The Test
The test involved a set of our aluminium bi-fold doors and suspending a heavy weight (called a soft body impactor, or a big punch bag) on a three metre cable. It was then swung against the glass from an ever-increasing height, the resulting force of impact was calculated each time. Starting at a force equivalent to a 50kg weight, the test was repeated at increasing drop heights. After a day of testing and over 15 individual impacts of increasing force we found we couldn’t enlarge the test rig any further and concluded we could not break through the doors and so ended the test. To this day we still don’t know just how much force our bi-fold doors can we withstand, but we know for sure that it’s well over 200lb. We were more than happy – and so were the Advertising Standards Authority when we asked if we could portray this on TV.