Front-door security is sold with impressive-sounding features that mean very little and quiet engineering that means a lot. This is our editorial guide to what actually contributes to a secure aluminium front door — and what to skip.
The two certifications that matter
Two independently tested standards are the ones to look for on any aluminium front door being sold as "secure":
- PAS 24 : 2016 — the general enhanced-security test. Assessed by simulated attack including manipulation, drilling, mechanical loading and impact.
- Secured by Design — the UK police-approved product mark. Doors carrying SBD have passed PAS 24 and additional design review.
Every serious residential aluminium entrance system — including the Schüco AD UP 75 — is available with these certifications. If a supplier can't produce the test certificates for the exact door being quoted, treat the "high security" claim as marketing.
Locking mechanism
The dominant residential specification is a multi-point espagnolette lock with hooks, rollers, and a central deadbolt. Three engagement points along the closing edge are the minimum; five-point locks are increasingly standard on aluminium doors.
What matters more than the number of points is what happens when the door is closed but not double-locked. On many mechanisms, closing the door engages the rollers but not the deadbolts. Habitually double-locking (fully turning the key or lifting the handle) is what actually secures the door.
Cylinder
The cylinder is often the weakest point on an otherwise well-specified door. Two attack patterns account for a large share of forced entries:
- Cylinder snapping — attackers grip and twist the exposed external portion of the cylinder to break it.
- Cylinder picking or bumping — using specialised tools to defeat the pin stack.
Both are defeated by specifying a TS007 3-star cylinder (or a 1-star cylinder paired with a 2-star handle/security escutcheon). This is a small spec-line change with a large security payoff.
Hinges
Concealed hinges look better on premium aluminium doors, but they don't automatically improve security. What matters is hinge bolts — steel pins that engage into the frame when the door is closed, so that even if the hinge pins are attacked, the door cannot be forced off the frame.
Glazing
If your door has glazed panels, the glass matters as much as the lock. Standard toughened glass will fail with a well-directed impact. Laminated inner glass — a plastic interlayer between two panes — will craze but hold together. Any PAS 24 door with glass panels will already specify laminated inner glass; if a quote doesn't mention it, ask.
Features that sound good but don't matter much
- Reinforced door leaves. Aluminium leaves are already extremely stiff. Marketing that emphasises leaf thickness is usually addressing a non-problem.
- Anti-jemmy strips. Genuine multi-point locks make these largely redundant.
- Smart locks as security. A smart lock adds convenience and monitoring; the physical security remains whatever the mechanical lock delivers.
The installation piece
A PAS 24 door installed into a poorly fixed frame is a PAS 24 door in name only. The fixings that anchor the frame to the structural opening should be through-the-frame steel bolts into the masonry, not screws into timber packers. This is the sort of thing you cannot inspect after the fact — which is why choosing a Schüco-authorised installer with an installation warranty matters.
What we'd specify for a St Albans front door
- Schüco AD UP 75 or equivalent aluminium entrance system.
- PAS 24 certification, Secured by Design where available.
- 5-point multi-point locking mechanism.
- TS007 3-star cylinder.
- Concealed hinges with hinge bolts.
- Laminated inner glazing on any glass panels.
- Installation by a Schüco-authorised fabricator with a written warranty on both frame and fitting.
5EC Aluminium is one of the fabricators covering St Albans and Hertfordshire whose standard specification includes the above items; their Hertford coverage extends the same specification across the wider county.
For manufacturer-level security testing data, Schüco UK publishes the PAS 24 and Secured by Design test reports for all residential entrance systems.