Out of sight, out of mind is a philosophy every interior designer can get behind. When it comes to the aesthetics of cabinets and other storage spaces, that’s why doors are so important. They hide away what you don’t want to be seen, helping to neat, tidy, uncluttered finishes.
But doors themselves can pose a problem. In concealed areas that you want to leave open while in use – TV cabinets, workspaces, walk-in wardrobes and other partitioned spaces – ordinary swing doors awkwardly get in the way. Especially in smaller spaces.
That’s why pocket door systems were invented. A way to tuck doors themselves out of sight and out of mind when you want them to be opened.
But pocket doors have also had their drawbacks. For the original horizontal sliding versions, you needed large adjacent recesses for doors to slide into. When versions suitable for cabinets appeared, they focused on large partition-type doors, the type you might use to close off a whole section of kitchen or pantry units, for example.
Over the years, we picked up on more and more cabinet makers and architectural designers saying the same thing. Pocket door systems are great. But wouldn’t it be even better if they were more flexible, more modular – easy enough to install on individual cabinets, not just full-length partitions, so you could get the out-of-sight benefit when opening individual units?
As we always strive to do, we listened to the market, and our world class design team came up with a solution.
Simple convenience, out and in
Our new ALT-ST pocket door series is unique in a number of ways. With two main models – the ALT-ST 15 and ALT-ST 20 – built for maximum loads of 15kg and 20kg respectively, they make the benefits of pocket doors available for smaller cabinets in domestic settings.
The ALT-ST functions as an out-and-in pocket system. That is, it allows doors to first swing open in a conventional arc. And then, once they have opened to 90o, they slide inwards perpendicular to the closed position to tuck away.
This solution is built around three main components. First, ALT-ST systems make use of our Olympia 360 concealed hinges, which provide smooth, controlled swing motion to open cabinet doors in the conventional way. From there, a slide system takes over to move the open door adjacent to the side of the cabinet.
Between the two there is a connecting or mounting plate. This is designed to make installation simple and convenient. For one, the hanging angle of the door can be easily adjusted during mounting, with a choice of five pre-set angles.
This also serves as an anti-sag mechanism. A common problem with any system built on slides and runners is that, over time, the torque forces involved drag the mounts downwards, causing sag. This is a particular issue with pocket doors, because doors are often heavy.
The adjustable mounting on the ALT-ST is achieved via a system of notches in the connecting plate. To get the angle you want, you lift the door so adjustable bolts slot into these notches, and then tighten them. If the door starts to sag, you can simply loosen these bolts and readjust.
All ALT-ST models have passed 40,000 open/close cycle tests to prove their durability over time.
Pocket solutions for every occasion
Both the ALT-ST 15 and ALT-ST 20 models are further subdivided into individual products. Both come in overlay and inset types. With an overlay model, the open door pushes back on the outside of the cabinet. So this is suitable where ‘pockets’ of space are created between two adjacent cabinets. With an inset model, the door tucks into the inside of the cabinet. These are suitable for standalone units.
Both models are available in four sizes sizes. The ALT-ST 15 is suitable for doors of 500mm to 700mm in height, 700mm to 900mm, 900mm to 1200mm and 1200 to 1600mm. For the ALT-ST 20, these height dimensions are 900mm to 1200mm, 1200mm to 1600mm, 1600mm to 2000mm and 2000mm to 2400mm. The maximum width is 600mm across all models.
To accommodate these different sizes of doors, the ALT-ST can be fitted with two, three or four slides. Both ALT-ST 15 types, overlay and inset, allow the open doors to retract further into the cabinet than the ALT-ST 20 models. Both types can be deployed as double doors using opposite fittings.
Don’t you think it’s time you pocketed the benefits of the ALT-ST range? Contact our team today to find out more.
