Installations.

Every install starts with the same question: what is the architectural problem you are trying to solve? A rear elevation that wants to read as glass; a front entrance that wants the architectural moment; a deep-plan kitchen that needs overhead daylight; a corner that wants to dissolve. The system answers the brief — sliding doors, pivot doors, rooflights, structural glazing, or one of the more bespoke configurations from the wider catalogue.

From there the seven steps run in order: showroom, fit-and-quote, survey-and-drawings, manufacture, pre-install, on-site install, and the detail-finishing pass. Each step is sized to the work it has to do; none of them are theatrical or padded.

The fit-and-quote step turns the showroom conversation into a concrete specification. We produce an indicative price band against your drawings or against the brief that emerged at the showroom; we send finish and glass samples where the colour or build-up is the decision. For projects ready to commission, the formal quote follows the survey — pinned figures depend on the structural opening, and we do not give pinned figures from drawings alone.

The samples we send are the actual finishes and glass we would ship — same powder-coat process, same IGU build-up. The tactile difference between RAL 9005 satin and a black anodised, between Soft Coat low-iron and standard float, is harder to read in print than in hand; the samples close that gap.

Aluminium extrusion arrives at our W3 site and runs through the cut, machine and fabrication line. Frames are assembled, weather-stripping fitted, hardware installed, and IGUs bonded into the frames. Quality control is a process — air permeability, water tightness and wind load tests are run on representative samples; weather-stripping geometry is checked against the manufacturing drawing on every panel; the IGU seal is pressure-tested before the panel leaves the factory.

We hold the silicone bonding to a tighter tolerance than the BS EN 14351-1 product standard requires because the install detail downstream depends on it. A panel that arrives on site with a seal millimetre too proud or too recessed slows the install crew; a panel built to the tolerance the install team expects fits first time. The second factory site is referenced on the live Maxlight site; both run the same fabrication standards.

The detail layer is what separates the Maxlight install from a generic aluminium door fit. The thermal break in the frame is engineered into the profile geometry — not bolted on after the fact — so the U-value rated by BFRC against the whole-window test is what the project actually delivers in practice. The IGU is sealed and toughened with a 25-year minimum service life on the seal; we test it before delivery, not after.

Class 1 safety glass appears wherever the building regulations require it (low-level glazing, doors, glass adjacent to circulation). The standard build is laminated where the spec calls for safety; toughened where the spec calls for impact resistance. We do not interchange these specifications based on availability — the right glass for the right location.

Aftercare on a Maxlight install is a maintenance schedule sent with handover and a phone number that is answered. Brush seals and weather-stripping are consumables; we replace them on visit when they need it. The frame and the IGU carry their published warranty; we stand behind the install on every project we fitted ourselves.