Bespoke Aluminium ShopfrontsDesigned, Manufactured & InstalledAcross Glasgow and the Central Belt.
Engineered commercial frontages for retail, hospitality and leisure premises — combining architectural aluminium framing, toughened glazing and integrated automatic or manual entrance doors. Surveyed, fabricated and installed as a single co-ordinated package.
What we do, who it's for, and why it matters.
What it is
An aluminium shopfront is the entire commercial frontage of a building — the framing system, glazing, entrance doors, fascia and (where required) integrated shutters or signage substrate. Aluminium dominates modern shopfront construction because it combines slim sightlines, structural performance, longevity and minimal maintenance.
Who it's for
Retailers, restauranteurs, hoteliers, leisure operators, commercial landlords, main contractors and architects across Glasgow and the Central Belt — anyone fitting out a new unit, refurbishing a tired frontage or repairing impact damage to glazed elevations.
When you need it
You need a shopfront specialist at new-build fit-out, on lease handover, after vandalism or vehicle impact, when changing trading concept, or when the existing frontage is failing thermally — fogged sealed units, leaking thresholds, or framing corrosion at the fixings.
Why a specialist matters
A shopfront is the single largest visual asset of any high-street business. It is also a structural, weatherproofing, security and accessibility element — all four obligations live in the same component. A non-specialist install almost always compromises one of them: water ingress, draughts, distorted reveals, or non-compliant entrance doors.
What happens when the problem is left.
Shopfront failures are rarely visible until they are expensive. Water tracks behind cladding for months. Fixings corrode invisibly. A 2mm rack in a frame becomes a door that scrapes, then a hinge that fails, then a security exposure overnight.
Water ingress and internal damage
Failed thresholds and perimeter seals route water behind plaster and flooring — often undetected until carpet, ceilings or stock are ruined.
Thermal and energy losses
Single-glazed or poorly sealed shopfronts can leak 30–40% of a unit's heating energy through the front elevation alone.
Security compromise
Distorted frames stop deadbolts engaging fully; cheap glazing fails impact tests; old shopfronts often pre-date current insurer requirements.
Compliance failure on entrance doors
Most shopfronts include a public entrance — non-compliant doors expose the operator to Equality Act and BS 7036 obligations.
Common mistakes we're called in to correct
- Treating the shopfront as 'shopfitter scope' and losing accountability for waterproofing.
- Specifying glass thickness from a drawing instead of an impact-risk assessment.
- Ignoring threshold detail — the single most common failure point on a Scottish high-street frontage.
- Mismatching aluminium suite and door operator, leading to early hinge and pivot failure.
- Skipping the cavity tray and DPC interface where the frontage meets existing brickwork.
A disciplined five-step delivery — survey to certification.
Brief & Site Survey
We attend on-site, take laser-measured templates, photograph reveal conditions and confirm structural opening, lintel and threshold details.
Design & Specification
We produce CAD elevations, specify the framing suite (Smart, AluK, Comar or equivalent), glazing type, door operators and finish, and issue a fixed-scope quotation.
Fabrication
Frames are fabricated to your dimensions in our partner workshops — never cut on-site — to guarantee straightness, mitre quality and finish consistency.
Installation
Typically overnight or out-of-hours to protect trading. Frames are set, sealed, glazed, and the entrance doors hung and commissioned in one continuous programme.
Handover & Aftercare
We snag, demonstrate operation, hand over compliance documentation and offer planned maintenance — particularly important for any automatic entrance door within the frontage.
What you get — concrete, not generic.
Architectural appearance
Slim sightlines, flush thresholds and a wide range of polyester powder-coat finishes — your frontage looks intentional, not assembled.
Weather and air integrity
Engineered drainage, thermal breaks and continuous gaskets — your unit stays dry, warm and quiet.
Security as standard
Toughened or laminated glazing, multi-point door locking, optional integral shutters.
Minimal maintenance
Powder-coated aluminium does not rust, rot or warp — typical 25-year lifespan with only periodic gasket and operator service.
Programmed installation
Out-of-hours fitting protects trading hours and avoids retail revenue loss.
One contractor, one warranty
Frame, glazing and doors all from one accountable installer — no finger-pointing if there is ever an issue.
Real installs across the Central Belt.
Selected aluminium shopfronts projects delivered by Complete Door Solutions — surveyed, installed and certified by our own engineers.
The detail that separates a 15-year asset from a 3-year liability.
A shopfront is an integrated system, not a list of components. The interface between framing, glazing, threshold, cavity and entrance door is where projects succeed or fail.
Materials we work with
- Thermally-broken aluminium framing systems (Smart, AluK, Comar, Senior, Reynaers)
- Toughened safety glazing to BS EN 12150 — typically 6.4mm laminated or 6mm toughened
- Sealed double-glazed units with argon fill and warm-edge spacers for retail thermal performance
- Polyester powder-coated finishes to BS EN 12206 — 25-year colour stability
- Stainless steel and aluminium thresholds with engineered weather drainage
- EPDM gaskets and silicone perimeter seals rated for Scottish weather exposure
Methods & systems
- Site templating and laser measurement before fabrication
- Workshop fabrication of mitred frames — never on-site cutting
- Mechanical and chemical perimeter sealing with redundant secondary drainage
- Out-of-hours installation programmes for live retail premises
- Integration of automatic, swing or pivot entrance doors within the suite
- Coordination with electrical, alarm and access control trades on a single programme
Variations of this service
Standard high-street shopfronts
Suited to small to mid-size retail units — typically 3.5–6m wide, single bi-parting or swing entrance, full-height glazing.
Slimline architectural frontages
Premium retail and hospitality — minimal sightlines, structural glazing, often combined with feature lighting and stone surrounds.
Curtain-walled commercial elevations
Larger commercial schemes where the entire elevation is glazed — see our Curtain Walling service for full multi-storey systems.
Shopfronts with integrated shutters
Built-in roller shutter housings concealed within the frame — security without compromising daytime appearance.
Refurbishment of listed and conservation frontages
Aluminium suites finished to mimic timber profiles, used sympathetically in conservation areas with planning approval.
Where this applies
- New retail unit fit-outs in Glasgow city centre and Edinburgh shopping districts
- Restaurant and licensed-premises refurbishments across the Central Belt
- Insurance reinstatement after vehicle impact or vandalism
- Lease-end dilapidations and frontage replacements
- Office reception entrances requiring co-ordinated branding and access control
- Hotel ground-floor frontages and porte cochère glazing
From small high-street unit replacements in Falkirk and Stirling to flagship retail frontages in Glasgow and Edinburgh, Complete Door Solutions delivers shopfronts as a single accountable scope — design, supply, install and aftercare.
Straight answers
for serious buyers.
Don't see your question? Call us — we'd rather have a 5-minute conversation than send a brochure.
01698 598193A typical 4–6m retail shopfront with bi-parting automatic entrance, double-glazed units and powder-coated finish ranges from £14,000 to £28,000 installed. Pricing depends on opening size, glazing specification, finish and door operator type.
Get a precise, fixed-scope quote
from an ADSA-accredited specialist.
Tell us about your aluminium shopfronts requirement. We'll attend on-site, measure, advise and quote properly — no catalogue prices, no guesswork.
ADSA Accredited · 25+ Years' Experience · Central Belt Coverage