Two Generations of Rationel Windows in Stone Cottage Extension

This traditional stone cottage in Warwickshire has progressed onto it’s second extension. The first incorporated the now discontinued Rationel Domus: a modern timber window with an aluminium glazing bead. Naturally, it made sense to go back to Rationel for the second extension. Their closest product in the updated range was the Aura – a largely similar construction, but with few more years of R&D behind the product created a more energy-efficient window. To remove the re-painting aspect, which comes with any timber window, it was decided that the AuraPlus should be used for the new windows and doors. This timber window’s face is completely protected by aluminium cladding.

Unlike almost every aluminium sliding door, Rationel’s lift-and-slide is 100% assembled and glazed at factory. Whilst this does mean the initial delivery requires a little more coordination (a fully-assembled sliding door is very heavy!), it grants the peace of mind that factory production team were able to properly test and make any major adjustments well before the point of installation.

Linked to that overall weight: a lift-and-slide mechanism is almost essential for a triple glazed alu-clad timber sliding door. The “lift” part of the system’s sole purpose is to raise the sliding panel away from the seal around the edge, meaning there’s far less friction when opening and closing the door. Most “normal” sliding doors get around this problem by only using brush seals – this helps solve the friction problem, but creates a new question in the form of whether a brush seal is a sufficient barrier… Rationel clearly paid attention in a secondary school physics lesson containing torque force: the long lever handle on the slider makes that initial lift-up surprisingly effortless.