Corner openings and sliding walls for bigger spaces
Two elevations becoming one opening, without a post in the middle of the view. How corner units work, and when a sliding wall beats folding panels.
- A corner unit removes the post and joins two elevations into a single opening.
- Corner openings need structure above and careful drainage below.
- Sliding walls suit wide spans where folding panels would be too heavy to move.
A corner that opens is one of the most effective changes you can make to a living space. Two walls become one opening, the garden reaches further into the room, and the structure appears to have been removed rather than reworked.
How a corner unit works
The post between the two elevations is taken out and the two runs meet without it, with panels sliding or folding clear. The corner is made weathertight by a vertical gasket that only engages when the doors are closed, which is why the closing order matters.
Structure above
Removing a corner means something has to carry the load that the post was carrying. Steel or a framed structure in the ceiling void usually does it, sized by an engineer. This is the part of the project to settle first, because it sets the head height and the maximum size of the opening.
Sliding walls for wide spans
Where the opening is very wide, folding panels become heavy and the stack becomes impractical. A sliding wall moves one or more large panels on a track, parking behind each other or into a pocket.
On larger openings a top hung system keeps the floor track minimal, which helps where the floor runs uninterrupted from inside to out.
Drainage and water
A corner is where wind driven rain is most likely to find a way in. Drainage channels, weepholes and a considered threshold detail matter more here than anywhere else on the house, so this is not the place to save money on the survey.
Written by the Minimal Frame Projects UK team. If you would like advice on a specific opening, send us the dimensions and a few photographs and we will come back with a specification.
