Choosing new windows and doors feels straightforward until you’re knee-deep in quotes, confused about ratings, and wondering why you’re getting three different answers from three different suppliers. We see it all the time. Here’s what to watch out for before you commit.
1. Choosing price over performance
Perth is a punishing climate. We’re talking scorching summers, coastal salt air, and strong Fremantle Doctor winds that catch poorly fitted frames and rattle them for years. A cheaper product might look the part on day one, but if it’s not built and finished for our conditions, you’ll be paying again sooner than you’d like.
Aluminium is an excellent material for Perth precisely because it handles heat, UV, and coastal exposure exceptionally well. But the quality of the extrusion, the anodising or powder coat finish, the seals, and the hardware all matter. A low quote often means corners cut somewhere in that chain.
2. Ignoring energy ratings and glazing options
Single glazing in a Perth home is like running your air conditioner with the front door open. Yet plenty of renovators and new builds still underspec their glazing and then wonder why their energy bills are steep or why certain rooms are impossible to cool down in January.
Double glazing and thermally broken aluminium frames make a genuine, measurable difference to comfort and running costs. Low-E glass coatings, argon fills, and the right orientation are all worth understanding before you finalise your specification.
3. Overlooking security ratings
Security screens and doors aren’t just a nice-to-have in Perth, they’re a practical necessity. But not all security products are equal. There’s a meaningful difference between a product that looks like a security screen and one that has been independently tested to Australian Standard AS5039.
We regularly see homes fitted with products that don’t meet the standard and wouldn’t withstand a determined entry attempt.
4. Not thinking about the full opening
A beautiful window frame won’t save you if the reveal finish, the sill drainage, or the flashing detail is poorly done. Water ingress around window and door openings is one of the most common and costly building defects we see. It’s rarely the frame itself that’s the problem. It’s the integration with the surrounding structure.
This is why working with experienced installers matters as much as choosing a quality product. The best window in the world, badly installed, will cause problems.
5. Leaving the supplier selection too late
Custom aluminium windows and doors aren’t off-the-shelf items. Lead times for quality, made-to-measure products, and on busy building projects, delays here can hold up your entire schedule. We see this happen on residential builds and commercial projects alike.
Getting your supplier involved early in the design process also means you can make smarter decisions. Things like structural opening sizes, reveal depths, and hardware selections are far easier to resolve before the bricklayer starts than after.
6. Treating all aluminium as the same
Aluminium is the material. The system is what counts. Different aluminium window and door systems have different thermal performance, different structural capabilities, different hardware options, and different aesthetic profiles. A sliding door system designed for interior use in a low-wind-zone is a very different product from one engineered for an exposed coastal site in a high-wind zone.
Understanding the system you’re specifying, and making sure it’s right for your application, is the kind of detail that separates a good supplier from a great one.
Getting your windows and doors right the first time is about asking the right questions early and working with people who know how to answer them. Perth’s climate and lifestyle make quality aluminium products an investment that genuinely pays off in comfort, energy efficiency, security, and long-term durability.
At Alutech, we work with homeowners, architects, and builders across Perth to spec and supply aluminium windows, doors, and security screening that’s built for the way we live here.
Get in touch to chat about your next project. We’re always happy to talk through what’s right for your build.
