Pocket door kits with integrated soft-close technology - do you need it?
The pocket door is now well established as a contemporary interior feature which brings aesthetic and practical qualities to a home and workplace. Installing a pocket door and replacing a traditional hinged door creates space and opens up opportunities for rooms to have multiple purposes. A pocket door also enables you to create flexible spaces, by opening and closing spaces in an open plan setting as and when you need them, or don’t need them. The sleek, unfussy and stylish appeal of the pocket door also brings visual benefits, but in an everyday sense, the practical benefits of the various accessories you can add to a pocket door are often overlooked, and this includes the soft-close mechanism.
All our pocket door accessories at the Pocket Door Shop can be retro-fitted, and in the case of the soft-close mechanism – also known as the anti-slam fitting – this can also be fitted on all the pocket door systems in our range, except for the telescopic pocket door. But if you are wondering how the soft-close mechanism will benefit you, read on.
The benefits of soft-close technology
The soft-close mechanism is a fitting which can be retrofitted to a pocket door system, and it acts to take control of the closing action of the door to ensure it finds its resting location in the ‘closed’ position while under this control. You might have kitchen drawers or cupboards which use this same technology. But essentially, this fitting ensures that a person can’t slam a door shut and it will always close under this element of control. So what are the benefits?
- User safety – There are several circumstances in which a door can be slammed shut; kids playing, a person leaving the scene of an argument, someone running hastily through the door and closing it with more force than intended, a wind tunnel developing and taking over control of the door. All these occurrences can result in the door slamming and potentially trapping fingers, or a hand or arm, and causing a subsequent injury. Installing a soft-close fitting removes this possibility.
- Damage – Slamming a door once can be considered an accident, but slamming it repeatedly can result in damage to the door, the door frame and the surrounding wall. If a wall is not in good condition, this kind of impact can cause structural damage over time, such as cracks in plasterwork.
- Noise reduction – There are few things more irritating and distracting than a door constantly slamming, particularly when working or trying to relax. Installing a soft-close mechanism can remove the possibility of a door slamming and that repeated banging that drives you insane.
- Energy efficiency – Although the self-close mechanism is more of a benefit to energy efficiency (because it ensures a door closes after it has been opened and hence makes it easier to maintain stable temperatures and minimise heat loss), the soft-close fitting also helps in this regard. The soft-close action ensures the door rests neatly into its closed position and doesn’t leave a gap, through which cold air can enter a room and warm air can escape.
- Accessibility – The pocket door is much easier for someone with mobility issues to operate, compared to a traditional hinged door, because they don’t have to move backwards and then forwards to pass through the door. And while, again, the self-close feature is a bigger benefit in terms of accessibility (because a person with limited mobility doesn’t have to turn around to close the door after passing through it) the soft-close fitting also prevents a person getting injured if they are slow in passing through the door. The soft-close action avoids any possibility of the door slamming onto them.
- Bi-directional – The soft-close mechanism can be fitted to be bi-directional, so that it controls both the closing and opening actions in the same way.
So check out the soft-close mechanism for pocket doors, this is an integrated solution that works seamlessly to make your pocket door operation safer and more practical, whether you are at home or in the workplace. And it is easy to install too. So browse our selection of pocket door accessories online and choose the soft-close mechanism today.
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