| The style of your home and your own personal taste | | | | available in white or pale blue. |
| are significant factors in your choice of windows and | | | | Cheap d-i-y PVC patio doors are a nightmare to live |
| doors. There are three main types of frame available - | | | | with in Britain's fluctuating seasonal temperatures, |
| timber ('hard' or 'soft' woods), poly vinyl chloride (a | | | | sticking and twisting as brute force is necessarily |
| chemical compound of chlorine, carbon and hydrogen) | | | | applied during opening and closing in hot weather when |
| and metal (usually aluminium). | | | | you are most likely to want to open the patio doors. |
| Aluminium is an abundant natural resource, non-brittle, | | | | When considering the installation of PVC doors, |
| non-corrosive, and an excellent conductor of heat and | | | | particularly bifolds, it is essential to choose wisely. |
| cold. Its malleability and corrosion-resistant properties, | | | | For both "chunkiness" and versatility for the decorating |
| together with its stress-strain ratio, make aluminium an | | | | enthusiast, timber frames offer an inexpensive medium |
| ideal medium for long-term use in buildings. Because it | | | | for home-owners who enjoy property maintenance, |
| is a conductive metal, the construction of window and | | | | varnishing or painting. |
| door frames needs to include a thermal break - a gap | | | | There's no better medium than a wooden frame if you |
| between the inside and outside sections of frame - | | | | like to change your entire colour scheme every two or |
| just like the gap between two panes of glass in double | | | | three years. To keep wood looking fresh, particularly |
| glazing. | | | | with south-facing elevations, it needs nourishing and |
| The strongest of the three basic types of frame | | | | preserving regularly. This is a great opportunity for a |
| materials is aluminium, which means that less frame is | | | | make-over from white frames to green or black on |
| required (compared with wood or PVC) for a quality | | | | painted wood. |
| system, fit for purpose. This is particularly important for | | | | However, to enhance the beauty of natural wood, |
| fully glazed folding or sliding patio doors where larger | | | | particularly soft woods such as pine, annual |
| doors need strong and comparatively lightweight | | | | maintenance is recommended so that damp doesn't |
| frames for easier maneuverability. | | | | lead to black patches of mildew. All woods swell in the |
| Typically, aluminium frames are thermally | | | | rain and shrink in the heat, some more than others, so |
| powder-coated with a tough, damage-resistant | | | | French doors and bi-folding doors with wooden frames |
| polymer than can be applied in a range of colours, a | | | | need to be researched carefully before installation. For |
| far stronger finish than can be achieved with paint or | | | | example, budget d-i-y timber-framed doors can be |
| varnish. | | | | difficult to open or close when swollen and may shrink |
| Aluminium frames provide a sleek, contemporary look | | | | to leave draughty gaps that you'll live to regret every |
| to a building. To create a light, practical, non-fussy feel | | | | winter. |
| to your home, aluminium frames are an excellent | | | | All three types of frame can offer full glass doors and |
| choice in natural white or graphite grey. To make a | | | | windows for maximum light and vision. All can be |
| statement, frames can be ordered to complement a | | | | found with Georgian, leaded light or bar style options. |
| sunny blue sky, a verdant lawn, an azure sea, a golden | | | | Both aluminium and PVC are easy to wipe clean. |
| sunset or high-tech metallic, to list but a few. | | | | Armed with this background information, the best way |
| From the sleek, slim frames of aluminium to the bolder, | | | | to make a decision is to find doors of each medium |
| chunkier frames of man-made PVC. Apart from | | | | and use them but take care not to test the high quality |
| budget considerations, PVC may be chosen for a | | | | models and expect the same results from budget |
| modern look. It can be particularly effective on a | | | | models. |
| pseudo-colonial or Disney-esque style of property, | | | | So... sleek aluminium or chunky PVC or wood, the |
| perhaps with PVC weather-boarding, popularly | | | | choice is yours. |