fleetwood

Enhancing Design

Crisp, Linear Shapes:

Fleetwood’s design focus is the opposite of mass production. A prime example is the sharp edges and crisp lines created by a balance of hand tooling, automation, and dedicated machining.

Hardware:
Fleetwood hinged doors come standard with FSB stainless steel levers for an uncompromising, sleek design. A self-latching lock (5-PT) is complimented by a thumb turn deadbolt with an optional keyed cylinder.

Steel Door Look:
Fleetwood offers a simulated divided lite which resembles a classic beveled design of a steel door, allowing the beauty of steel without the immense cost or limitations of steel.

Reduced Lines:
Many hinged doors on the market come standard with glazing stops on the interior and exterior, which adds more seams to draw the eye. The Series 3900-T comes with one stop only.

Noise Control:
Fleetwood chooses to offer a wide range of options instead of limiting features to increase profit and simplify production. Sound dampening upgrades to glass and products are available without affecting the budget or design.

Fleetwood vs. Storefront

Performance:
Commercial storefront doors are not intended to resist weather. As such, water and air infiltration is expected by design. Each Fleetwood hinged door has been tested for air infiltration, water infiltration and structural wind loads.

Hardware:
Storefront doors come with typical commercial hardware which is cumbersome to operate. The locking nob spins more than 720 degrees making it hard to tell if the door is locked or unlocked. Fleetwood doors operate with one handle that actuates the locking system (5-PT) and an attractive thumb turn that throws a heavy dead bolt.

Concealed Weakness:
Storefront doors have deep, hollow rails. Aside from the obvious weakness, this is a hidden disadvantage that rears its head when it rain fills these huge cavities with water. Fleetwood hinged products are web designed for strength and evacuate water immediately.

Luxury Home Hinges:
Fleetwood hinges (AHS) were designed for luxury homes and come equipped with adjustment points that any “do it yourselfer” can do with simple household tools. Storefront doors offer crude methods of adjusting e.g. “jack screw” and typically require a technician to come to your home.

Energy Savings

High Efficiency Glass:
Modern glazing from Fleetwood coupled with increasingly efficient insulation techniques allows a minimalist design with huge glass that does not compromise energy consumption.

Options:
Fleetwood offers hundreds of modern glass options. Hinged door products are designed to accept high-performance, 1” or 1-1/2” insulated glass.

Thermal Break Technology:
Fleetwood products with a “T” in the series number are manufactured with thermally broken aluminum for condensation control and energy efficiency. For over 30 years, Fleetwood has designed products around this now sweeping practice and does so with extensive testing and engineering so the product maintains the look for the ultimate minimalist.

Strength & Beauty

Huge Sizes:
The Series 3900-T was designed to fit an 80 square foot opening with only two panels. In addition to the robust extrusions and corner design, the 3-way adjustable hinges (AHS) make possible openings up to 12’ tall.

Corner Strength:
In order to align with modern architecture, frames are butt joined instead of mitered. In order to achieve this feature and maintain strength, we needed an exceptional corner key. The wall thickness exceeds 5/16″ in most locations and penetrates 4-1/4″.

Thermal Conductivity:
Aluminum is thermally stable in that it does not swell or shrink when the temperature or humidity levels change. Very little energy is lost through the frame material but in the case of wood and vinyl, energy is lost through the frame and vent seams after years of expansion and contraction.

Modern Thermal Design:
For over 10 years, Fleetwood has incorporated polyamide thermal struts on all new products, resulting in a more attractive design and innovative shapes.