Want the industrial, Crittall®, or Art Deco aesthetic in your home? French doors are a very popular design for patio doors and the most authentic door type in a steel-look. You can design these either as a familiar double door set or a larger combination screen comprising French Doors with side panels.
Both aluminium and steel French doors promise elegance and sophistication, luxury and quality. Characterised by their multiple panes of glass, divided by thin transoms and their slender surround frames, French doors are a hallmark of timeless design. Aluminium and Steel French doors are the two best steel-look options available.
The Industrial Look: Authenticity and Aesthetic
The choice between aluminium and steel French doors usually comes down to four factors.
- Authenticity, the original steel vs the aluminium replica.
- Whether you prefer the steel or aluminium aesthetic.
- Manufacturing and installation times.
- Matching your French Doors to other windows and doors.
There is no doubt the industrial style is here to stay, and done right, this edgy, bold and urban style of interior door can remain timeless in most property interiors.
Steel French Doors: The Quintessential Industrial Choice
Steel French doors are often seen as the gold standard for achieving an authentic industrial look. This is because steel is the original product and aluminium is replicating steel, not the other way round. Steel has been historically used in residential doors, windows, factory and warehouse windows. The look of steel, therefore, creates a genuine connection to the true industrial aesthetic.
Steel French Doors are welded whereas aluminium is mechanically joined like period joinery and craftsmanship. Steel by its nature is a stron metal and can therefore create substantially bigger doors and frames than aluminium. Aluco steel-look French Doors already come at impressive widths and heights, but steel can go even bigger if required.
The Aluco collection is available in shapes and curves, and we use specialist bending techniques to create a curved head above your new doors or shaped windows. The nature of steel is such that more complex shapes and curves are easier to achieve such as gothic styles, not usually possible with aluminium.
Furthermore, steel can be finished with a range of coatings more suited to steel that can’t be done in aluminium such as satin, burnished, blackened and oxidised finishes, again that can’t easily be achieved in aluminium. So, when choosing between aluminium and steel French doors, aluminium is best for standard doors without complex shapes and curves. Steel is the best in one-off designs and when you must have the tallest and widest doors.
Aluminium French Doors: A Contemporary Take on Tradition
While aluminium French doors may not have the same historical pedigree as steel, they offer a compelling contemporary interpretation of the industrial style. Aluminium can be fashioned to mimic the thin sightlines of steel, providing a similar aesthetic with the added benefit of being lightweight. Advances in manufacturing mean that aluminium doors can be designed with intricate details, echoing the elegance of traditional steel designs.
Aluminium frames can be powder-coated in a variety of finishes, including the ever-popular matte black. This versatility allows homeowners to achieve a look that closely resembles steel while potentially offering a wider range of customisation options.
While aluminium French doors may not have the same historical pedigree as steel, they offer a compelling contemporary interpretation of the industrial style. Aluminium can be fashioned to mimic the thin sightlines of steel, providing a similar aesthetic with the added benefit of being lightweight. Advances in manufacturing mean that aluminium doors can be designed with intricate details, echoing the elegance of traditional steel designs.
Aluminium frames can be powder-coated in a variety of finishes, including the ever-popular matte black. This versatility allows homeowners to achieve a look that closely resembles steel while potentially offering a wider range of customisation options.
There are two main advantages of aluminium French Doors in the steel or industrial style.
- An aluminium door set is typically around one third the cost of a comparable steel product.
- Aluminium doors are typically manufactured in around 4-6 weeks. Steel doors typically take up to 20 weeks to manufacture.
Aluminium: Competitive Sightlines with Added Benefits
Only Aluco in the whole of the UK market offers the slimmest sightlines, the thinnest possible patio doors and the closest in bar dimensions and overall sightlines to steel doors. So when comparing aluminium vs steel French doors, Aluco promises the closest equivalent.
The nature of aluminium is such that it can create an excellent steel-look door without the cost or lengthly manufacturing times of steel. And only an Aluco French door has the design, engineering and capability to give you the same bar sightlines and ingenious design previously only available with steel.
The Floating Lock
Aluco French doors and especially in the Floating Lock Design, promises an aluminium steel-look door unlike any other on the market. Here are further benefits only available with Aluco French Doors.
- Every door hand-assembled and finished.
- Unique wrap-around glass design creating a more solid door.
- Matching internal doors, windows and even sliding doors.
- There is no thinner patio door in the UK.
- The most luxurious handles and accessories.
- More thermally efficient than steel.
Remember, no other aluminium steel-look French door is as thin or matches the genuine steel door like a hand-finished Aluco door.
Choosing Aluminium vs Steel French Doors. Make Aluco the right choice for your home.
Both aluminium and steel French doors have their unique advantages when it comes to achieving that sought-after industrial, Crittall®, or Art Deco style. Steel doors offer you the authentic steel door, with a welded design and a great look that epitomises the industrial aesthetic. But the manufacturing times are lengthy and they come at the highest prices.
On the other hand, the Aluco Exterior Collection of aluminium doors provide a modern take on this classic style, with competitive sightlines and greater design flexibility. With other brands of aluminium steel look doors, you won’t replicate the styling and sightlines of steel. With Aluco French Doors, you will.
Whichever material you choose, both aluminium and steel French doors will undoubtedly enhance the beauty and character of your home, bringing a touch of timeless elegance and modern sophistication to your living space.
Contact us today for details of our exterior windows and doors and interior doors, screens and partitions. We look forward to helping you breathe new life into your home.
