PVCu sliding glass doors vs aluminium sliding glass doors
Sliding glass doors are a great way to open a house to the outside and let natural light fill the room. But with so many options available choosing the sliding glass doors for a property isn’t easy. A good place to start is with the material. Here we take a look at how PVCu and aluminium compare.
How long will PVCu or aluminium sliding glass doors last?
Aluminium is a very stable, robust material, which changes very little with the changes in temperature. Staying consistent from year to year and built to last. Which is why you will find many aluminium sliding glass doors are sold with excellent guarantees. For example our Reynaers Lift and Slide sliding door comes with a minimum 10 year manufactures guarantee.
PVCu can have a long life, however the frames can potentially degrade over time, as they are more acceptable to the changes in temperature, expanding and contracting with the weather. Causing the doors to warp and twist, making them harder to open and close over time.
Slim frame sliding glass doors
Due to aluminium’s natural strength sliding glass doors made from aluminium can be manufactured with a very slim frame. Allowing a larger glazed area and more light into the home, as well as maximising the view.
PVCu is very tough but not as strong as aluminium, as a result PVCu frames are thicker in order to provide the same level of performance aluminium does. Which means the ratio of frame to glass is lowers due to the ticker sightlines.
Is PVCu or aluminium better for coloured sliding glass doors?
Both PVCu and aluminium allow you to have coloured sliding glass doors. With many aluminium sliding glass door manufactures, such as ourselves you can choose of over 150 RAL colours for your doors. Aluminium windows and doors go through a process called Powder Coating, to colour the aluminium profiles. Coloured powder is sprayed onto statically charged profiles. Which are then baked, allowing the powder to melt together to offer a stable and high quality finish.
To produce coloured PVCu frames, a coloured foil is heat bonded to the surface of the PVCu frame, creating a practically unbreakable finish. The colour options for PVCu products do vary by product for PVCu sliding glass doors.
Curved Frames, Triple Tracks, and Open Corners
Both PVCu and aluminium give you the possibility of having a triple track system, allowing for 2/3’s of an aperture to be opened.
An aluminium system gives you the option of an open/floating corner. An open/floating corner is when a sliding glass doors is installed into the corner of a property, spanning two walls. With no supporting post, when the doors are opened it creates a completely open corner and a stunning architectural piece.
The strength of an aluminium systems also give you the option of curved frames for a contemporary design. This isn’t however possible with all aluminium sliding glass door systems.
Visually can you tell the difference by looking at PVCu or aluminium sliding glass doors?
If you are looking at an anthracite grey aluminium sliding glass door and an anthracite grey PVCu sliding glass door, you will be able to see a difference. Firstly the thickness of the frames, the PVCu frame will be chunkier with the aluminium frame being slimmer and sleeker looking.
You will also be able to feel a difference. We would recommend popping into a showroom to test it out yourself.
Cost – are aluminium sliding glass doors more expensive than PVCu?
Everybody has a budget, it can vary greatly depending on the project, but cost is a very important factor when looking at your sliding glass doors.
PVCu is an inexpensive plastic, as such is found installed in houses up and down the country. Aluminium however does demand a higher price tag due to being a more expensive product to manufacture. Gaining in popularity, homeowners and architects are seeing the benefits aluminium can provide.
Even though aluminium windows and doors are more expensive to buy, they are likely to boost the value of the property whereas PVCu wouldn’t.
