Balconette’s curved door realises architect’s vision in ‘the best spot in Cornwall’
Glass Balustrades | Juliet Balconies | Galleries |
We continue to offer support to previous buyers of our doors, and all documentation and installation guides are available in the pages linked here.
For our existing Curved Door clients, should you need to contact us, please call 01342 410411, or email enquiries@balconette.co.uk quoting your order details, and we will be back in touch.
Balconette’s impressive Curvaglide® Curved Glass sliding door has realised a RIBA-qualified architect’s vision to make the most of panoramic sea views in ‘the best spot in Cornwall’.
Peter Bowker created the curvilinear design, based on the waves of the sea, for his home perched on a dramatic clifftop site near Mevagissey. Large expanses of glass facing the sea were at the core of his design ethos and The Wave House was completed in 2012.
However, it would be another eight years until Balconette’s door, measuring just over five metres in width, would be installed in an extension to the lounge. The W4 model Curvaglide® door is 2.07m high and all four door panels slide, giving multiple opening options which is helpful in dealing with high winds, whatever their direction.
Due to the coastal location, the aluminium frames have a marine grade powder coated finish and support 28mm high performance double-glazed panels with a centre pane U-value of 1.0 W/m2K.
“When we wanted to build this house 11 years ago, we contacted Balconette because the house is designed with lots of curved glazed screens externally,” explains Peter. “One of the screens was going to be a completely semi-circular one which would then be either projecting out from the house or projecting into the house. It got very complicated and extremely expensive.”
Instead, he opted for folding, sliding screens that were faceted to achieve a curved arrangement from a different supplier. Then when he was planning the extension, he contacted that company again, only to find they were no longer in business.
Keen to follow his curved theme, Peter returned to Balconette who manufactured and supplied the door to his exact specification. Local specialist installers Kestrel Specialist Handrail Systems Ltd then fitted it in two days.
The biggest challenge on the project was disk cutting the granite paving to the profile of the curved track. “We had to put the radius measurements in very carefully before cutting the granite,” continues Peter. “Because the granite was set to a slight fall, we had to dig the track out to get it absolutely level; that was a bit scary.
“But we fitted it, everything went to plan and we’re very happy with the curved door. It fits in very nicely underneath an existing curved overhang.”
The only slight issue was with the satin chrome external handles that suffered in the salty sea air. After speaking with Balconette’s technical team, he was sent a new white powder-coated set of handles.
“The new handles are a perfect fit, and they are withstanding the salt environment here very well. So, we’re very pleased. For a sea view, it’s the best spot in Cornwall and we have the best doors to make the most of it!”
