If you're pricing up a new front door or rear bifold set in Glasgow, you've probably noticed aluminium costs more than uPVC or composite and wondered if the difference is justified. It depends on the door, the opening and what you actually need it to do. Here's a straight answer based on what we see fitting doors across the city, from West End tenements to new builds in Newton Mearns.
Aluminium frames are slimmer than uPVC or composite for the same strength, which matters most on large openings. A rear bifold or sliding door spanning 3 to 4 metres needs a frame material that won't sag or bow under its own weight, and aluminium handles that better than uPVC over a 15 to 20 year span. For a standard front door, the difference is less dramatic, since composite doors are already strong and well insulated.
The other factor is finish. Aluminium takes a powder coat that holds its colour and doesn't fade or chalk the way some uPVC can after a decade of west of Scotland weather. Anthracite grey (RAL 7016) is by far the most requested colour we fit in Glasgow, on both aluminium and composite, so if you're after that look specifically, aluminium isn't the only route to it.
For a single front door, expect roughly £900 to £1,500 for composite, £700 to £1,200 for uPVC, and £1,600 to £2,800 for aluminium, depending on glazing, locks and whether it's a stock size or made to measure for an older Glasgow doorway. Tenement door openings are often slightly non-standard, which pushes bespoke aluminium towards the top of that range.
For bifold or sliding doors on an extension, aluminium is usually the main option once you're past 3 panels or 3 metres wide, and a typical 4-panel set runs £3,000 to £6,500 fitted. uPVC bifolds exist but get heavy and clunky at that size. French doors in aluminium are £1,800 to £3,000 against £1,200 to £2,000 in uPVC.
Glasgow's exposure to driving rain off the Atlantic, particularly on west and south facing elevations around Pollokshields, Shawlands and out towards Paisley, puts real wind and water load on doors. Aluminium's rigidity helps keep large glazed doors sealing properly year after year, whereas uPVC sashes on big openings can start to drop slightly and let draughts in around year 8 to 12. For a sheltered front door in a tenement close, this doesn't apply, and uPVC or composite is perfectly adequate and better value.
Thermal performance is the one area where aluminium needs a caveat: bare aluminium conducts heat, so any aluminium door worth fitting in Glasgow should have a thermally broken frame. Ask for the U-value on quotes. A decent thermally broken aluminium door will sit around 1.4 to 1.8 W/m²K, in the same range as composite, so the idea that aluminium is automatically colder is outdated if it's specified properly.
A lot of our Glasgow enquiries come from tenement and townhouse owners in conservation areas such as Dennistoun, Hyndland, Pollokshields and parts of the Southside, where close doors and ground floor openings can be subject to planning restrictions or factor agreement. Aluminium's slim sightlines let you keep a profile closer to the original timber proportions than a chunky uPVC frame would, which sometimes makes it easier to get sign off, though you should always check with your factor or Glasgow City Council planning before ordering, not after.
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