There are around 40 window and door exhibitors at the London Homebuilding and Renovating Show this September. If windows and doors are the reason you are going, and for a lot of people on a self-build or a large extension, they are, or if you are looking to get inspiration for your home improvement project, here are out top tips for getting the most out of the show.
Windows and Doors at the Homebuilding and Renovating Show in 2026
We are not previewing the entire show, more giving you our tips and advice on how to make your easier by telling you which will be the best stands to visit this year and which ones you don’t need the show for. I’ve been in the industry since 1989 and know virtually every single company exhibiting. and in many cases also know the people who own them.
Companies you should visit at the Show
Internal doors and Screens
Aluco Aluminium Stand H101
Aluco makes the UK’s best aluminium steel look windows and doors. Their products are their own design and not a rebrand or using a standard systems company.
The Aluco stand you’ll see as soon as you walk into the exhibition and is worth a visit to see just what a property designed internal steel-inspired door looks like. I can tell you, no other product gets close in styling, sightlines and quality to either the steel product or as an aluminium option. Read the Aluco Review
Top Tip. Other stands may tell you Aluco is a rebrand of the Smart Systems Heritage product. It is not and never has been. Aluco has designed their products from scratch and you cannot get them anywhere else.
OTIF UK Stand H112
OTIF Steel internal doors and screens are steel, meticulously made, with a fantastic attention to detail. If you are in the market for aluminium internal doors and screens, you should visit the OTIF stand so you can understand where still is better than aluminium.
Steel Doors can be made, wider, taller and in special shapes where aluminium can’t. Read the OTIF Review.
OTIF products I’ve seen up close and spent substantial time reviewing these and they are exquisite in look, feel and overall quality. Very worth a visit to their stand at the Homebuilding and Renovating Show.
Top Tip. You can also get fire rated doors and screens, again, something not possible with aluminium.
External Windows and Doors
Met Therm Windows Stand J105
Met Therm Windows makes some of the slimmest thermally broken steel windows and doors, claiming a A+10 window energy rating. They also have profiles that replace classic steel and Crittall® windows with W20 to W50 frame profiles.
Their windows and doors are beautifully made in luxury stel, meet current Building Regulations.
If you’ve seen the aluminium versions of Heritage and industrial style windows, then Met Therm lets you compare with real steel.
Top Tip. If you are planning on replacing your existing metal windows with new steel, Met Therm must demonstrate how they arrive at both U-Values and Window Energy ratings. It’s crucial for your FENSA registration or building sign off.
Evolution Windows Stand H111
Evolution Windows invented the timber-look and timber-alternative window in hand-finished upvc. If your budget does not stretch to genuine timber windows, and you love the look of period windows, this certainly a company to visit.
The styling, quality and hand-finishing of these incredible wood-like windows is as close to wood as you can get. In fact, some of the features found on these windows, cannot be replicated by other brands offering a similar product.
Also available are patio doors and Front Doors under the English Door Company brand, and you’ll be very impressed with the authentic wood-like attention to detail. Evolution Windows invented this product category, everyone else has copied them and it is as good as a uPVC window can get.
Top Tip. The handles available with Evolution are first class, also designed by their group company Ventiss Hardware. These windows work in cottages, period homes, replacement of old wood windows and perfectly at home in a new build.
ODC Glass Stand C101
When it comes to luxurious sliding doors, architectural and bespoke glazing, ODC has an excellent reputation. They make some of the best brands such as Reynaers and Solarlux and their overall range is designed to meet the needs of complex new build projects where doors need the best performance and highest specifications.
Check out their projects page to find out more about their expertise and professionalism, also including structural glazing, automatic sliding doors and minimalist glazing.
ODC has a showroom in London and a further factory and showroom in Poole, Dorset. It’s an excellent example of how some installers set up to do regular door and window work and others the more demanding projects that need a special skillset.
Top Tip. The company also provides the top-of-the-line Solarlux Cero sliding door which if it’s on the stand, shows you what a top of the range sliding door is like. Read our Cero Sliding Doors Review.
Express Bifold Doors Stand L100
Express Bifolds have what are widely regarded as the best showrooms in the UK. The Leeds Headquarters are sight to behold with fully built homes within the building. Their product are beautifully made, professionally installed and their reputation is second to none.
It’s never known for sure what products will be on display with Express Bifolds, who exhibit at the main shows every year, but you can expect to see something from their entire range which includes windows, bifold doors, sliding doors and more recently front doors.
Express has showrooms all over the country and work nationwide and this company gives you a taste of what a large and successful national company can be with some outstanding installations completed. Express can certainly help with your propery renovation project.
Top Tip. The company does not offer external or internal steel look systems so you’ll have to look elsewhere. Their XP88 is the UK’s slimmest bifold and worth a look.
RK Door Systems Stand C167
RK Door systems make some of the country’s best front doors, with a great range of hinged and pivot doors, single or double door sets and accompanied with large glazing above or to the sides.
If you’re thinking of replacing your front door, RK offers both classic and contemporary styles
The company also offers an elegant door range in bespoke colours, textures and even ceramic finishes. I’ve worked with these products in the past and can assure you RK Front Doors are a fantastic choice for any contemporary home or when you want one of the best possible front doors.
Top Tip. RK can create virtually any kind of door, so if you have a particular design in mind, worth speaking with them and visiting their stand.
Minima Sliding Doors Stand B111
Minima Sliding is a RIBA-approved UK installer built entirely around one product: Ultraline, the British-made frameless aluminium sliding door system. Ultraline supplies the doors, all with 20 mm sightlines, a 75 mm bottom frame set below finished floor for a flush threshold, panels up to 4.2 m wide and 3.2 m high.
Minima specialises in Ultralive because every survey and installation has been refined for Ultraline, all four marine-grade colours are held in stock, and lead times run to roughly six to eight weeks, which is excellent for a premium door system.
The process covers drawings and quote, showroom visit, detailed site survey, installation by in-house teams, and aftercare. Quoted performance is around 1.2 W/m²K double-glazed and 0.7 W/m²K triple-glazed, with PAS 24:2016 and Part Q compliance using laminated glass.
Top Tip. U-Values are all-important with doors such as these so do ask how the company gets to the 0.7U-Value stated because to me, this reads like a centre pane specification (which can’t be used for Building Control) rather than an overall product U-Value which matters.
Making the most of your visit
The show is large and one day with breaks is plenty, depending on what you’re going to the show to see, whether for a project or just browsing for now or a future home renovation. Most people arrive with no plan and you’ll probably go home with a bag of brochures.
I’ve attended these shows for quite a few years now.
Go on the Thursday or the Friday if you can. Sunday is busier, stands are tired by the afternoon, and the people you actually want to speak to are often the ones who have been on their feet the longest. This is especially the case where you’ve an actual project to talk through.
If you have technical questions, it’s ok to ask the person if he’s able to answer these and in my experience, every exhibitor usually has team member that knows the products inside out. You’ll find a five minute conversation with the right person, more useful than half an hour with the wrong one.
Open and close everything. It’s impossible to really understand a product from a phote. Open it, close it, feel the weight of the panel, look at how the threshold drains, get your eye down to the interlock where two panels meet. You will learn more in two minutes of doing that than in a week of reading specifications, and you will very quickly work out which products feel right to you.
Products are in temporary structures not in real homes. This means you may get the odd wobble door that many not feel quite right. All door and window companies install in steel frames or timber-clad openings and they are never as rigid as in your home. Don’t assume the product is bad. This is especially important on large sliding doors, bifolds and patio doors.
Some companies rebrand their products others don’t. Ask if the company makes and installs their own products. If they don’t, ask them which system they use. It is a friendly question and any good company will answer it happily.
Some companies design and manufacture their own products from scratch. Aluco is one, and it is a genuine point of difference. Others fabricate and install a system designed by a systems company, which is how a great deal of excellent aluminium reaches UK homes. Others buy in finished frames and install them. And some, like ODC, work with several system companies and make their products for the project.
You will also notice something at this show, and it is worth understanding. There are no aluminium systems companies exhibiting. No Schüco, no Reynaers, Origin, Cortizo or Smart Systems. That is not an omission on the organisers’ part. Most systems companies design and supply the profile to a network of fabricators and installers, and they have no survey teams, no fitters and no route to sell to you directly. The companies exhibiting are the ones who will actually survey your opening, make your windows and stand behind the installation. That is exactly who you want to meet.
What to bring with you to the Homebuilding and Renovating Show
If you have an active project and you’re able to brind sketches, drawings or plans, its worth going to the show with the following, and you’ll come home with quotations or useful information that you can actually use and help you make a decision.
- Rough or exact sized for your windows and doors
- Elevation drawings or a floor plan, on your phone is fine
- Photographs of the property, including the elevations you are replacing
- Any planning conditions or conservation area restrictions
- Your real budget and what you can’t compromise on
That last one matters most. If you already know that a flush threshold, or matching a neighbouring property, or acoustic performance on a road-facing elevation is the thing you care about, you will have far better conversations and you will not end up buying to someone else’s priorities.
When you get home
It’s quite likely the companies you visit will naturally follow up, so you can either take your time and say not ready yet or prepare. Then lay the quotations out together and check prices are like-for-like. Many people use printouts from software with terminology you may not be familiar with. In my experience they rarely are, and the cheapest quotation is very rarely the cheapest like-for-like.
If you would like an independent view on a quotation or a specification before you sign, that is exactly what we do. I am happy to help you make sense of what you have, and give you comparable products and suppliers to consider if needed, so do get in touch. These exhibitions are not there to finalise quotations or specifications. They are there to give you an opportunity to view products, speak to key people and help you make a decision away from a busy hall after a few hours on your feet.
Enjoy the show. It is one of the few opportunities in the year to see this much product in one place, operated by the people who make it, and if you go with a plan you will come away knowing far more than you did.
Homebuilding and Renovating Show
18th September 2026
10am – 5pm
19th September 2026
10am – 5pm
20th September 2026
10am – 4.30pm
Most exhibitors are offering free tickets to the show.
Excel, London
One Western Gateway
Royal Victoria Dock
London, E16 1XL
