With so many products on the market, it can be hard to know which way to turn when selecting the right sliding doors for your project. How do you know which glazing contractor to choose? And which is more important – the product itself or the people who will be installing it?
To answer these questions and more, we’ve come up with a handy guide to help you as you start to investigate some of the UK’s leading sliding door experts. From security to sustainability, we’ve got it covered…
First and foremost, it’s important to choose a quality product that will stand the test of time. Glazed doors are a big investment, often representing a substantial part of your build budget, so you want to ensure you can rely on them to operate smoothly for many years to come.
As well as seeking high quality materials and a superlative performance, it’s worth looking for a glazing contractor with a solid reputation. Go and see the product in the flesh if you can, and ask to see case studies of previous projects the company has completed.
A specialist focus is no bad thing either, because too much diversification can lead to diluted levels of service. At Minima Sliding, we have a single product focus – sliding doors are the only thing we do. This enables us to deliver expert, tailored advice alongside our award-winning product, the Ultraline sliding door system. With a highly durable, slimline aluminium frame, Ultraline won Best Glazed Doors in the 2019 Build It Awards, and was also recognised as Highly Commended Door Supplier at the 2021 Homebuilding & Renovating Awards.
It’s important to get a feel for the type of people you’ll be dealing with at your chosen glazing company. Do they have a friendly, helpful approach? Do they respond to your enquiries promptly and efficiently? If you can answer ‘yes’ to both these questions, it’s a good sign that the team will serve you well throughout the sales, implementation and installation stages.
The other thing to consider is whether the company has a dedicated, in-house installation team. Our customers regularly tell us how impressed they are by both our sales service and our highly experienced installation team. The fitting of your sliding doors is as important if not more important than the product itself. Any mistakes made at the installation stage will mean that the doors won’t perform as they should. As sliding door experts, our in-house fitters install our doors day in day out, and this shows in the high quality care they deliver to our clients on site.
Make sure you ask your glazing contractor how long you will have to wait for the particular doors you’re interested in. Lead times have been notoriously variable in the glazing industry over the last year or so because of complications caused by Brexit and the pandemic.
Here at Minima Sliding, we offer lead times of 10-12 weeks – one of the best turnaround times in the industry. Whereas other contractors are likely to extend this period, we can commit to delivering consistently within this timeframe because all our frames are kept in stock in our British factory. This means your doors can be manufactured and delivered to you in record time. And because our premium sliding doors are made and distributed in the UK, we also have a lower carbon footprint than some of our European competitors.
Another key question to ask concerns security. Do the doors you’re considering meet the requirements of the PAS 24 security standard? This is the minimum security requirement for the installation of glazed doors in the UK; an accredited British Standard required to comply with current building regulations.
At Minima Sliding, we offer one of the most secure doors on the market. The electronic locking mechanism of the Ultraline sliding door creates a more secure entry point than manual locks – even with very large panel sizes – and can be easily integrated into a Smart Home system. Our doors meet the requirements the PAS 24 security standard without any need for a costly upgrade.
It makes sense to choose a glazing contractor that has prestigious architects and interior designers on its books. After all, if professionals choose to deal with a particular company time and again, it stands to reason that they are happy with both the product and the service they receive.
Architects and interior designers regularly turn to Minima Sliding for their glazing requirements because of our meticulous approach, award-winning product and consistently high levels of service. They also love the contemporary aesthetic of our doors which have a narrow frame size of just 20mm all the way around with no visible handles. Less frame, more view, and a consistent track record from one of the UK’s leading sliding door experts.
Thinking about sliding doors for your project? Give the sliding door experts at Minima a call to find out more about the award-winning Ultraline sliding door system.