The industry has had bi-fold doors for quite a while now. They have been the product of choice for many installers and fabricators looking to diversify their product ranges. They have been the product of choice for many homeowners looking to add a little “Grand Designs” to their own abode. In fact, bi-folding doors are a little like phones. There had been attempts at smartphones for quite a while, very much in the same way our industry has had bi-folding doors for a while too. But then the iPhone came along, pushing the boundaries of what a phone can do. We all know how advanced the smartphone market now is. So is the WarmCore bi-folding door from Synseal the product to push bi-folding doors to the next level?

Composite materials

As you may or may not know, WarmCore is an aluminium/PVC combination product that uses the PVC as thermal reinforcing and aluminium as the visible material to make it looks as good as possible.

I wrote a little while ago that if our products were going to continue to move forward, we would need to start experimenting more seriously with combining two or more different materials to squeeze even more efficiency and aesthetics out of a window and door. This is exactly the road WarmCore is going down, using the best of both aluminium and PVC to create a visually and thermally quality product.

Double and triple

The fact that this new product comes with both 28mm and 44mm double and triple glazing options demonstrates Synseal’s attention to current attitudes in the market. As we all know, the jury is still out on how beneficial triple glazing is, but we’re all also aware that its coming. So, WarmCore is a product for right now, and for the next decade.

Thermally, the U-Values the product achieves are really quite good. This is the information Synseal say the product can achieve according to their website:

WarmCore has been designed from the ground up to offer market leading thermal performance, protecting against future tightening of Building Regulations. Using standard double glazing the WarmCore folding sliding door achieves a U-value of 1.5, with U-values as low as 1.0 achievable using 44mm triple glazing. The advantage against traditional aluminium doors is clear, with many struggling to meet current legislation.

Synseal clearly suggesting that other aluminium products are struggling on the legislation front. A claim that I think many aluminium companies might have their own thoughts on. But with a 1.0 U-Value possible, WarmCore does present a challenge for other to try and match.

Single, French and Bi-Folds

As for product options, WarmCore comes with the full hinged door set, with single, French doors and bi-folding doors all available configurations. I’m glad they have not limited WarmCore to just bi-folding doors. Although I suspect that bi-folding doors will be the most popular WarmCore product in the coming years.

Severe lack of colour

Like the early iPhones, WarmCore comes with a very limited colour range of white, cream, black and grey. Whilst these remain the most popular colours for bi-folds, the evidence is clear that demand for all sorts of standard and non-standard colours is rising. What if someone wants a different shade of grey? Or red? Or dark blue? Or French Grey? Or Chartwell Green? Installers could have them sprayed I guess, but having a wider range of stock colours would make that easier.

It’s my only head scratcher with WarmCore. I’m hoping that these are just the launch colours and that in time Synseal will expand their range once they have got used to producing WarmCore.

So, could WarmCore be the product to push bi-folding doors to the next level? Possibly. We have to keep an eye out on the take up. Observe homeowner and installer reviews. See how much chatter the product generates. Like the iPhone, if WarmCore is to push the market on, it’s going to need to populate the market in massive numbers, create a strong brand loyalty, adapt quickly and expand the available options. If it can do that, steal market share, get in in showrooms, then given the USPs this product has, I do think it could make some serious waves in the bi-fold sector.

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