Aluminium entrance doors and front doors provide are products intended for the front, side, or back of the home. They provide a quality solution for entry doors, garden access doors or supplementary doors such as those in a porch.
You can even use aluminium entrance doors inside the property with products suitable for use as room dividers or internal glass doors.
The advantage of many aluminium entrance doors or front doors is how their design and construction can work in various properties, regardless of age or style, apart from heritage or listed buildings. Above all, doors in aluminium provide excellent aesthetics, thin proportions, better sizing and the choice of modern and traditional styles.
Other pages In this section
- Buying a new entrance door-the choices
- 7 reasons to use aluminium doors
- Contemporary Doors in Aluminium
- Who makes the best aluminium front doors
Why choose aluminium entrance doors and front doors
The two main advantages of buying aluminium front doors over PVCu, composite, timber or hybrid doors are larger and smaller sizes capability. Aluminium doors go taller and wide than these materials, making them ideal for contemporary door designs and removing the need for side or top panels. For homes with smaller or narrower doorways, aluminium can go much narrower than composite doors.
Who makes the best front entrance doors?
Find out which types of entrance doors are best suited for various scenarios. Everything is considered, from materials to configuration and use.
Aluminium entrance doors buying guide
Looking for new front doors and entrance doors? Information, tips and advice, how they’re made, security, insulation, and things to look for.
At the same time, every good door brand provides secure, thermally efficient and colour-rich products with quality hardware, durability and long service life. An aluminium front door also provides the opportunity to easily colour match and use the same frames throughout the home with particular systems.
One of the more recent innovations is the development of the aluminium front door as a very credible alternative to the composite front door. As a result, there is a wide variety of products available that offer aluminium contemporary front doors or more traditional doors to suit all tastes, property styles and budgets. Woodgrain finishes and even foiled aluminium doors with some products provide a premium aluminium alternative to composite doors.
Today, an aluminium front door is long-lasting, energy-efficient, and easily installed thanks to the smart overall frame dimensions. Unlike previous generations of aluminium doors, they fix directly to a new or existing structure without needing a hardwood subframe.
There’s a significant range of aluminium entrance doors and front doors, and the styling and design depend on the type of door, such as panel-glazed or the more advanced seamless design. Many UK suppliers now provide quality front door products, and on this site, there’s useful information about who makes some of the best front doors.
For doors to shops, flats or entrances to apartment buildings, aluminium heavy-duty doors provide a better solution.
Advantages of aluminium front doors
Whilst all door materials provide a fit-for-purpose front door. Aluminium is better for slim sightlines with greater design flexibility. Sizes start as narrow as 400mm wide and as tall as 2800mm high. Aluminium pivot doors go even taller.
Colour consistency is better with aluminium, with all components powder coated using the same powder type. Alternatively, metallic, wood-effect and a combination of colours to the door frame and panel inside and out provide further choices. With minor maintenance and the type of powder-coated finish specified, aluminium doors retain their looks and gloss levels long term and up to 25-year warranties are available, depending on the aluminium front doors brand.
Some installers avoid using dark colours on composite PVCu doors due to expansion, distortion or discolouration, something not an issue with aluminium doors.
The frame and sash combinations with many systems allow matching front doors to side and rear doors for a cohesive look throughout the home. The availability of aluminium windows, bifolding and sliding doors allows the benefits of a single brand and point of guarantee.
Contemporary Aluminium Front Doors
When made of aluminium, a modern front door gives a bold, distinctive and individual appearance. The texture of the powder-coated finish is the first prominent feature. Although composite doors are excellent for quality, the colouring process is visibly different.
Furthermore, modern machining processes create aluminium skins bonded to insulated cores and internal reinforcement. A vast choice of glass provides even more choices including the option of a solid panel, glazed or partially glazed door.
The glass choices available with aluminium doors provide differing levels of privacy or light transmission. Furthermore, options include a selection of thresholds, different locking methods and a broad range of handles and accessories. You can even have the latest integral blinds fitted in aluminium front doors.
Aluminium Traditional Entrance doors.
Similar to contemporary front doors, it’s easy to get all the benefits of modern aluminium doors in a traditional design.
These doors come in familiar styles, replicating doors in London homes, Victorian, Edwardian or Georgian timber.
Aluminium Door Brands and Systems.
The range of aluminium front doors is extensive with diversity in design, construction and specifications. Aluminium entrance doors will very often be a combination of aluminium systems and aluminium panels from different manufacturers. It is very rare for any door company to extrude, design and manufacture both their doors and the panels that go in them. Some of the best-known systems for the home are:
aïr MOD-Series Aluminium Front Doors.
Everglade Windows, the Company behind the luxurious suite of aïr bifolding and sliding doors, now offers a premium quality aluminium front door. Called the aïr MOD-Series, these are the latest generation aluminium front doors creating stunning entrances and providing one of the highest-performing doors on the market. The aïr MOD-Series Aluminium front door offers maximum security door cylinders, low U-Values, low thresholds and a big range of door designs for the home.
Alumil Front Doors
Greek Systems Company Alumil offers a substantial range of aluminium entrance doors and front doors. The Alumil SD95 offers premium front doors with solid or partially glazed panels in a contemporary design.
Also available from Alumil are the latest aluminium pivot doors, designed to create impressive patio doors and front doors at expansive sizes.
Dutemänn Haus Entrance Doors.
Premium quality Dutemänn Haus entrance doors are a flagship door range available in a range of over 90 door panel styles and designs. Dutemänn uses a Schuco system with many different hardware, colour and specification options. The Dutemänn Haus door offers low U Values; German engineered hardware, invisible hinges and automatic door locking.
Gerda Doors
Engineered unlike other aluminium front doors on the market, Gerda front doors look and feel like high-end designer doors with a seamless appearance, excellent fit and finish and superior product quality.
Gerda front doors benefit from using both aluminium and steel, delivering a range of robust, incredibly secure and very energy-efficient products, all available in numerous styles, colours and options.
Glasswin Front Doors.
The Glasswin range of aluminium front doors provides a complete range of contemporary and traditional front doors, made in Germany.
Available with profiles including Schuco and Reynaers, Glasswin front doors come with double, triple or even quadruple glass, desirable door styles, and the very best Winkhaus locks. The construction, appearance and top brand hardware of Glasswin make these highly attractive as aluminium front doors at impressive prices. Whilst available with sidelights or top panels, these doors don’t come as double doors.
Hallmark Architect Aluminium Panels and Doors.
Architect aluminium panels from Hallmark, a long-established manufacturer of PVCu and aluminium panels. Hallmark Panels offer their Architect range of aluminium panels designed to work with the majority of aluminium systems such as Smarts, AluK, Comar and others. Doors are available to the trade from Hallmark either as a complete panel with a Smart Systems frame or as a loose panel for glazing into the preferred door systems. A range of sidelights is also available.
Hörmann Entrance Doors.
Hörmann Doors are a premium brand offering the ThermoSafe and Thermocarbon range of aluminium entrance doors. ThermoSafe from Hörmann provides very low U-Values, a thick 73mm leaf and a multi-point locking system. ThermoCarbon offers an even lower 0.47Wm2K U Value with a 100mm thick door leaf, commonly used in low-energy homes. Hörmann doors, made in Germany.
Internorm Doors
Austrian-made Internorm doors sold in the UK through a nationwide network of Internorm Dealers. The Internorm Aluminium Door range has a solid insulated core with aluminium internal and external skins in a range of colours, styles and designs. Thermal insulation, weather-resistant and soundproofing meet or exceed current industry standards. In the range is the Studio, Home Soft, Home Pure and Ambiente ranges creating a range of doors with a traditional or modern appearance.
Liniar Alumina Doors
Liniar, behind the excellent Alumina bifolding door, also use this system to make distinctive front doors. The image on this page demonstrates great design and innovation with Alumina doors when customised with suitable profiles, creating a one-off design. With Liniar’s Alumina front doors, you also get aluminium profiles with exceptional woodgrain foils for an authentic wood appearance.
Lumidorr by Arkay Windows.
Other features include concealed hinges, automatic multi-point locking and the facility to create doors 1.8m wide and 3m high.
Arkay Windows offer a premium aluminium entrance doors with their Lumidorr. Lumidorr offers flush aluminium detailing, a choice of panel options as well as a flat finish inside, outside or both sides.
Everest Aluminium Front Doors.
Everest Home Improvements offer a range of aluminium front doors based on a SAPA or Aluk system with a variety of aluminium bottom panels, full panels or half panels. There is even a choice of fully glazed doors with a range of glass designs and patterns.
Origin Residential Front Door.
The Origin Residential front door was introduced in October 2016 and features a range of traditional and contemporary designs. The door profiles are available with a 20-year guarantee. Origin doors are made in the UK and come from one of the foremost aluminium manufacturers in the UK. Origin front doors also feature aesthetics to match their range of other door products.
Pirnar Front Doors.
Pirnar entrances doors have a global reputation for design, quality and desirability. The top of the range Pirnar doors distinguishes themselves from others with technical and design innovations. Five different collections of Pirnar doors give a choice of contemporary or traditional styles. From smooth aluminium to highly contemporary designs, with automation, LED lighting, automatic door handles and many other technical firsts.
RK Door Systems.
RK Door Systems offer a range of four entrance door types and styles in their Entre, Classic, Excellent, Designer and Pivot door ranges.
Made in aluminium, steel or a combination of materials. RK Doors feature very high security locking systems, extensive panel choices and good thermal efficiency.
Schuco AD UP Front Doors
New to the market, Schuco AD UP designer front doors give all the high-tech German design and engineering synonymous with this outstanding aluminium systems company.
These doors come in two versions, the Design Edition and the Residential version. Both provide seamless aluminium front doors with the most advanced insulated aluminium combined with high specification insulation and decorative panels.
Smart Systems Designer Doors
Designer doors from Smart Systems based in Yatton and the UK’s biggest aluminium systems company. The range of Designer Doors is designed and made in the UK.
The new aluminium front doors come in Traditional, Cottage, Vintage and Modern door styles, with nearly forty designs. The most extensive door range is the Modern. Doors feature high-security features, extensive colour choices and the trusted name associated with Smart Systems.
Sunflex Front Doors.
Sunflex entrance doors are premium doors made in various colours, styles and designs. Doors by SUNFLEX come with the panels made by the company where other companies buy them in from other panels suppliers. These doors have an infill panel arrangement into an aluminium door sash. Available is a substantial choice of solid or partially glazed panels.
A Sunflex front door comes with a range of contemporary pull handles and lever handles. Also available is matching escutcheons and a modern suite of door knockers, spy holes letter plates and chains.
Spitfire Doors
The Spitfire Aluminium Entrance door suite comes as the S-500 Inotherm doors as well as S-200 Series Collections. Spitfire uses the Schuco 90mm aluminium frame and a range of high quality panels to achieve great U Values. With the S-500 suite is a variety of technology options for locking and controlling the doors. The S-200 range is a more simplified range using 70mm deep profiles and suitable for the more typical property.
Aluminium entrance doors designs and types
The choice of aluminium entrance doors comes down to several different types in how they’re designed and made.
The simplest design uses a standard door system glazed with a decorative panel. Simple to make, highly effective, and a more affordable option. Most companies offering this door style buy their panels from specialist door panel manufacturers and designers.
With an improved design and aesthetic are those doors designed with the same decorative panel but modified to create clean lines, a more seamless look and doing away with the visible border of doors using the simpler glazed method. At the top end of the market are those front door brands made of aluminium but using more advanced techniques and creating fully flush doors.
Just like composite doors using a variety of frame profiles with a matching slab, some aluminium doors also use this concept. With aluminium entrance doors, you’ll find different systems used. Premium door products use high-end profiles, such as Schuco or Reynaers.
Also available as front doors are more advanced pivot opening doors, glazed or slabbed ideal for contemporary homes and available at even larger sizes than regular hinged doors.
Latest articles about entrance doors
- Spitfire S-500 vs Glasswin doors – which is better? November 29, 2023
- Aluco floating lock – the slimmest aluminium doors August 1, 2023
- How much does a front door cost? June 19, 2023
- The best composite doors compared June 12, 2023
- Getting the best windows and doors – a practical guide May 30, 2023
