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Question about sliding doors / partition.

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Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby Andy Kev. » 09 May 2021, 09:19

A friend of mine has inherited his parents' house. The living room has effectively been widened by an extension in the form of a conservatory. The problem with this is that heating up the living room is difficult due to the size of the combination of the living room and the conservatory and also because the latter loses heat much more readily. The transition between the two is about 5 m wide.

To solve the heat loss problem, my suggestion was to partition the gap and have access via sliding doors. Were the gap to be divided into quarters, the left and right ends (equalling a quarter of the width each) could be fixed with a pair of sliding doors dividing up the central half.

How doable would that be? I'm prepared to help but have never made anything bigger than a book case. My idea for a design would be to have the petition / doors made with wooden frames, the lower third i.e. up to about waist height also of wood and the upper two thirds being of panels of double glazing - assuming such things are available. That way the insulation level would be improved but light would also come in from the conservatory on cold days.

There's also the possibility of having heavy drapes to further boost insulation at night.

Does all this sound plausible? Any other suggestions?
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby greeno » 09 May 2021, 10:03

Whilst not helpful, our neighbours have something similar.

They tried partition doors and insulating the roof of the conservatory, neither did enough to make it comfortable.

It's all being ripped down as I type and a proper extension is to be built.
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby Cabinetman » 09 May 2021, 14:26

Not an expert so just my thoughts, I had a small conservatory off the kitchen which was a nightmare so I had the awful flat plastic roof taken off and replaced with A flat roof which was about 250 mil thick, lots of insulation and a fibreglass top on it, that was about 10 years ago and it improved things dramatically, I was able to do away with the adjoining doors and it opened the whole area up which is in some ways the exact opposite of what you’re friend is trying to do. It is now a usable space for sitting and entertaining at the end of the kitchen.
The doors you are envisaging would need to be insulated and have draught seals top and bottom to work properly, not sure at all what it would look like to have glass stretching across a wall of a living area, perhaps that’s just me liking privacy and cosiness. Ian
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby Mike G » 09 May 2021, 18:48

As the others have said, any sort of partition is a second-best sort of option, in my view. They can be done, and can even be done nicely. Personally, I'd be looking to see if making the conservatory into a sun room (ie solid roof) would be possible without too much money and trouble. Ideally, the existing structure would take a new roof sitting on top of the glazed walls. However, the chances of that are slim, and new framed and glazed walls on top of the existing plinth supporting a solid roof with loads of insulation would be more likely.
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby spb » 09 May 2021, 19:52

I'd generally be of the view that a conservatory is inherently not temperature stable and shouldn't be part of the heated volume of the house. It's possibly a bit late for that in your case, but ours still has same the external glass door between it and the dining room that was there before it was built. 5 metres is a big gap to span that way, though, so I suspect Mike's approach is probably the best that can be done by now.
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby Andy Kev. » 10 May 2021, 07:27

Thanks for the replies.

I discussed them with him yesterday and he's beginning to think about getting heavy drapes. That doesn't seem to bad an idea to me and it would at least mean less upheaval with the installation etc.
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby RogerS » 10 May 2021, 07:29

Andy Kev. wrote:Thanks for the replies.

I discussed them with him yesterday and he's beginning to think about getting heavy drapes. That doesn't seem to bad an idea to me and it would at least mean less upheaval with the installation etc.


You know that you can get thermal lining material for drapes ?
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby Mike G » 10 May 2021, 10:52

Drapes? I believe they belong on the other side of the pond.
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby AJB Temple » 10 May 2021, 11:12

We have an oak framed sun room, with half height walls, double glazing and an insulated, tiled roof. I currently use it as my music room. It leads off our living room, from which it can be closed off, and is independently heated. However, though much better than a conservatory, it is far from ideal in terms of temperature stability and there is no easy solution to that.

Curtains are out of fashion, dusty, and expensive. Not sure I would throw good money after bad. Ditch the conservatory and implement a proper extension?
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby RogerS » 10 May 2021, 11:32

AJB Temple wrote:We have an oak framed sun room, with half height walls, double glazing and an insulated, tiled roof. I currently use it as my music room. It leads off our living room, from which it can be closed off, and is independently heated. However, though much better than a conservatory, it is far from ideal in terms of temperature stability and there is no easy solution to that.

Curtains are out of fashion, dusty, and expensive. Not sure I would throw good money after bad. Ditch the conservatory and implement a proper extension?


Do the temperature variations affect the tuning much ?
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby Mike G » 10 May 2021, 11:44

RogerS wrote:.........Do the temperature variations affect the tuning much ?


There's carbon fibre in the answer... :)
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby RogerS » 10 May 2021, 11:59

Mike G wrote:
RogerS wrote:.........Do the temperature variations affect the tuning much ?


There's carbon fibre in the answer... :)


Eh ? :eusa-think:
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby Mike G » 10 May 2021, 12:02

Adrian has a somewhat unusual piano.
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby novocaine » 10 May 2021, 12:07

Mike G wrote:Adrian has a somewhat unusual piano.


does that make him a somewhat unusual pianist?

yes I checked the spelling on that 3 times. :lol:
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby RogerS » 10 May 2021, 12:50

Mike G wrote:Adrian has a somewhat unusual piano.

How intriguing. Never knew they existed.

And, of course, you do know that somewhere in a quiet corner of the internet there will be a forum with bile and vitriol between the Steinway clan vs the carbon-fibre clan.
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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby AJB Temple » 10 May 2021, 13:06

Mike his right. He has seen it close up. A number of tier 1 piano manufacturers use carbon fibre, but tuning stability is achieved in lots of different ways.

Mine is German made, has carbon fibre soundboard with spruce veneer on the top, special bridge aggraffes, carbon fibre action made by WNG (used a lot in concert grands), stainless steel wound strings (more stable and more powerful) and so on. It is extremely stable, but is also potentially a very powerful piano and the amount of glass in the room is a right pain if I am trying to record across a full range. All windows have blinds that I use in direct sun.

The main issue with pianos is humidity and I do control that within a sensible range and keep an eye on the temperature. The room is less than ideal though and I will be moving the piano to another room in due course (by which I mean when I have built it).

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Re: Question about sliding doors / partition.

Postby Andy Kev. » 10 May 2021, 14:20

Mike G wrote:Drapes? I believe they belong on the other side of the pond.

You’re right. Now there’s a crime I don’t like committing.

Interestingly, the yanks seem to differentiate between drapes and curtains: the former being lined and the latter not. I’d always understood that drapes were heavy curtains which touch the floor. It would appear not.
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