What’s the maximum size for a bifold? What’s the difference between an inline and a lift and slide door? Are aluminium windows as efficient as PVC-U? All these questions, and many more, are answered in the pages of the stunning new website from aluminium window and door specialist AluK.

Under the banner ‘Enhancing Your Life’, it’s an inspirational online guide to aluminium windows, bifolds, patio and entrance doors. It’s full of photos of real world installations in everything from 19^th century country cottages to contemporary new builds, and shows how easily new windows and doors can transform any style of home.

The website is much more than a gallery though. It’s packed with useful advice from AluK on everything from design and security considerations to thermal efficiency and colour choices. You can compare products side by side to see which is the best fit for your home and even tour the virtual showroom at AluK’s Chepstow HQ to see close ups of every product in the range.

You can also get in touch with the AluK team and get details of their preferred fabricator partners in your area. The new website is live at: https://alukhome.com/gb/en-gb

What is the maximum height and width for a bifold? 

The maximum leaf height is 2600mm with 1200mm width, although in some situations they can go up to 3000mm maximum height. The site design wind load that the doors are subjected to will influence the maximum height and width [per panel] to which the doors can be manufactured. 

What is the difference between an inline and a lift and slide door? 

When it comes to choosing the right sliding patios for your home or project, the options are either inline or lift and slide patio doors. They both look the same when closed, but the key differences are in the sliding and opening mechanism. The panels of inline sliding doors sit on top of rollers which are in permanent contact with the bottom track, and they use the weight of the doors themselves to glide backwards and forwards. Lift and slide doors work in a different way. It is the panels themselves which sit on the track and they only move a few millimetres up onto the integral rollers when you turn the handle 180° and activate the mechanical gearing. 

Are aluminium windows as efficient as PVC-U?

Both aluminium and PVC-U windows will deliver very similar levels of warmth and insulation, even though an aluminium frame might feel cooler to the touch than a frame in PVC-U.  Windows are given an efficiency rating from A++ to C under a scheme run by the British Fenestration Ratings Council (BFRC) and, while the frame does have some influence on that rating, the biggest impact comes from the glazing and whether the window is double or triple-glazed.