Guide
Aluminium doors: exterior, interior and made to size
Aluminium doors (alu doors, or aluminum doors in US spelling) are made to the size of the opening, not bought off the shelf, and they differ in profile, reinforcement and hardware, not just in looks.
What types of alu doors are there?
An aluminium door is built from aluminium alloy profiles, with a leaf filled with aluminium slats, cladding or glass. In practice there are four groups: exterior entrance doors, interior doors, sliding doors and frameless glass doors. Grouping doors this way is more accurate than grouping by look, because two doors that look alike can differ completely in profile and hardware.
Supplied and installed, aluminium doors start from SAR 450/m² for a frameless glass door, 540 for sliding, 585 for hinged and 655 for a cladding (ACP) door, before VAT in Makkah.
| Group | Profile | What it must do | Decided before fabrication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior entrance door | Thicker profile with internal reinforcement | Seal, security and weather resistance | Lock, hinges and opening direction |
| Interior door | Lighter profile, smaller sizes | Easy movement and moisture resistance | Finish and water resistance |
| Sliding door | Slides in a track instead of swinging | Takes no space in front of the opening | Rollers, track and number of sashes |
| Frameless glass door | A toughened glass panel on metal fittings | A clear entrance with no visible profiles | Glass thickness and fittings |
Bathroom and kitchen doors are covered on aluminium bathroom doors, sliding doors, including slimline aluminium doors with narrow frames, on sliding glass doors and all-glass entrances on frameless glass doors.
Internal aluminium doors for bedrooms and living rooms
We also make indoor aluminium doors for bedrooms, lounges, dining rooms and halls, with a lighter profile than an entrance door: hinged (casement), or sliding where the leaf cannot swing, with a plain solid infill for full privacy or frosted glass that passes light.
Can an aluminium door have a glass window: half glass, full glass or frosted?
Yes. An aluminium door can carry glass inside its frame, either as a vision panel in a solid leaf (often called a half glass door) or as glass filling the whole leaf (a fully glazed door). Frosted glass is the usual choice for entrances and bathrooms because it passes light but blocks a clear view, while clear glass suits garden and balcony doors where the view matters. Aluminium French doors, a pair of fully glazed hinged leaves, often open onto a terrace, and as external doors they take the thicker exterior profile.
- Glass type: securit (toughened) glass is the safest in doors, and the Saudi Building Code may require safety glass, so it is checked against the project specification.
- Size: toughened glass cannot be cut or drilled after toughening, so its size is fixed with the door drawing before fabrication.
- Double glazing: framed doors with a glass infill can take double glazing, with a wider profile to carry the unit.
Why is there no fixed catalogue of aluminium door sizes?
Because each is a custom aluminium door made to the opening in your building, not a standard aluminium door bought in a stock size. What you actually choose from any catalogue is four decisions: the opening type, the profile colour and finish, the type and share of glass, and the hardware, meaning the handle, lock and hinges. Aluminium front door designs, traditional or contemporary, come down to the same four decisions. Complete aluminium doors ship with Italian accessories.
| Popular description | What is actually ordered |
|---|---|
| Frameless glass door | A hinged door of one 19 mm toughened glass panel with no visible profile, from SAR 450 |
| Sliding door | Royal sliding, two sashes on two tracks, from SAR 540 |
| Hinged or double door | One or two aluminium leaves on hinges, from SAR 585 |
| Folding or accordion door | Leaves that fold together and stack at one side, from SAR 1,350 |
| Wood look | A wood finish on the same profile, priced in the quote |
| Modern or laser-cut | A laser-cut aluminium pattern, or a glass or cladding infill, usually in a dark colour |
| Grand entrance | A thicker profile, more reinforcement and a multi-point lock |
Premium profiles (1.8–2 mm, Gulf-made) add 10% to framed doors; other cities in Saudi Arabia add 3% to 10%.
What do modern aluminium doors look like?
Most modern aluminium doors come from three choices, not a separate door type: the infill, whether a laser-cut aluminium pattern, full glass or cladding; a dark colour such as black or dark grey; and the handle. A pivot door suits a wide, tall modern entrance. Pattern and colour are approved before fabrication, because neither can be changed afterwards.
Which aluminium door is best for a main entrance?
A hinged door with a thicker, reinforced profile, heavy-duty hinges and a stronger lock, because the entrance opens and closes more than any other door and carries more weight. The width of the opening decides a single door with one leaf or a double door with two. As an external aluminium door, the front entry door faces sun and rain directly, so its colour and seals age faster than an interior door’s, and a canopy above it genuinely extends their life. A back door or any other outdoor aluminium door faces the same sun and rain, so it takes the exterior profile and seals, not the lighter indoor profile.
Also settled before fabrication: the opening direction, any glass panel (usually frosted), a multi-point lock, and the threshold seal that keeps dust and rain out at the bottom. Laser-cut aluminium patterns are popular on villa entrances; the panel cannot be altered after cutting, so the drawing is approved first.
Which colour suits an aluminium entrance door: black, white, brown or wood finish?
Coloured aluminium doors use the same profile colours as windows: white, dark grey, champagne, brown including burnt brown, black, and a wood finish for a timber look; off-white, bronze and silver are matched from the powder-coat range against a sample. The colour is chosen before the door is made, because repainting aluminium on site does not match the factory finish. That finish is a powder coat baked onto the profile, so powder-coated aluminium doors and their frames leave the factory already coloured. Dark colours look sharp but run hotter in the sun and show dust sooner than champagne or burnt brown. Hinged entrance doors start from SAR 585/m², cladding (ACP) doors from SAR 655/m² and swing (double-action) doors from SAR 1,035/m², supplied and installed before VAT in Makkah. An ACP aluminium door takes an aluminium composite panel infill and is usually chosen to match a clad facade.
Commercial aluminium doors for shop and office entrances, and any entrance that is all glass, follow a different route: see frameless glass doors and aluminium shopfronts.
What are aluminium door prices for hinged, glass, double and cladding doors?
Aluminium door prices start from SAR 450/m² for a frameless hinged glass door and SAR 585/m² for a framed hinged door, supplied and installed before 15% VAT in Makkah. Premium 1.8–2 mm Gulf profiles add 10% to framed doors, and other cities 3% to 10%.
| Door type | From (SAR/m²) |
|---|---|
| Frameless glass, hinged (19 mm) | 450 |
| Royal sliding, 2, 3 or 4 tracks | 540, 650 or 740 |
| Hinged, single or double | 585 |
| Cladding (ACP) door | 655 |
| Frameless glass swing | 695 |
| Swing (double-action) | 1,035 |
| Folding (accordion) | 1,350 |
| Frameless automatic sliding | 3,780 |
For aluminium double doors, prices follow the hinged rate over both leaves, and aluminium hinged door prices include a slat, cladding or glass infill. An aluminium glass door price starts at its type’s rate, with the glass confirmed in the quote. Comparing cheap aluminium doors? Royal sliding is our lowest framed rate, and the price calculator gives a range for your sizes.
Custom aluminium doors: what is checked before fabrication?
The opening size, the shop drawing and the glass. Custom aluminium doors are made to the measured opening: the technical office checks the sizes, the drawing is approved, and only then are the frame and leaf made from one profile system in one powder-coat colour at our factory in Wadi Jalil, Makkah.
- Aluminium section door: built from aluminium sections (profiles), in the standard 1.5 mm Saraya grade or the premium 1.8–2 mm Gulf grade.
- Aluminium glass doors: fabrication follows the approved drawing, and toughened glass is sized from it, because it cannot be cut or drilled after toughening.
- Exterior aluminium louver door: the slatted infill fitted to our aluminium bathroom doors, on the thicker exterior profile, for openings that need constant ventilation.
We do not keep aluminium doors for sale in stock sizes: each one is priced on its opening size, then supplied and installed.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an exterior and an interior aluminium door?
An exterior door has a thicker, more heavily reinforced profile and different hardware, because it faces sun, rain and dust and needs a tighter seal and more security. Bathroom and kitchen doors use lighter profiles and smaller sizes than a main entrance door.
Do you make aluminium doors for apartments?
Yes. For apartments we make the aluminium entrance door with a thicker profile and a stronger lock, and the interior doors for bedrooms, halls, bathrooms and kitchens. Sliding doors start from SAR 540/m² and hinged doors from SAR 585/m², supplied and installed before VAT in Makkah.
Is aluminium or wood better for a door?
Aluminium leads for exposed entrances and bathrooms because it does not rust or swell with moisture, and it can take a wood-look finish. Wood swells and warps with steam and sun, so it does not suit a door that meets moisture every day.
How are aluminium doors priced?
By the square metre, with the door type setting the starting rate: SAR 450 for a frameless hinged glass door, 540 for Royal sliding, 585 for hinged and 1,350 for folding, supplied and installed before VAT in Makkah. Premium profiles add 10% to framed doors, and other cities add 3% to 10%.
How long does an aluminium door order take?
Indicatively 10 to 14 working days from approved shop drawings to handover for an order under 30 m², and about 14 to 19 for 30 to 59 m². The technical office confirms the schedule once the sizes are checked.
Are aluminium doors any good?
Yes. Aluminium will not rust, and it does not swell when it meets steam or rain, so an aluminium door holds up at exposed entrances and in bathrooms. Each door is made to its opening, with the profile matched to the job: a thicker, reinforced profile and a multi-point lock for a main entrance, and a lighter one indoors.
Do you make aluminium pivot doors?
Yes. We supply and install aluminium pivot doors, including pivot front doors with a glass or cladding infill. The leaf turns on pivots at its top and bottom instead of on side hinges, which suits a wide, tall entrance. Size, hardware and price are set in the quote.
Can an aluminium front door have sidelights?
Yes. We supply and install aluminium front doors with sidelights: fixed glazed panels beside the door that bring daylight into the entrance. We confirm the glass, size and price in the quote.
Can you make arched aluminium doors?
Yes. We supply and install arched aluminium doors, shaped to the arch of the opening, as we do for arched aluminium windows. The arch is drawn from the opening before the door is made, and the door is priced by quote.
What is the difference between aluminium double doors and swing doors?
How they open. Double doors are two aluminium leaves on side hinges for a wide opening, from SAR 585/m². A swing door, also called double-action, opens both ways, from SAR 1,035/m² in aluminium or SAR 695/m² as a frameless glass swing door. Framed leaves take a glass, cladding or slat infill; all prices are supplied and installed, before VAT, in Makkah.
How secure is an external aluminium entry door?
Its security comes from the profile, lock and hinges. An entry door can take a thicker profile with internal reinforcement, heavy-duty hinges and a multi-point lock, and the opening direction, threshold seal and any glass panel are settled before fabrication. Where the door is glazed, securit (toughened) glass is the safest choice, and the Saudi Building Code may require safety glass.
Do aluminium doors come with their frames?
They do. Each aluminium door is made as a complete unit: the frame and the leaf come from one profile system in one powder-coat colour and ship with Italian accessories. On site the frame is fixed mechanically into the opening, plumb and level, then sealed around its perimeter, where most leaks start, before the leaf is hung and checked.
What are the disadvantages of aluminium doors?
The main ones are lead time and finish care. Each door is made to its opening, so allow about 10 to 14 working days for an order under 30 m². Dark colours run hotter in the sun and show dust sooner, repainting on site never matches the factory finish, and exterior seals age faster in sun and rain.
Related services
Doors and windows share the same profiles and finishes: see aluminium windows, and for the full route from measurement to installation, aluminium doors and windows. For shop entrances, see aluminium shopfronts.
Technical review: Eng. Hisham, factory manager at Qusoor Al-Sultan, with more than 20 years of management and technical experience in aluminium and glass. He reviews the technical content of this page. Last updated: 8 October 2026.