The open plan living trend has teamed up with Australia’s long-standing love affair with outdoor living to do something special. It has changed – and improved – our backyards.

Across the nation, walls have come down, barbeque areas have morphed into outdoor kitchens, and the barriers between indoor and outdoor have blurred. Good-bye back doors, small kitchen windows and step downs. Hello bi-fold doors, sunlight, and warm air! And hello threshold drains. Originally developed by Stormtech to improve access for the ageing and those with disabilities, threshold drains are part of a seamless level access solution in the age of the open plan.

Stormtech threshold drains feature the company’s signature linear stainless steel drainage system and concealed channel section for door tracks and thresholds. With integrated subsills, they collect water flows and condensation from around the doorways and quickly convey it outside.

But their brilliance lies in their discreet, low-profile design. Incorporating an external linear grate that sits flush beside the doortrack (in line with the ground) and a concealed channel section for door tracks, homeowners can virtually forget they are there. Of course, care needs to be taken with innovation of this type. After all, the Australian weather can change suddenly and is quite capable of destroying this new-found indoor-outdoor ‘harmony’. Considerations like draft suppression and water damage need to be taken seriously.

Stormtech threshold drains do just this. Made in Australia with 316 marine grade stainless steel and manufactured in accordance with AS4654.2.2012, they incorporate draft suppression techniques that do not involve touching the drain or the door tracks. On top of that, they feature a drain that sits about 30mm lower than the subsill and are therefore capable of handling a once a century event!

An industry leader, and winners of a Design Mark at the Australian Design Awards for drainage design. The company is a long-time member of the Standards Australia Committee and has played an important role in the formulation of regulations concerning several plumbing products, including linear drainage, all of Stormtech products are WaterMark and GreenTag certified.

Effective, discreet, and efficient, its threshold drains are an integral part of the move to ‘Bring the Outside in’!