Aluminium joinery — a complete guide

Aluminium joinery covers windows, doors, façades, partitions and sliding constructions made from aluminium profiles. Aluminium is the material of choice wherever rigidity, durability and large-format glazing matter most — in other words, anywhere other materials start to demand structural compromises.

Types

• Window systems — from light interior constructions to windows for passive buildings (Uf from 0.5 W/m²K)
• Door systems — entrance, technical and fire-rated doors
• Façade systems — mullion-transom, structural, skylights and glazed roofs
• Sliding systems — large-format HS glazing that opens the interior onto a terrace or garden
• Thermally insulated systems — enhanced and fully insulated variants, matched to a building’s specific energy target
• Smoke vent systems — smoke-vent flaps and windows within fire safety systems

Aluminium vs. PVC vs. timber

Aluminium doesn’t swell or warp, allows for the slimmest profiles and largest leaves, and is fully recyclable. With the right thermal break, it matches the insulation of the best windows made from other materials. In practice, the differences break down like this:

• Rigidity and formats — aluminium holds its geometry in large, heavy leaves without reinforcement; PVC and timber need extra load-bearing profiles or have size limits at large formats.
• Durability — an aluminium profile doesn’t rot (like timber) and doesn’t yellow or deform under sun and moisture (like PVC); virtually maintenance-free for decades.
• Insulation — at a comparable top-tier price point, aluminium with a full thermal break reaches passive-house-level parameters; the difference against PVC and timber in this segment is marginal.
• Aesthetics and colour range — the widest palette of finishes (RAL, structural, anodised, bi-colour) and the narrowest visible profiles at the same structural stiffness.

When to choose aluminium

Aluminium excels especially for large glazing (façades, HS sliding doors, large-format windows), in commercial and public buildings, in projects requiring fire or burglary resistance, and anywhere the investor expects minimal maintenance over the building’s whole service life. See also the premium aluminium windows and aluminium doors articles, where we break down individual parameters in detail.