In a previous article we carried out an overall comparison of the aïr sliding door against the equivalent door from Dutemann. In this article we take a more detailed look at the specifications of the air sliding door, again compared with the Dutemann door.
The aïr sliding door from Everglade Windows and the Glide-S door from Dutemann both offer a premium sliding door with many different features and specifications.
With any quality door system such as these two, much thought goes into the design, the end user experience and how the product is supplied to the installer customer.
Both air 500 LS, 600LS and the Dutemann Glide-S sliding door are exclusively manufactured by the respective companies with a focus on quality, style and engineering. Both products are focused on the modern home seeking a quality, expertly made contemporary door where the benefits of a large span sliding door are required.
Both products are premium sliding doors, but each has their unique set of features and specifications.
Aïr sliding doors. Key features.
1. The Warranty.
The stand-out feature of the aïr sliding door range is the 25-year warranty. For many homeowners and as a vital statistic to close a sale, this warranty cannot be ignored. The air warranty surpasses even the Origin bifolding door warranty of 20 years. Dutemann by comparison only offers 10 years.
2. The paint finishes.
Air doors are also available in an exclusive textured paint finish similar to the Smarts Sensations Range. This is a textured range of colours that is highly durable, aesthetically pleasing and gives a new dimension to their aluminium sliding doors.
3. The sliding door handles.
In our view, aïr doors offer a better handle proposition with better looking and a bigger choice of handles. Handle appearance we know is subjective but for colour options and quality we think air has the advantage. Air products also come with the designer range of Serenity handles that are quite exceptional too. Everglade designs and makes Serenity door handles only for air doors.
4. New Slimmer Profiles with Air doors
- Aïr doors now have new profiles as standard. The new standard sliding sash profile is 83mm. The new interlock with an aïr door is now reduced to 48mm and doesn’t require like other systems any external reinforcement. Aesthetically this can look much better as well. Aïr doors will retain the 69mm interlock profile where doors are above 2400mm overall height or in higher windload areas.
Dutemann Glide-S Doors. Key features.
1. The larger door panels.
Dutemann doors can achieve spans of 6.7metres wide and 3.2m high with a two-panel door. This is impressive in a sliding door although for the majority of home extensions sizes tend to be smaller than this.
2. The interlocks.
Dutemann doors are only 1mm slimmer at the standard interlock, available with 47mm or 94mm interlocks depending upon the door size. This compares to the 48mm and 69mm options of the aïr door. These small differences on the larger mullions is not a huge factor and hardly noticeable over the entire span of a large sliding door.
3. Dutemann door panels up to 400kg.
An individual Dutemann sliding door panel can go up to 400kg. air doors offer an alternative sliding door system to aïr where ultra-wide and highly robust sliding doors are required.
Specifications of aïr sliding door compared to Dutemann’s door
| aïr Sliding Doors | Dutemann Sliding Doors | |
|---|---|---|
| Guarantee | 25 years | 10 years |
| Open Corner Solution | yes | yes |
| Inline and Lift/Slide Option | yes | yes |
| Single, double, triple track options | yes | yes |
| Slide into wall option | yes | yes |
| Threshold height | 28mm | 28mm |
| Published U Values | 1.38 | 1.3 |
| Residential and Commercial Use | yes | yes |
| Interlock sizes | 48mm and 69mm | 47mm and 94mm |
| Sash Weight | up to 300kg | up to 400kg |
| Paint thickness | 60 microns | 60 microns |
| Double or Triple Glazed | yes | yes |
| Serenity handle ranges | yes | no |
| PAS 24 independent Tested | yes | not known |
| Textured paint finishes | yes | no |
All data taken from the air and Dutemann websites or literature, correct as of January 2017
What is best? Dutemann or aïr sliding doors?
As you would expect from two quality sliding door systems, installers benefit from an excellent sliding door from both brands. We say many times on this website that there is no ‘best’ product.
In the case of air and Dutemann sliding doors, each product offers a different proposition. This is the most important factor when many window companies decide to offer more than one system to sell.
It is not so much about what is the better door in a showroom. It is about having the ability to offer more than one product so that a customer can see key differences between two doors rather than the ‘this door is better than the other’ sales process. In understanding the differences between products, customers learn which door will be better for them. They decide through which features and benefits are for them and not what the salesman tells them is better.
However, if we were pushed to choose, we would put our installer hat on and go with air. Our reason for this is focusing on the overall supplier offering rather than the product.
Everglade is the bigger manufacturer with a substantial operation, one of the largest machining centres in the country and as a complete home improvement door and window range outside of the aïr brand. Having a Choice for installers is a good thing, but there is also the perceived headache that comes in having so many different suppliers to deal with.
The air door opens an avenue for installers to consider the other aluminium products from Everglade such as Smarts Residential windows and doors, the excellent Smarts Heritage 47 steel replacement system, commercial doors, PVCu windows, composite doors and even the Reynears aluminium system as well. Everglade has for years been set up to supply the trade on a bigger and better scale. It is what they do.
The overall marketing support for the product by Everglade appears better when an installer needs help to sell the product. A larger company has a bigger marketing and investment budget. The airzones we’ve seen in showrooms really do look the part, focusing on the brand as well as the product. Everglade provides a consumer-focused website to support the air brand and in our view better literature as well.
The Dutemann Glide-S is a very good sliding door. And Duteman is an outstanding trade fabricator. Both products you’ll get expertly made and professionally fitted. However, the 25-year warranty offered with aïr doors tips the scale if bifolding and sliding door guarantees are important to you.
For many homeowners about to make a substantial investment in a premium sliding door, the comfort of a 25-year warranty will matter. For some installers and homeowners, this extended warranty may not be as important. The simple fact is, it’s there with an air door.
If you would like further information, please contact us.
