If you visit our RK Steel website you can see our new Crittall style ultra slim glass & steel fire doors.

Our ultra slim steel fire doors are redefining expectations. By combining fire-rated performance with narrow sightlines and glazed steel framing, they offer a far more refined solution for contemporary interiors. For homeowners, architects and interior designers alike, they make it possible to introduce internal fire protection without losing the sense of openness and visual connection that makes a space feel special.

A More Architectural Approach to FD30 Fire Doors

In design-led interiors, proportions matter. The thickness of a frame, the way light moves through a room, and the relationship between one space and another all play a part in the overall atmosphere of a project. This is where steel and glass FD30 fire doors offer something genuinely different.

Rather than relying on solid, bulky door leaves, slim steel fire doors bring together glazed panels and carefully designed steel frames to create a lighter, more architectural look. They help divide spaces while still allowing them to feel connected, making them especially appealing in open-plan homes, apartments, offices and commercial interiors.

For projects where both style and compliance are important, this balance is increasingly valuable. A fire-rated door no longer has to feel like a compromise.

The Appeal of Ultra-Slim Sightlines

One of the defining features of modern steel and glass fire doors is the move towards slimmer, narrower and more slender sightlines. In simple terms, this means less visible frame and more glass, creating a cleaner, more elegant aesthetic.

This is particularly important in high-end interiors, where designers often want to preserve natural light and maintain long visual lines through the space. Ultra-slim fire doors help achieve that effect, giving rooms definition without making them feel closed off.

Narrow sightlines also support the wider popularity of steel-look glazing in interior design. Whether used in a period renovation or a contemporary extension, slim-profile steel doors have a timeless quality that works across many different architectural styles.

Why Fire-Rated Steel and Glass Doors Are Growing in Demand

As interior design becomes more ambitious, there is growing demand for products that can deliver technical performance without sacrificing appearance. This is one reason why FD30 steel and glass fire doors are becoming more popular.

They answer a very specific need. Many projects require internal fire separation, but designers and homeowners do not always want the visual heaviness of a traditional fire door. A bespoke steel fire door offers a more elegant alternative, combining 30 minutes of integrity performance with the slim steel aesthetic so many clients now look for.

This makes them particularly well suited to spaces where fire protection is necessary, but where the overall design scheme still needs to feel cohesive, bright and carefully resolved.

Ideal for High-End Residential and Commercial Interiors

The versatility of internal steel and glass fire doors is another reason for their growing appeal. They work beautifully across a wide range of settings, from luxury homes and apartments to offices, studios and commercial interiors.

In residential projects, they can be used to separate kitchens from hallways, define living spaces, or create a subtle division between rooms without blocking light. In commercial settings, they offer a smart and design-conscious solution for meeting rooms, studios and internal partitions.

Because they can also be made bespoke, they are particularly attractive to architects and interior designers who want more freedom over configuration, scale and finish.

Bespoke Design Makes All the Difference

A major part of the appeal of bespoke steel and glass fire doors is the level of flexibility they offer. Rather than being limited to a one-size-fits-all product, designers can create doors and screens that feel fully integrated within the architecture of the space.

Single doors, double doors, screens, fixed partitions, sidelights and overpanels can all be designed to work together as part of one consistent scheme. This allows the fire-rated element of a project to feel intentional rather than secondary.

Finishes also play an important role. With a wide range of colours, metallic finishes and lever handle options available, bespoke steel fire doors can be tailored to suit both minimalist and more decorative interiors.

Fire Doors Can Be Beautiful as Well as Practical

There is a growing recognition that practical requirements should not undermine good design. Just as kitchens, bathrooms and staircases are expected to deliver both function and visual appeal, fire-rated doors are now being judged in the same way.

This is why slim FD30 fire doors are attracting so much attention. They offer the reassurance of fire performance while contributing positively to the overall look and feel of an interior. In many cases, they become a defining design feature rather than something to hide away.

For premium projects especially, that matters. Clients increasingly expect every visible element of a space to feel considered, and fire doors are no exception.

The Future of Internal Fire-Rated Design

As expectations continue to rise, the demand for more refined steel and glass fire doors is likely to grow. Homeowners want interiors that feel open, elegant and well detailed. Architects and designers want products that support their vision rather than restrict it. And across both residential and commercial projects, there is increasing appreciation for fire-rated solutions that look as good as they perform.

Slim steel fire doors meet that demand beautifully. They bring together narrow sightlines, glazed elegance and FD30 performance in a way that feels modern, premium and architecturally resolved.

For anyone looking to combine internal fire protection with the timeless appeal of steel glazing, they represent a significant step forward.

Find out more

Visit our RK Steel website you can see our new Crittall style ultra slim glass & steel fire doors.

The post Why Slim Steel Fire Doors Are Changing Interior Design appeared first on RK Door Systems | Modern & Traditional front doors.

Be inspired by over 40 doors on display in the biggest RK showroom including the UK’s most luxury door our NEW ‘Sunburst’ pivot door, designed in collaboration with Anka Bespoke.

Got the kids with you?
No problem, we have a kids play area to keep them entertained while you can explore.

Do you know about RK Steel also on display in the showroom?
Create new spaces with handmade industrial steel room dividers and internal glass doors from RK Steel. With the ability to be soundproofed and fire-rated, our glass partitions make a design statement and offer the functionality you need.

Visit us
Drop into our open showroom anytime between 9am – 2pm or book an appointment with a member of our sales team for a personalised experience, design and feature advice as well as quotations.
To book email: Elliot@RKDoorSystems.co.uk

Address
Unit 15 Harforde Court, John Tate Road, Hertford, Hertfordshire SG13 7NW
CLICK HERE FOR MAP

Spring is the season of renewal, so why not start with your door?
See you there!

Enquire Now: Elliot@RKDoorSystems.co.uk 

The post Saturday Spring Showcase at RK Doors Hertford appeared first on RK Door Systems | Modern & Traditional front doors.

Many timber doors now effectively mimic aluminium with good paint finishes, and many aluminium doors can be designed with a wood grain or timber effect. There’s many different specifications and options out there which are fun to explore.

However, there are some important differences to consider before making a new door purchase:

Finish

Real wood grain is very hard to mimic but we have developed a range of foils, decors, and coatings which provide life-like ‘faux-timber’ doors. With that said, they don’t degrade like real timber; if ageing or silvering is important then timber should be considered. If you want a finish which is wipe clean, maintenance free and promises to look the same for decades then our doors are the right choice.

Aluminium doors have a wider variety of finishes available from powder-coating, metallic coating, precious metal coating, ceramic applications, and glass applications – there’s just more choices to pick from than timber alternatives.

Rustic Steel Elite Metal Coated RK450 Pivot Door

RK170 Wenge HD Aluminium Door

Insulation and weatherproofing

Timber doors have been popular for hundreds of years because timber is a good natural insulator. For many years, it was the best possible choice. However, since the introduction of U-PVC in the 80’s we started to look at timber like an old uncle still wearing his football t-shirt from the 1960s. When talking about thermal efficiency we talk about the ‘u-value’, and the simple rule for u-values is the lower the better.

Back in 2010, the rules and regulations for building work changed, bringing the maximum u-value for doors down to 1.8W, and the standard external wooden door would have a u-value of 2.5-3W. For a timber door to be high performing it usually requires tremendous effort and use of different materials and results are often less than mind blowing. This combined with the fact that many timber doors simply fail to be airtight after normal expansion and contraction means they aren’t the solution for the energy-savers amongst us!

If you’re looking for passiv-haus doors make sure to get a written guarantee that they will provide the result you need for air tightness testing. Doors which fail to provide an airtight seal also risk leaking rainwater. In otherwords, a worst-nightmare for the homeowner.

RK Doors can be specified with extra insulation and deep thermal breaks reach a u-value as low as 0.6W! An obvious benefit in this application as they are also airtight for this kind of testing.

Maintenance

This really comes down to how handy you are, and how much time you have on your hands. A lot of clients underestimate just how much work timber doors can be to preserve.

Here’s a real-world example:

Quality timber doors on the day of installation

However, they require serious attention just 12 months later:

Timber doors about a year after

Timber doors degrading

These doors really suffered from a multitude of issues:

Peeling paint

Cracked panels

Blown glass units

Leaking

Issues with opening, closing and locking.

Insecure fitment

Unfortunately, these timber exterior doors just aren’t maintenance free regardless of the certified treatment or finish. As you can see, they no longer do justice to a high-quality property.

To repair this the door the owner will have to go through 10 different steps:

1. Have handles and hardware external hardware.
2.  Have doors removed to reach beads and threshold properly.
3. Be sanded thoroughly.
4. Replace blown glazing units due to leaking beads.
5. Be cleaned, and masked.
6. Be primed or lacquered (up to 3 coats required)
7. Be painted (finished with top coat – 3 coats required)
8.     Reassemble the doors
9. Adjust door on hinges to ensure operation- possibly plane edges.
10. Repeat every 1 – 3 years.

The initial purchase of these doors was attractive because it was cheaper than alternatives, but the cost of this labour and materials, year on year has basically evened the playing field. In the end, the customer decided to replace the whole structure for aluminium because she didn’t want the stress or work.

Price is pain:

The final elephant in the room is price. Timber doors from a local joiner will always be much cheaper than a certified aluminium product. It is very simple really. Aluminium extrusion, powder coating, CNC and assembly is a much more lengthy and costly process to perform.

Hopefully, the points above will lead you to the correct investment for you. If cost is the ultimate factor, especially for a short-term solution, then timber could be the choice.

If you require a large statement door, want the best thermal performance, and hate the idea of maintenance then design a door on our website today. There is bound to be a door you will fall in love with and admire for years to come. Best of all, our finishes are backed up with a 10-year warranty against fading and ageing!

For those of you looking at cost savings the Eco and Entre’ ranges offer an affordable opportunity into high quality door ownership. These ranges are the same material construction; made entirely of aluminium with marine-grade powder coating so they will look as great as the day of install decades later.

RK1100 Entre in Black Wood HD

Contact us today, as we’d love to help you with a door design: info@rkdoorsystems.co.uk / 01872 222300

Written by Ben Johnson

The post Which door material should I pick – Timber vs aluminium? appeared first on RK Door Systems | Modern & Traditional front doors.

This got me thinking about some of the best aluminium doors we’ve installed and built in the last year! I’ve compiled some of the craziest and most notable projects we’ve been involved in- and given you an insight.

Hopefully this will give you some inspiration to design your very own RK door with our design configurator.

10

‘That’s a lot of door!’

Model: RK1400 XXL
Finish: RAL 7016 Anthracite Grey

Comments:
Don’t let our installer Dom fool you! He’s 6”3’! This XXL pivot door is so big that it wouldn’t look out of place in the BFG’s house. It’s massive frame had to be transported on a special lorry to get it home.

Installer: RK Door Systems

9

‘Mellow Yellow’

Model: RK5100

Finish: RAL 1003 Signal Yellow

Comments:
This unbelievably cheerful aluminium door was designed for a fantastic local project. We can’t help but smile after looking at this. The angled-head frame is built as one unit and completely flush on the both sides, negating the need for steel supports. The recessed handle finishes this door perfectly!

Installer: RK Door Systems

8

‘Good timber doesn’t grow on trees…’

Model: RK450

Finish: Winchester Oak/ Rustic Timber (effect)

Comments:
…because there is no real timber involved. Our timber finishes look fantastic on this antique inspired aluminium pivot door. A back lit LED recessed handle and custom motif create the perfect modern twist.

Installer: RK Door Systems

7

‘A statement in glass’

Model: RK5000

Finish: Black Glass

Comments:
This was the first black glass faced aluminium door we installed in 2019. This real glass finish contrasts matte brick textures with sheen creating a really interesting look. This door features quadruple glazing in our exclusive model with a u-value lower than 0.72w/m2.

Installer: RK Door Systems

6

‘Double Trouble’

Model: RK450 Double Doors

Finish: Textured Copper Metal

Comments:
This door is another personal favourite. The client loved the copper metal finish so much we cladded the outside wall and return! The hinges are concealed within the frame, so nothing spoils the aesthetics.

Installer: RK Door Systems

5

‘Not all that glitters is gold…’

Model: RK450 Pivot

Finish: Custom ‘Windy Bronze’.

Comments:
The texture on this bronze was created especially for our client to have more depth and feel than our regular bronze finishes. The LED lit handle and grey outer frame contrasts this door perfectly. We love creating one of a kind finishes- if you have an idea- just ask!

Installer: RK Door Systems

4

‘Solid as a rock’

Model: Not released yet.

Finish: Concrete

Comments:
From bronze to a rather more matte exterior. This finish is a powdercoat! The grooves and tiny cast details make it look as if the door has been set using real concreate. The durable nature of this finish will be perfect for function and form. One to look out for in 2020.

Installer: RK Door Systems

3

‘Simplicity is key’

Model: RK1100 Double Doors

Finish: RAL 7016 Anthracite Grey

Comments:
You can’t beat the simple unadulterated lines of the RK1100 in this popular finish. A lovely design and install from our premier dealer at CMS Doors in Leicester! The classic RK1100 Entré offers the perfect combination of quality and style at a budget price point.

Installer: CMS Doors

2

The future is here!

Model: Not yet released.

Finish: Black glass.

Comments:
A vision into the future of doors. Patterned glass combined with LED lighting has created a totally unique door! We are already taking inquries for this type of door, but they will not be in production until Spring 2020. A door worth waiting for!

Installer: RK Door Systems

1

A little teaser for Summer 2020

Model: Not yet released.

Finish: Italian hardwood.

Comments:
I can’t say too much about this model, apart from the fact it’s awesome! Real Italian hardwood has been applied in a very special way which will make it much harder wearing than a regular timber door. We expect it will be available much later this year.

Installer: RK Door Systems

If any of these doors have whetted your appetite for a unique design then get in touch or sign up to our mailing list by email: info@rkdoorsystems.co.uk

Written by: Ben Johnson

The post The Ten Most Memorable Doors of 2019 appeared first on RK Door Systems | Modern & Traditional front doors.