the inner door hinges will be fixed onto moving edge of the outer doors.

I can't find anyone who supplies these. Maybe they are not safe becuase they would whip about too much. I could design/make it myself, but I'd rather have a comercial system that does the job properly.

Any thoughts?

thanks

Robert

[RobertL]

drawing here:

[TMC]

simples

[John Rumm]

What you describe are typically called Bi-fold doors. Its more common to have them hinge in alternate directions though so the outer set would open in. This makes it easy to do with normal hinges.

The situation you have described would use normal hinges on the door to door joint, but would need standoff hinges[1] on the frame so that the whole lot will swing clear of the wall when opening. Otherwise the inner door would hit the wall or frame and stop you opening them more than 90 degrees.

E.g. a Parliament Hinge:

[Martin Bonner]

I would worry about the security of a parliament hinge outside. I suspect the scrotes could knock it off with a lump hammer. The OPs insurer might worry too.

[John Rumm]

You can also get the less aesthetically pleasing "projection hinge" same sort of idea, but without the reduced hinge section. They ought to be not much more vulnerable than a traditional hinged door that opens out.

(personally I would make the outer doors open in, and then its much simpler)

[dennis]

the frame. Then it will work with standard hinges made for doors that open out, complete with the security lugs to stop them opening if someone does knock the pin out.

[John Rumm]

The thickness of the inner door will still bind, even if it does not hit end on.

Much depends on how far one wants them to open really.

[RobertL]

Thank you all for the suggestions of how to construct it using hinges. That is a possibility, but I was really hoping for a ready- made solution that would clearly meet Part L and hgave some guarantee against collapse!

if I made it myself I would worry whether the outer doors (the only ones with hinges fixed to the frame) could take the strain of having the inner doors hung off them. These doors will be heavy as they have to be double glazed to part L and are 750mm wide each (1500mm for each pair)

many thanks

Robert

[John Rumm]

When you think about it, the pair will contain less glass than a large single door, and hence will probably weigh less.

[Steve Firth]

I have these doors on a barn, opening exactly as described by the OP. The hinges had to be made by a blacksmith and have to be extremely strong or the doors will drop if opened to their maximum extent. The hinges fixed to the wall are designed with a stand off equal to the thickness of two doors which permits the doors to be folded back against the wall.

I think the doors look good and it is an elegant solution to providing access equal to the full width of the door. I have a similar French window in the house but this opens inwards and is aluminium for lightness. Also a good solution since it works as a single door, a double door with two fixed lights or a full width door to permit enjoyment of the view from the sofa.

[RobertL]

On Nov 17, 10:07=A0pm, Steve Firth wrote: >

Thank you that's very interesting. I (the OP) had also worked out that I could get the pair to swing right back if I put the hing in the right place.

Did you find and problem with the 'outer' door (the one that has the wall-mounted hinges) twisting when the two doors are at righ angles to each other? maybe you have bolts at the top/bottom of the outer door and only release these once the inner door has been folded right back.

Robert

[RobertL]

Like this revised figure in fact...