Reviewed: Is The Steel Door Company The Best For Crittall Steel?

If you’ve been into home design trends over the last ten years, you’ll have noticed how people obsess over Crittall-style steel doors and windows. They’ve become one of the design elements that suggest a certain type of home renovation, where someone’s gutted a period property or converted an industrial space and wants that perfect balance between historic character and modern minimalism.

This is because the thin black frames and large glass panes can look great in so many places, but getting them installed properly is a completely different matter from just liking how they look on Instagram.

The Steel Door Company has built its reputation around producing exactly this style, working across the UK to supply and fit steel-framed doors and windows that match the Crittall aesthetic. They’re not the only company doing it, but they’ve developed their brand awareness as specialists in the field, which matters because this type of metalwork requires dedicated skills that not all companies can boast of.

However, the question is whether their work justifies the premium pricing that comes with bespoke steel fabrication, or if you’re mostly paying for branding. We looked into what The Steel Door Company does and its quality, to see if they’re leading the market or just riding the popular online wave of this type of fitting. Check out our reasoned review below:

What They Make

The Steel Door Company builds and installs steel-framed doors, windows, and partitions that replicate the Crittall look. Everything’s made to measure, which is necessary because period properties and conversions they work on rarely have standard openings. Their fabrication happens in the UK, and they handle the entire process of design through to installation, boasting close client communication throughout all of it.

The steel they use is hot-rolled, which gives better strength and a more authentic appearance the original Crittal look. Most people go for black powder coating because it’s the signature option, but bronze and grey are available too.

Installation is handled by their own teams, not subcontracted out, so quality is thankfully within their oversight and they handle any complaints quickly. They’ll also sort building control notifications and compliance for external work if you work with them. Let’s explore the upsites:

Where They Get It Right

● Bespoke work – Period properties generally have wonky walls, varied ceiling heights, and sometimes openings that don’t match some of the standard modern fittings. The Steel Door Company measures precisely and fabricates in line with your measurements, so their installations fit.
● They understand the aesthetic – Getting Crittall proportions right is generally harder than it looks. Plenty of companies get this wrong and produce clunky-looking doors with mismatched widths, for example.
● UK manufacturing means faster deliver – It still takes several weeks because everything’s made to order, but it’s quicker than importing from Europe, and makes handling issues or modifications easier too.
● One company, start to finish. Having the same people who made it do the installation means accountability. If something doesn’t fit or needs tweaking, you’re not bouncing between suppliers and fitters pointing fingers at each other.
● Quality lasts – Many customers suggest the quality of the work is good and the framing is of great steel, meaning they should last for however long your building stands.
● Listed building experience – It’s true that much of their work comes from affluent clients with unique and historical properties, which means they know how to work around planning restrictions, which helps if you’re renovating older properties with heritage constraints.

Factors To Consider

● Premium pricing – Bespoke steel fabrication isn’t cheap, which limits who can afford them. There are cheaper alternatives using aluminium or different steel suppliers, though quality will of course be lesser.
● Delivery times stretch out – Eight to ten weeks during busy periods, sometimes longer. Anyone with tight renovation deadlines needs to plan well ahead.
● Geographic focus – They mainly cover London and the South East, though they’ll travel for bigger projects. Anyone up north or in Scotland might find logistics trickier.
● Relatively new company – They can’t point to decades of heritage like actual Crittall can. Of course, that doesn’t mean the work is inferior, but some clients care about that historical connection. Ultimately, great work is great work regardless.

Who Should Consider Them

Anyone renovating a period property or industrial conversion and who very much desires authentic Crittall-style framing. If you’re working on a listed building, their planning experience helps and can help you avoid any restrictions that otherwise might limit you.

If you just want black-framed doors and aren’t bothered about historical accuracy, cheaper options exist, but for this kind of specific work having a trusted brand name with experience and the willingness to create a bespoke installation is rather non-negotiable. However, keep in mind that to commission this work, you need a decent budget. These aren’t bargain products, and they only make sense if steel doors are genuinely core to your design vision.

Also being based in or near the South East helps, though they’ll consider projects further away if the scope is big enough.

Our Final Takeaway

The Steel Door Company produces solid Crittall-style steel doors and windows that look right and last. Their custom-designed approach and care with fitting can really help to avoid awkward period property measurements. The installation work has proven to be competent in line with their premium pricing.

Whether they’re the absolute best is partly down to what you value most, as some clients will choose Crittall for the heritage factor despite higher costs and longer waits. Some will much prefer this approach, which is curated to help you integrate this into your property with care.

If you’re very much inspired by steel-framed doors or windows and want proper work by people who understand the style, they’re worth considering. The results tend to speak for themselves, and should help add value to any household. Overall, we believe The Steel Door Company more than carries its weight in the market, with a unique value proposition too.