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- Maintenance of Your Bifold Doors
Maintenance of Your Bifold Doors
Carrying out regular maintenance on your patio doors
Regular maintenance of your patio doors set hardware is vital.
That’s because the exterior hardware in your door set can deteriorate
through everyday use, and also because of the weather and the local
environment. Especially if you live in extreme environments like coastal
marine areas and some industrial locations. Even stainless steel
products need maintenance to prevent deterioration in these areas.
You should carry out the following minimum maintenance otherwise
your guarantee will not be valid.
Refinishing
It is very important that the finish on your Creative Doors bifold or
folding door set is checked regularly for deterioration, and re-coated
if necessary. This will maintain the decorative finish and
ensure that no moisture enters the timber of the doors
and frames during the life of the product.
Maintenance needs to be carried out as often as necessary
to prevent deterioration of your bifold or folding doors. However,
as a guideline we recommend that this maintenance is done every
three months if you live in a marine environment, or every six months if you live in a more general location.
Patio Door Track and bearings
Using a spatula or something similar (but not your fingers), apply a small amount (about half a teaspoon) of Vaseline or a similar lubricant to the inner lip of each side of the track. Make sure that the wheels pass through the lubricant and that it spreads evenly along the track. Put extra lubricant around the bearings. Adding lubricant in this way reduces wear, improves smoothness and gives additional protection against corrosion of track and bearings.
In addition, remove all surface contamination by wiping all visible track surfaces with a soft, damp cloth and mild detergent, then wipe with a clean cloth. In severe environments, apply a thin film of corrosive preventative such as WD40, and wipe with a clean cloth.
Stainless steel bearings are made from hardening grade stainless steel, and although this material performs much better than plated steel, it can corrode unless it’s maintained as shown above.
Patio Door Locks and handles
These are guaranteed by the manufacturer provided they are fitted properly and maintained regularly as shown in the guidelines below. The guarantee does not extend to surface finishes or to faults caused by wilful or neglectful damage, or excessive wear and tear.
To maintain these components please follow these instructions:
Multi-Point Patio Door Locks
Any swarf must be cleared out. The bars must be fixed but not over tightened, as this can hamper the smooth operation of the lock. Final adjustment should be made after installation to ensure positive engagement of hooks and bolt into the keep bar. All moving parts should be lubricated twice a year and surfaces wiped with a clean cloth.
Patio Door Handles
These should not be over tightened as this may impair the operation of the espangnolette, shoot bolt or lock mechanism. The handles should be lightly lubricated twice a year and cleaned with a soft damp cloth to remove any dust or grime, taking care not to scratch the surface. All hardware should be adjusted every so often to ensure a satisfactory operation.
Special folding hardware and hinges
Regular maintenance is needed to validate our guarantee as these components are made of aluminium or steel, and some have moving parts. Please follow the maintenance guidance given in the assembly instructions.
In addition, you should use the special hardware adjusters to properly adjust the sets squarely into the opening. If the correct spaces are not incorporated at the top and bottom and both sides of the set, this may result in the locks not working properly or the sets not opening and closing easily.
Hangers, pivots and brackets
Give a light spray of a corrosion preventative like WD40 and then wipe with a dry cloth to remove any excess. Exposed surfaces should first be wiped with warm soapy water and a soft rag, and then rinsed clean before you apply the WD40.
Patio Door Hinges
Wipe down the visible surfaces with warm soapy water on a soft rag and then rinse off by wiping with a clean, damp rag. Applying a thin film of light machine oil or WD40 will help to maintain the original lustre of the metal finish. Be careful not to get these liquids on the timber as this can cause staining.
Patio Door Drop bolts
Spray a suitable lubricant such as WD40 to the sliding pin inside the bolt and the lock cylinder. The tube can be attached to the nozzle of the can and will help you to direct the spray where you want it to go. There are access holes or slots on all drop bolts, so this lubrication can be done without taking the locks from the doors.
Automatic closures and operators
Our hardware systems are designed to be operated manually. If you fit an automatic door closer and it’s poorly adjusted, this can have a destructive effect on tracks, bearings and stops. Using any devices like these is definitely excluded under our guarantee.
Low E tempered glass double glazed sealed units
To reduce carbon emissions from the home and to keep heating and cooling bills down, the government has recommended that all manufacturers use special Low E thermal glass within the double glazed sealed unit in order to comply with building regulation Part L.
This glass is coated with a special substance to comply with the above and occasionally, and in certain light conditions, this can sometimes make the glass appear cloudy. This is very infrequent and only affects a minority of door sets. But as a company, we do have to comply with the new regulations which are for the benefit of all, and this is not a defect.
Tempered glass means it has been toughened to be up to five times stronger than normal glass. It is unusual to break such strong glass, but sharp objects hitting the glass at certain points can cause breakage.
Tempered glass is also known as safety glass. This means that if it breaks it will shatter like a car windscreen into smaller fragments which are less likely to cause injury, unlike non-tempered glass which breaks into large, sharp fragments.
Glass must be regularly maintained and cleaned to stop break down of the glass or seals. This can be done using a mild solution such as washing-up liquid diluted in water. Do not use abrasive cleaning solutions as this may cause scratching and break down.
Want to know more? Call Creative Doors FREE on 0800 028 9098