DOORS & WINDOWS
30-minute composite fire door is ‘ gamechanger ’
» THE GUARDSMAN FIRE Door slab from ODL Europe is billed as a gamechanger for the 30- minute composite fire door market . The strength of its credentials is being reflected in the strong interest ODL Europe is seeing since it introduced the product in late 2020 . The Guardsman Fire Door is the result of a six-figure investment by ODL Europe . The company worked with the engineers at its partner Capstone , the worldleading supplier of composite doors , as well as several experienced fire door fabricators .
Nathan Barr , Managing Director of ODL Europe , said : “ The commercial sector is very interested in the Guardsman Fire Door for good reason . It offers reliable performance and consistent test results over and above anything else currently seen in the composite fire door market .”
The Guardsman ’ s performance – in both glazed and unglazed versions – has proved unrivalled . It has been tested to the European fire test standard of BS EN 1634- 1:2008 , the more onerous test standard required by Part B of building regulations . On average , the door has achieved a 100 % overrun past the 30-minute mark . In some instances , it has achieved over 70 minutes .
This performance has been secured by going back to the drawing board on the door ’ s construction . The phenolic foam core typically used in a composite fire door manufacture has been replaced with more stable Agrifiber , which is a board material made from resin-bonded agricultural fibres . At the right density , the material provides the structural properties and stable fire resistance required . It is also a green building product , which will help specifiers wanting to maximise the environmental standards of a scheme .
The Guardsman door can be fabricated to a range of sizes from just two base designs , offering fabricators manufacturing economies . More importantly , it also helps to ensure the door still meets the required standards , even when assembled by different fabricators . The door not only brings outstanding test results , it
also brings the renowned quality of a Capstone composite door slab . It features hardwood stiles and rails and 2mm Capstone GRP skins , which means it is low maintenance and able to withstand the rigours of high-traffic areas .
www . odleurope . com
CUSTOMERS SELL MORE THANKS TO ‘ SMART ’ PRODUCT SAMPLES
» THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF BUZZ around ‘ smart ’ windows and doors over the last few years , and one company that has fully embraced this new technology is premium product fabricator Dekko Window Systems . Dekko was one of the launch partners for Kubu – the Smart-Equipped Lock from Avantis Hardware – and since 2019 , it has come as a standard feature on all their PVC and composite entrance doors .
The fabricator is keen to help their trade customers sell as many smart equipped doors as possible , which is why they have spent the last few months providing installers with product samples and marketing materials .
Dekko Sales Director Kurt Greatrex comments : “ Consumers are becoming more aware of smart tech and how it can perform a huge variety of tasks around the home . Working closely with Avantis , we ’ ve been dishing out Kubu lock samples and brochures to some of our key customers and the response has been fantastic – we ’ ve experienced a surge in orders and interest is growing by the day .”
Kubu Smart hardware can be incorporated into the design of almost any Dekko entrance door – a smart sensor is attached to the door , which is then linked to the homeowner ’ s smartphone . The homeowner can then check the status of the door at any time , from any location .
Once the Kubu-equipped door is installed , customers can purchase a Home Hub from the Kubu website . They can then connect this to their home wi-fi , download the Kubu app to their smartphone , and fit the Kubu door module into their equipped door lock .
A sensor inside the Kubu door module is then activated every time the door is locked or unlocked . The activation sends a signal to the user ’ s smartphone , alerting them of the door activity .
Fitting Kubu equipped doors doesn ’ t require any extra installation time – simply fit the door as normal , as the Kubu door lock is supplied ready to be activated .
In addition , once set up , installers won ’ t have to worry about it again – with a dedicated Kubu support team to answer questions , they won ’ t have to take on any technical queries from customers .
www . dekkowindows . com www . kubu-home . com
42 » APR 2021 » CLEARVIEW-UK . COM