Panel frame joints, sills, and other elements of folding door systems with shootbolt system

A method of manufacturing a panel frame of a panel of a fenestration unit having a glazing unit and a shootbolt locking system, the panel frame including a stile and a rail that partly cover a peripheral edge of the glazing unit and that meet to define a panel corner, the method comprising:

• providing a first stile member of the stile and a first rail member of the rail, the first stile member and the first rail member being elongate and extending along a respective linear axis, the first stile member configured to receive and support at least part of the shootbolt locking system, the first stile member including a stile end with a first wall, and the first rail member including a rail end with a second wall;
• attaching the first stile member and the first rail member with a first corner joint of the panel corner, including:
• attaching a first bracket and a second bracket together with the first bracket disposed within the stile end, the first wall disposed between the first and second brackets, and the second bracket projecting away from the first stile member;
• inserting the second bracket into the first rail end;
• and
• attaching the second wall to the second bracket;
• attaching, with a corner key that includes a first leg and a second leg that project at a nonzero angle from each other, a second stile member of the stile and a second rail member of the rail at a second corner joint of the panel corner, including:
• receiving the first leg of the corner key in the second stile member and attaching the first leg to the second stile member;
• and
• receiving the second leg of the corner key in the second rail member and attaching the second leg to the second rail member;
• and
• providing a thermal break, in an interior/exterior direction of the panel, between the first stile member and the second stile member and between the first rail member and the second rail member to separate the first corner joint and the second corner joint for spanning the thermal break across the peripheral edge of the glazing system.

A folding door system comprising:

• a panel including a panel frame that supports a glazing unit with a peripheral edge, the panel, the panel having an interior side and an exterior side, the panel frame including a stile and a rail that partly cover the peripheral edge and that meet to define a panel corner;
• the stile having a first stile member at the interior side and a second stile member at the exterior side, the first stile member and the second stile member separated by a thermal break that spans across the peripheral edge of the glazing unit, the rail including a first rail member at the interior side and a second rail member at the exterior side, the first rail member and the second rail member separated by the thermal break;
• the first stile member and the first rail member attached by a first corner joint of the panel corner, the first stile member and the first rail member being elongate and extending along a respective linear axis;
• a shootbolt locking system with a shootbolt cartridge supported in the first stile member and an operator control supported in the first stile member;
• the first stile member including a stile end with a first wall, and the rail member including a rail end with a second wall;
• the first corner joint including a first bracket and a second bracket, the first bracket and the second bracket being attached together, the first bracket disposed within the stile end proximate the shootbolt cartridge, the first wall disposed between the first and second brackets, the second bracket projecting away from the first stile member, and the second bracket received within the rail end and attached to the second wall;
• and
• the second stile member and the second rail member attached by a corner key at a second corner joint of the panel corner, the second corner joint and the first corner joint separated by the thermal break, the first leg of the corner key being partly received in and attached to the second stile member, the second leg of the corner key being partly received in and attached to the second rail member.