Timber French doors & windows enhance beautiful Orford conversion
Mr & Mrs Clark moved to Orford in Suffolk, drawn by the wonderful scenery, ever changing light and local seafood. The home they chose, full of charm and character, was converted from agricultural buildings dating back to the 18th Century and, though beautiful, was cold and drafty. New timber French doors and windows were the obvious starting point. Moreover, it was our recommendation of tilt and turn doors for the first-floor Juliet balconies that proved to be the project’s smartest decision.
In this video, Mr Clark explains why they chose our Timber French doors, and the difference they’ve made to the look, security and thermal efficiency of their home.
Our external Timber French doors allowed the exterior to retain its traditional period charm, whilst giving the inside a wonderfully light, contemporary feel.
Being so close to the coast, ensuring the doors and windows were weather tight and able to keep the rain and North Sea cold air out (and the heat in) was of paramount importance to Mr & Mrs Clark. Our made to measure, hand crafted doors and windows with enhanced thermally insulating glass and warm edge spacer bars are perfectly designed for that purpose, with marine grade stainless steel furniture to ensure even the handles stand the test of time in the salty air.
It’s all in the detail
- Colour: Dual colour frames in Window grey (RAL7040) on the outside and pure white (RAL9010) on the inside. Innovative Microporous paint, used across our timber range, provides a flawless finish whilst allowing the wood to breathe, prolonging the life of the timber, with a 12 year paint guarantee – even close to the North Sea!
- Glass: All doors come as standard with toughened safety glass providing security, accidental impact protection and ultimate peace of mind.
- Function: Whilst the ground floor doors offer conventional openings, those on the first floor have a tilt and turn feature, allowing them to open slightly for ventilation.
- Guarantees: 30 year fungal & insect, 12 year paint, 10 years for the sealed units, hardware & workmanship.
- Frame: A contemporary design was chosen for the internal frame and bead detail, with square edges and clean lines, in contrast to more traditional designs with ovolo mouldings.
Why tilt and turn on the first floor?
The upstairs openings at the Clarks’ home called for something more versatile than a standard window or a conventional French door. Tilt and turn was the answer, and here is why.
A tilt and turn window can be manufactured up to full door height and width, which is what makes it such a natural fit for a Juliet balcony.
You get a floor-to-ceiling opening with all the presence of a door, but with functionality that a standard French door simply can’t match. The tilt function is the key difference. With a conventional French door, you’re either open or closed. There is no in-between.
A tilt and turn door lets you tilt one or both panels inwards from the top, creating a controlled ventilation gap while the door remains essentially closed. Fresh air comes in from the top, but the opening is far too narrow for anyone to pass through. That’s a genuine security advantage over a fully opened door, particularly on an upper floor where the Juliet balcony means there’s no external barrier beyond the balustrade.
Full access, clean lines, no compromise
When you do want the full opening, the turn function swings the panel inwards from the side, exactly like a conventional door. So you lose nothing in terms of access to the view and the garden, you simply gain an option that other door types don’t offer.
There’s a cosmetic benefit too. Because tilt and turn doors open inwards, there’s no need for an external handle.
A standard outward-opening French door requires either a handle on the outside or, on some other brands, an unsightly blanking plate where a handle would normally sit. With the timber products by The Burgess Group, the outside face of the door is clean and uninterrupted. Slimmer sightlines, no unnecessary hardware, a much tidier elevation when viewed from the ground.
Bigger glass, fewer frames
The other advantage that’s easy to overlook is scale. Tilt and turn windows and doors can be made significantly larger than any other opening window type, whether casement, sash or sliding. And as you can see from the functionality of the doors on this project, at door sizes.
That means more glass and fewer visible mullions or transoms. Where a standard casement window might need a fixed side panel or top light to fill a larger structural opening, a single tilt and turn sash can span the full width and height. The result is a cleaner, more contemporary look with uninterrupted views. And this is exactly the solution we provided for Mr and Mrs Clark who wanted from their first-floor rooms overlooking the Orford countryside.
Want to know more?
Explore our range of external timber French doors further, read independent customer reviews or why not visit our charming showrooms in Woodbridge and Fornham St Martin, near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, and our brand new showroom in Norfork.
