Crittal / Crittal-style doors - any advice?

[thelinkisdead]

We are wanting to put these internally but it’s such a minefield deciding what to get. Crittal doors are SO expensive but is it worth it? Are the cheaper replicas a case of buy cheap buy twice? We’re wanting to add external French doors and a shower screen in the same style eventually so do we go higher end / will we regret not spending more?!

We had out original Crittal windows and doors replaced by these people: https://www.cotswold-casements.co.uk/

They look very good and have not needed any attention since they were installed in 2004. As a guide, the French doors cost £1204.00 plus fitting which was done by our builders.

Our internal doors are all wooden though.

We’re about to do a whole house renovation/extension and our builder is putting us off crittall - he says that the minute they get any sort of heat on them they warp

Oh this is interesting; I would have thought they were hard wearing! Has he said any more about this? I’m not opposed to timber frame - it’s the look I want to achieve

That quote seems far more reasonable than any I’ve seen so far!!

We had some 1960's original crittal windows in the house I grew up in. I don't think they wore well. They were difficult to open and shut properly ( probably did warp?). My mum hated them. Your builder may be right

It was 20 years ago.

We've not had any issues with the windows warping or being hard to open or close.

The best quote we’ve had for Crittall-style steel windows and doors was Drury Casement. They do both internal and external. I also had a quote from Fabco Sanctuary, but they were too much for our budget.

I’ve never heard of them warping in the heat. ‘Modern’ Crittall-style steel doors (W20 standard) are galvanised and powder coated, so I expect that would protect them better than older methods.

For aluminium Crittall style (usually called ‘Heritage’), there are a few manufacturers, eg Aluco, Origin and Smart Systems. The bars are thicker, though I saw recently that Aluco do a ‘floating lock’ option that allows them to keep the bars thin. But I’ve not had any luck in getting quotes back for those.

Of the aluminium quotes we did get back, Smart Systems were the cheapest. These prices are broadly in line with what we were quoted.

He hasn’t elaborated much but he did a project locally to us which is where I spotted them and wanted them and said he’s had to go back several times as they have had loads of issues.

gutted as really wanted that style but we are south facing and it gets bloody hot so I’m worried about going against what he says

We are south-facing, went with Fabco, had an entire back wall of doors in probs nearly a decade, no probs with expanding, warping etc (despite record summer temps) and the company were totally brilliant to deal with throughout.

Hi,
Just wanted to check what you went with as this thread appeared as I was looking a similar thing.

I've seen them called "Heritage" from here: https://www.vividdoors.co.uk/heritage-doors - slightly thicker bars I think but the style is the same. Aluminium only though.

Thanks in advance.

@CatherineWebster we gave up! I contacted a few companies including one who were supposed to get back to me and didn’t! We have knocked an opening from our hallway through to our morning room (like a squared archway) but now aren’t sure if we want a door at all so we’re going to live with it, and then see what we think. We are eventually going to put Crittal-style French doors in our back room but I’m thinking I’ll go with galvanised steel for longevity. We might then match our internal door to these!

@thelinkisdead Fair enough. Thanks for taking the time to get back to me. I'd seen the aluminium. I think the price had gone up slightly from when we were looking due to the raw materials becoming more costly... although, this is life generally.

Thanks again.

We are in the process of getting quotes for aluminium windows and doors. Bifold express quoted £2400 + VAT for one 2 door French door! The cost of the glass in our project is really causing a stumbling block.

We had steel doors installed last year in our extension and are slowly replacing some internal doors to match, I couldn't see how they could possibly warp they look and feel indestructible. I'm no expert but doesn't steel need to be heated to 1000 degrees to warp? As a guide we paid around £2,400 for our French doors, I would have done some things differently through the reno (chosen a different plasterer, and figured out our stone work tops earlier) but I would still choose our steel doors. Every time someone sees them, they kind of gasp and I get to pat myself on the back 😂. BTW we got them from Stenze.com and they were fab to work with.

We purchased steel Crittall style doors for our home - defo worth it! They are absolutely gorgeous! We opted for steel as they not only look nicer in my opinion but also feel like luxury due to the weight. My other half installed our door as we purchased ours on a supply only basis from a company called Doors Of Steel (www.doorsofsteel.co.uk)

you can have steel or aluminium. the difference is that steel is more expensive and heavier. aluminium is lightwheight and corrosion-resistant. we have aluminium from here Glass Room Dividers / Internal Aluminium Glazed Doors
they modern and increase light in our house.