Novelties in door and facade panels

The basic principle of airtight building is to connect all elements in the building envelope in such a way that no air can escape through holes and cracks. Lecot contributes to this with the Optimont concept, which combines the best products, optimal assembly and good support from window and door manufacturers, joiners and contractors. The supplier of window, door and furniture fittings, tools, machines and safety materials, Optimont develops continuously, based on its own insights, customer requirements and market innovations. An expansion in the range of door and facade panels is a good example of this.

With Wipaco, Lecot offers the possibility to customize inset and sash overlapping front door panels. "In order to completely unburden customers, we not only deploy our knowledge and experience, but also offer the possibility of customer-specific solutions," says Marco Cannas, Manager of Window and Door Technology at Lecot Belgium. "For example, door panels can be supplied in different materials and colors, with or without turnover edges, with grooves and/or with special or replaceable glazing. We also offer various finishing options such as decorative films, powder coating, sublimation, anodizing, ... In short: the possibilities for making the front door a business card are endless."

Would you like to fit door panels with milled grooves? For example, for a tighter look? Wipaco makes it possible to mill horizontal, vertical or diagonal grooves in door panels. Customers can choose from various types of milled grooves to achieve any desired look.

The door panels are constructed with standard laminated double or triple glass, depending on the overall thickness of the panel, Cannas says. "And removable glazing is also possible. Customers can also choose from different types of decorative glass, combining privacy and light, for example. A unique drainage system drains the moisture that gets under the glazing tape. This prevents condensation from forming in the window of the door the moment the finishing sealant is no longer in good condition. This is one of our strengths!"

Do you want a door panel to be burglar-resistant or fire-resistant? Or do you want to combine a very high insulation value with minimal thickness? That's no problem either! "Wipaco's strength lies in more than 25 years of knowledge and experience, underpinned by, among other things, an SKG** and SKG*** certificate for burglar resistance," says Jeroen de Wilde, Field Sales Manager at Lecot Nederland. 

"For example, customers can have a casement panel without a recess executed in SKG***, while door panels with a recess (removable glazing or a letterbox) can be executed in accordance with SKG**." The door panels also have a European fire class B and an A2 certificate. "Our door panels can be fire-resistant up to 30/45/60 minutes (EI30/EI45/EI60). Moreover, they are produced according to the high requirements of the FAC and VMRG. On request, we can produce the door panels in such a way that they combine a high insulation value with a minimum thickness. For this we use unique VIP insulation."

VIP insulation consists of a vacuum insulation board with a microporous core wrapped in a thin, gas-tight shell, says De Wilde. "This combination provides an extremely high insulation value, at a minimum thickness. But hybrid solutions are also possible. By combining standard insulation with VIP insulation, door manufacturers benefit from a higher insulation value at a budget-friendly rate. This puts energy-efficient living within everyone's reach." 

Also unique in this context is a Wipaco door panel constructed entirely of recycled and recyclable materials.

Lecot clearly thinks in terms of solutions. This is also proven with the Optimont Easy Panel Fix clamping system for sash overlay door panels, which offers a professional alternative to gluing. "Easy Panel Fix is a professional, efficient and simple mounting-on-deck system for constructions in PVC/ALU doors and windows," says Karel Vanderweeën, Group Manager for Window and Door Technology at Lecot. "The system clamps only on the lip of the stop seal. This puts less stress on the door or window than classic gluing on the sash. Thanks to a special buffer, bending and expansion forces of the sandwich panel are almost completely neutralized." Another big advantage is that chemical components (glue) are not an issue. Also, with Easy Panel Fix, no drying times need to be observed, allowing significantly faster work. Another advantage is that one can always fix or replace the panel in case of damage. Thus, one does not have to make a new door."

In addition to front door panels, Lecot is also the address for custom facade panels. "Based on the technical and aesthetic project wishes, the applicable requirements as well as the environmental influences, we are happy to select the right materials and finishes for each project," Cannas emphasizes. "From cassette panels to shadowboxes, glass panels and soundproof/acoustic panels, which are produced locally in the Benelux. As a result, customers benefit from short lines, fast delivery times and just-in-time delivery capabilities. Moreover, because we have an explicit eye for insulation values, customers are assured of a cost-saving facade solution."

Recently, Lecot, in cooperation with SKK Kozijnwacht, has energetically improved an existing apartment building in Hoogezand by installing new custom-made aluminum PIR panels (U-value: 0.274 W/(m²K) in front of the existing facade panels. New inset panels were also used in the doors. This has significantly improved the energy label of the ten-story Statenflat. A nice reference is also the social housing project Renoir in Evere, where Lecot supplied aluminum facade panels for six new apartment blocks on behalf of Alupelt.