More familiar to housebuilders for its range or garage doors, Hörmann has recently introduced a range of internal doors to the UK. PHPD caught up with Mark Lester, Internal Door Manager at the company, to discover more.
With a history dating back over 80 years Hörmann is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of doors. Since the company’s foundation in 1935, it has produced and delivered more than 20 million doors worldwide.
In the UK, Hörmann is best known for its garage doors, which the company supplies from its base in Coalville, Leicestershire. In late 2018 Hörmann entered the internal door market, bringing out a range of internal door solutions that include full door sets. These comprise a matching door leaf and wrap-around frame, with factory fitted hinges, locks and latches.
Mark Lester, Internal Door Manager at Hörmann told us: “The frame incorporates liner, architrave and stops, with a pre-fitted peripheral seal. The door sets are also fully finished so no decorating is required after installation. In terms of sizing, as you are specifying the door and frame set together, the key dimensions are the structural opening width and height, along with the wall thickness. This will ensure the appropriate frame depth.”
The company has four ranges, including hinged and sliding options, with or without glazing.
BaseLine is the most popular and economical range, with the largest collection of finishes. Three different surfaces are on offer, laminate, lacquer and veneer, in contemporary smooth colours to textured timber effects.
Next is DesignLine which offers a more contemporary style, with the opportunity for additional elements, such as recessed grooves or stainless steel embelishments. This range includes the Concepto style which can feature innovative finishes such as Linen and ultra matt.
The company’s ClassicLine range features traditional panelled styles and consequently is an option for country or period influenced interiors. Finally, the company’s GlassLine option has a frameless leaf design which help to maximise the amount of natural light entering a room, which could be an option for living areas such as kitchens or dining areas.
At the core
The company’s doors can be constructed from a combination of timber products, including solid timber, chipboard and MDF. A range of different cores can be specified for standard door sets, subject to weight, function and cost specifications. Solid chipboard and tubular chipboard plate (a machined version of the solid core which reduces weight without losing structural stability) are the most common, although chipboard spacer and honeycomb cores are also available. Hörmann offers specific door constructions and core materials for fire, acoustic, security and climate rated doors, subject to requirements.
Design trends
With interior doors constituting a large surface area in new homes it is important to consider the current trends in the market. Mark Lester explained: “There seems to be a definite move away from formal panelled doors to plain block colours and surfaces at one end of the spectrum and more rustic, ribbed styles at the other. Horizontal grain patterns seem to be gaining popularity over the more traditional vertical pattern, as they offer a more contemporary look.”
The company offers both flush fitting and rebated doors, more commonly found in mainland Europe. Mark noted: “The rebated door type is the standard across the rest of Europe, and so far they have been well accepted. Although many potential customers still like the more ‘traditional’ flush doors, they soon understand and appreciate the benefits of easier fitting and better acoustic properties, as well as the lower price offered by the rebated door sets. We are finding that in a number of bespoke projects a mix of flush and rebate doors are being ordered for different parts of the house.”
So how can internal doors be used to add a real ‘wow’ factor to a build? Are there any hidden features in the new ranges? Mark concluded: “Not necessarily ‘hidden features’ as such, but the integral seals contribute to the quality feel of the closing action, as does the addition of silent or magnetic latches. The real wow factor comes from the mix of door sets within a project, matching GlassLine doors with complimentary timber designs, single and double hinged door sets with surface or pocket sliders, contemporary slate and linen textured finishes with smooth ultra matt or high gloss.”
Hörmann is looking to supply its internal doors through some of its established distributors, where this is possible, but it will also supply direct to developers if appropriate, and subject to the size and type of project.
