Designing the Petflap
Draughtproof and eco-friendly
Imagine a cold winter’s evening, warm and cosy in the house, rain and wind outside. Now imagine all that damp and cold staying outside and the cat nipping in and out through a gentle, draughtproof and robust cat flap that shuts behind itself every time. We knew we could design one, and we have.
What we didn’t want it to do
Thinking of the things we wanted it not to do was very easy.
- Not clang open and shut a million times day with every breeze,
- Or huff and puff every time someone opened or closed a door in the house.
- No flapping back and forth repeatedly once a pet managed to open and pass through
- Not to trap a tail or paw
- Not drag along your pet’s back
- There must be no scary noises and no jittery cats and dogs
- Not break inside a year or two
- It must not spoil the look of your nice door
Designing to high standards
The Petflap pet access door is cut and weighted to ensure that it closes perfectly every time. We understand that our solution could work for Passivhaus designs through both doors and walls as the thermal bridge is now much reduced. Please see the Passivhaus page for the stats.
We’ve trialled several materials and continually review their role in our design and manufacturing. As always, to do a job well you need to start with the best materials, so our focus now is on a range of materials to help make the Petflap light, durable and robust.
To help insulate and reduce radiated heat loss we use high quality plastics and riot shield material; these are UV stable and allow your pet a good view through from either side. We’ve replaced a large section of acrylic with tricoya, a sustainable and durable form of MDF. A draughtproof cat flap doesn’t need to compromise on looks or functionality.
Low Volume
We do not have warehouses full of Petflaps. They are made in small quantities with each run tightly quality controlled. This means we can quickly spot any quality issues with materials or coatings and ensure we are giving you our best at all times. On the other hand it means that in times of high demand there might be a short wait for despatch.