Why Installer Training Matters
25 September 2016 · Updated 12 August 2026In short: a well-made door fitted badly is not a good door. Our installers train directly with the manufacturers whose systems we fit, including Origin and Atlas, which is why we are confident quoting on openings that need the detail to be right.
Why does it matter who fits the door?
Because most of what goes wrong with glazing is installation, not manufacture. The frame arrives square and works on the bench. What determines whether it still operates properly in ten years is what happens on site: how it is packed and fixed, whether the opening was square to begin with, how the threshold is bedded, and whether the drainage was understood.
A bi-fold or a wide slider is unforgiving about this in a way a small window is not. The panels are heavy, they move on a track, and they have to stay in alignment. A few millimetres of settlement in a badly packed frame becomes a door that catches, and then a door that wears.
What does manufacturer training actually cover?
Training with the people who make the system covers how that specific product is meant to go together: tolerances, fixing patterns, threshold detail, how the panels are adjusted, and how the hardware is set up. Systems differ from each other in ways that matter, and knowing one well is not the same as knowing another.
It also covers adjustment, which is what you want when we come back. A door that needs setting up after a season of use should be a short visit by someone who knows the mechanism, not a diagnostic exercise.
Which systems do you work with?
We install Origin bi-fold and sliding door systems and Atlas roof lanterns, and we have completed installations using other systems including Schuco. Our uPVC range uses Liniar.
Working regularly with a smaller number of systems is deliberate. It means the team knows the detail rather than meeting a product for the first time on your job.
What should I ask an installer?
Whoever you are getting prices from, these are worth asking:
- Do you install this system regularly, or is it a one-off order?
- Are your fitters employed or subcontracted, and are they trained on this system?
- Who do I call if it needs adjusting in a year, and what does that cost?
- Who is responsible if the opening is not square, you or the builder?
- What exactly is guaranteed, by whom, and for how long?
That last one is worth getting in writing. Frames, glass units and workmanship are not always covered for the same period or by the same party, and the answer is a genuine difference between quotations. We set out the terms that apply to your installation on your paperwork rather than making a blanket claim.
What does that mean on the day?
Practically: the opening is checked before anything is ordered, the frame is packed and fixed properly rather than foamed into place, the threshold is bedded and sealed so water goes where it is meant to, the panels are adjusted before we leave, and you are shown how to operate and look after them. Our guide to looking after aluminium windows and doors covers the last part.
Common questions
Who installs the doors, your own team or subcontractors?
Our own installation teams, trained on the systems we supply. If you want to know who will be on site for your job, ask when we quote.
Do you fix problems after installation?
Yes. Most post-installation issues are adjustments rather than failures, and they are quick for someone who knows the mechanism. Contact us rather than letting a door that catches carry on catching.
Does the builder or the installer take responsibility for the opening?
It should be agreed before work starts, and we would rather have that conversation at survey than afterwards. Where a builder is forming the opening, we confirm the dimensions we need in writing.
Talk to us about your project
If you have an opening that needs the detail to be right, we would rather look at it before you order. Get in touch or call 01293 226523.
See completed work in our installation portfolio, including the Origin sliding doors at Tunbridge Wells and the Haywards Heath roof lantern.