Exterior doors aren’t the only transitions between spaces at your business. Often, when building or retrofitting a new space, door installations include both interior and exterior doors. But what if you’re in a lease and you can’t make permanent changes like changing the commercial door hardware in your space to automation, or splitting a large conference room into three smaller offices?
If your company rents your place of business, you probably have needed to repurpose the space to fit your needs in a temporary way – so the landlord retains the flexibility to return to the original layout. This is when operable walls and partitions can be useful. Operable walls and partitions range from low walls to floor-to-ceiling temporary walls that effectively mimic an actual floorplan change.
Another advantage of using these instead of retrofitting a space permanently is that you can continue to change and rearrange your business’ space as it changes and grows. Today’s operable walls aren’t like they were in the past; you can mimic modern commercial doorways and updated hardware installations without actually installing anything.
Operable Walls are Versatile
The parameters of a space conversion can pose challenges for a design team, especially when they can’t make permanent structural changes. One pro of using movable walls and partitions is they can be of varying heights, to accommodate ceiling height or to leave room for an open feel.
Another advantage of this breed of commercial door is that many partitions have sound-absorbing properties, but some also have a window up top to let the light in. The right operable walls and partitions can solve almost any spatial challenge, and the best part is, if you don’t like the end product – just move it around and try again.
Versatility is key in selecting movable walls and dividers, and you have plenty of choices, including sliding or folding partitions, unusually high walls (a 12-foot wall is good for large spaces such as warehouses, auditoriums and gyms), sliding options that might include a telescoping partition with panels that slide out to the desired length, and folding walls/partitions that can be unfolded rapidly and formed into a straight wall. Look for operable partitions with flexible hinge systems that can be operated over uneven flooring.
Operable walls and partitions are a one-time cost that serves you infinite “renovations”, unlike actually installing steel doors or permanent walls, which require contracting work each time you need your space changed. Is there even a downside to these things? Not really. They give you spatial flexibility and save you from lengthy and expensive renovations.
What Kind of Movable Walls and Partitions are Available?
Create hybrid sitting areas, extra office space, a little area for file storage – whatever you need – within minutes. Some of the many options to choose from:
- A door-style model, with a “frame” suspended from a rolling track by a bracket system. The doors, which can be done in one of several wooden finishes, feature small, sound-absorbing slats, can open whichever way you want it to.
- A glass cubicle system, featuring multiple sliding glass panels. The front panel is secured by an overhead bar. A privacy trim lines each door and divider and obstructs views from the other side.
- Connected, hinged partitions that create a continuous interlocking panel. These systems can be set up quickly with a touchpad-operated electric motor that opens and closes panels. So you get new walls and doors complete with automated commercial hardware for doors. You don’t have to sacrifice functionality just because the partitions are temporary installations.
- Tall ceilings? No problem, with moveable flat panels that allow the designer the option of shutting or opening sections of a wall. A welded steel frame in thicknesses up to 4 inches makes this a good option for tall ceilings.
- Like the look of seamless, modular glass systems? These are available with steel profiles so narrow you won’t know they are there. Doors may be single or double leaves. You get the sleek look of modern business glass doors, but without dealing with contracting the door and window installations and dealing with downtime during installation.
There are many more options available for operable wall systems for your office or warehouse space. Look for an experienced commercial door and window design team to find the perfect design that best makes use of your space.