Why the pharmacy chose a side-folding grille
The pharmacy counter sits in the corner of a new pharmacy, with the counter open to the sales floor on one side and to a corridor on the other. The owners wanted to close that whole corner off after hours while keeping the daytime layout open, with nothing in the way of staff or customers.
A roll-up shutter would have needed a box above each run and a post at the corner. A side-folding grille runs along a single ceiling track, turns the corner on a curved section of track, and folds into a pocket at each end, so during the day there is nothing to see but a slim track overhead.
What We Installed
| Product | Side-folding security grille, perforated aluminum panels |
|---|---|
| Layout | L-shaped run around one corner, two sections meeting past the turn |
| Overall run | About 30 ft 8 in long, 7 ft 9 in high |
| Finish | Clear anodized aluminum |
| Operation | Manual, top-hung on a ceiling track, slides by hand |
| Stacking | Folds into a pocket at each end of the run |
| Locks | Key locks where the two sections meet and at the pockets |
| Property | New pharmacy, counter area |
How we installed it around the corner
We measured the opening on site, taking the height at four points, because the floor and ceiling were not perfectly parallel. The grille was then built to size for the finished height of the opening and the full length of both legs, with a radius section of track for the turn.
The track is fixed to the ceiling structure above the suspended tiles, and the grille hangs from it on rollers. We set the pockets at each end of the run, one in the wall beside the sales floor and one at the end of the corridor, so each section stacks flat and out of sight when open. The two sections meet a short distance past the corner, which puts the lock point where it is easy to reach from behind the counter.
What the pharmacy has now
At closing, staff pull each section along its track by hand, lock the two leading posts together where they meet, and lock each end at its pocket. In the morning the grille folds back into the pockets and the counter is open again.
The panels are perforated aluminum in a clear anodized finish, so the counter area is still visible through the closed grille and light passes through. Closed, it reads as one continuous wall around the corner; open, the corridor and the counter look the way they did before the grille went in.
More about side-folding security grilles, or see our work in Mississauga.
