Posted: 5th June 2023
When it comes to designing our homes, nothing is more important than security. Any improvement made to our lived spaces should therefore include a breakdown of its effect on the building’s safety.
The obvious potential weak spots for any house will be its windows and doors – and a home’s impression of safety and strength is just as much about the way it looks as it is how it performs. Not only is aluminium known for its strength – which is a deterrent to would-be opportunists in-and-of-itself – but it also gives off this idea that the property is modern and up-to-date with regards to its security.
If an upgrade to your doors is on the agenda – and security is the all-defining feature you are looking for – aluminium really is the material of choice. Here’s why…
One of the most important factors of a material’s security is its inherent strength. In this regard, aluminium is a much better material than wood and PVC-U – a truth which is amplified once the addition of alloying elements is considered.
The only commonly-used material for doors that can compete with aluminium’s strength is steel. Steel is actually stronger than aluminium – but once aluminium has been properly treated and processed, the difference isn’t as much as you might think.
In fact, the tensile strength of a mild steel composition is about 420 MPa (MegaPascal) as compared to aluminium’s 90 MPa. Some heat-treatable aluminium alloys, however, have a tensile strength of over 690 MPa, making them a competitive alternative to steel – and cheaper too.
Any drop off in strength when compared to steel is more than made up for in aluminium’s lesser weight. Doors made of aluminium are far lighter than wood and PVC-U ones too, so you can enjoy all the benefits of metal’s strength without it becoming heavy and cumbersome.
If these first two points are considered alongside one another, a further truth materialises. Aluminium has a much higher strength-to-weight ratio than either wood or steel, which means that doors made of it can withstand far more stress than their steel or wooden counterparts.
Not only will an aluminium door be strong and secure when you install it, it will continue to be so for years to come. It doesn’t rust or corrode easily and can withstand extreme temperatures without a compromise to its structural integrity, making it easily one of the most durable materials in mainstream use in the construction industry.
Doors made of aluminium won’t fall prey to insect attacks or mildew and are fully equipped to deal with even the worst of the British weather. The majority of them come with long warranties for a good reason: they’re built to last.
Opportunists often look for weak spots in a property’s defences in order to gain entry. When wear and tear is visible from the outside, even if the material itself is still sound, it may encourage a closer look or give off the impression of lax security.
Since aluminium doors don’t require regular work done to them to maintain their performance and clean, new look – and they aren’t prone to weathering or rust – an occasional wipe down with a cloth is all that’s needed to keep your doorway looking formidable.
Compared to many materials, aluminium is good value for money, although this may not be immediately apparent in the upfront cost of the product. This cost-effectiveness is true in a few different ways.
Given that aluminium is so light, the total weight of the materials needed to fit a door already offsets some of its higher cost. Added to this is the fact that due to its versatility as a material, aluminium doors can be customised to fit the desired specifications, leading to far less wasting of materials.
As previously mentioned, it is also an extremely durable material, making it far more of a single-instance investment than wooden or steel alternatives.
Depending on the door you are replacing, there is a very real chance that an aluminium upgrade will also increase your home’s thermal insulation performance, lessening your bills.
Even if there are less visible points of vulnerability in your property, having a strong and secure-looking doorway will automatically make your home feel safer – to its inhabitants as well as any nefarious onlookers.
The inverse of this point is that if your doorway looks unsound – even if it is completely secure – the fact that it looks like a point of weakness may encourage would-be intruders to take a closer look.
So, an aluminium door not only speaks of a strength in its own right, but also lends the property it is attached to an air of security too.
One of the aesthetic selling-points of aluminium doors are their sleek, clean and minimalist designs. This also happens to be a huge advantage when it comes to their security, as any design-specific weak-point will be unnoticeable from the outside.
Protecting your home starts at the front door, but, as we’ve seen, this question of security isn’t as simple as it might first appear. A material’s inherent strength is important, but so is its fire and weather resistance; a door might be strong and have state-of-the-art locking mechanisms, but does it look formidable – and will it continue to do so in the years to come?
Aluminium may not be the strongest material out there, or the cheapest, but when all of the separate elements are brought together and considered – and safety is the all-encompassing priority of your doorway plans – it would easily come out as our material of choice.
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From sash windows to aluminium bifold doors, our high-quality products are engineered and manufactured right here in Britain. We work with fellow UK-operated companies, Spectus Window Systems, Smart Systems, and Jack Aluminium Systems, to deliver only the very best to our trade, commercial and residential customers.
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