Aluminium or wood for a shop front?

Posted on 9 March 2016

We get asked a lot whether to repair an old wooden shop front or pull it out and put in an aluminium one. We are joiners, so you would expect us to say wood — but it is worth setting out the honest case for both, because aluminium does have its place.

What aluminium is good at

• It does not rot, and it needs very little looking after.
• It is cheap to put in compared with proper joinery.
• For a plain, modern unit on a plain, modern building, it does the job.

So if you have a 1980s shop unit with nothing special about the front, an aluminium shop front is a sensible, cheap choice, and we would not try to talk you out of it.

Where aluminium goes wrong

The trouble starts on older buildings. A standard aluminium front on a Victorian or Georgian parade looks wrong — flat and shiny, out of place next to the timber detail of its neighbours. It throws away the pilasters, the mouldings and the stallriser that give an old shop front its character, and once they are gone they are gone. In a conservation area the council may also turn it down.

People often think a tired wooden front has had its day, but most of the time it has not. Rot is usually in a few places, not the whole front, and those sections can be cut out and new timber spliced in. A front that is repaired and kept painted will last for decades, and it keeps the look that brings people through the door. The running cost is a coat of paint every few years, which is not much against the price of replacing a front twice.

Our honest view

If the building is plain and modern, aluminium is fine. If it is an older building, or it sits in a parade of traditional shop fronts, repair the timber. You will usually spend less than you think and the front will look right.

If you have a wooden shop front you are not sure about, we are happy to take a look and tell you straight whether it is worth repairing. Email info@premiumshopfront.co.uk or see our shop front repairs page.