If you're pricing aluminium bifold or French doors in the UK, two names come up again and again: Cortizo and Origin. They reach you in different ways. Cortizo is a system company whose profiles are made into doors by independent fabricators. Origin designs and makes its own finished doors. This guide compares the two on the figures each publishes, and explains what the different buying routes mean for you.
It's written for homeowners planning an extension or a new set of garden doors, and for the builders and installers who order them. We should say upfront that Mazuli fabricates Cortizo doors at our factory in Leeds, and Cortizo is the system we recommend. Every Origin figure below comes from Origin's own website, and where Origin doesn't publish a figure, we say so rather than guess.
The short version
- Cortizo is a system company: it designs the aluminium profiles and has the system tested, and fabricators such as Mazuli make the doors. Origin designs, manufactures and powder coats its own doors in High Wycombe.
- On bifolds, both publish a maximum panel of 1,200mm wide by 3,000mm tall. Cortizo bifolds are from 1.5 W/m²K double glazed and 1.1 W/m²K triple glazed. Origin quotes figures down to 0.78 W/m²K but doesn't state the glass beside them.
- The Cortizo bifold system has passed PAS 24 testing and is tested to air Class 4, water Class 9A and wind Class A3. Origin says all its bifold systems meet PAS 24 and that its bifolds have withstood water test pressure of up to 600 Pa.
- Cortizo is our pick for most UK homes, and we make Cortizo doors, so weigh our view with that in mind. Origin suits buyers who want the system designer and the door maker to be one company, or a 36mm sightline.
What's the difference between Cortizo and Origin?
The biggest difference isn't a figure on a datasheet. It's who makes the door you end up with.
Cortizo: a system company
Cortizo designs and extrudes aluminium profiles, develops the hardware that goes with them, and puts each system through testing. It doesn't usually sell finished doors to homeowners. Independent fabricators buy the profiles, then cut, machine and assemble the doors to order. When you buy a Cortizo bifold, the system comes from Cortizo and the door is made by a fabricator.
That's what we do. We fabricate Cortizo bifold doors, sliding doors, windows and French doors in-house at our 25,000 sq ft factory in Leeds, and supply them glazed or unglazed to trade and retail customers across the UK mainland.
Origin: one company designs and makes the door
Origin says all its products are designed and manufactured in-house, at its factory in High Wycombe, and that it powder coats them itself. It offers three door systems, which it names after their sightlines: the OB36+, OB49 and OB72. The same three systems appear on its bifold, French and single door pages.
Origin's FAQs say it doesn't sell bifold doors direct to homeowners. You buy through one of its trade partners.
What that means for you
- With Cortizo, the same system is made by different fabricators, so two Cortizo doors can differ in build quality, glass, lead time and service. Ask which system it is, and also who fabricates it.
- With Origin, the system and the factory are the same company, so there's one maker behind every Origin door, whoever you buy it from.
Either route can give you a good door. What decides it is the specification, the people making it and the installation.
How do Cortizo and Origin bifold doors compare?
Here are the two side by side on the points that decide how a bifold looks and performs. Cortizo figures are for the Cortizo Bifold system as we make it. Origin figures are from the Origin pages listed at the end of this section.
Panel sizes and panel counts
Cortizo Bifold panels go up to 1,200mm wide, 3,000mm tall and 120kg. We make them in 2 to 7 panels, so the widest single set is about 8,400mm. A 3-panel door, up to 3,600mm wide, is the most common size for a rear extension.
Origin's FAQs give the same maximum panel of 1,200mm wide by 3,000mm high, and say it can make taller doors with a narrower maximum width. Origin says it can make anything from a single door up to a 10 door set and beyond, and that its configurations fit openings from 1,400mm to 9,000mm wide and above. It doesn't publish a maximum panel weight on the pages we checked.
For most homes, the 1,200mm by 3,000mm panel limit is the one that matters, and it's the same on both. If your opening is wider than about 8.4m, check the configuration with the supplier, or look at a sliding door instead.
Sightlines
Origin names its systems after their sightlines: 36mm, 49mm and 72mm. That's a useful way to choose a look, and the OB36+ is Origin's slimmest.
We don't quote a single sightline figure for the Cortizo Bifold. Brands measure sightlines in different places (at the meeting stiles, across the outer frame, or both together), so a headline number from one brand rarely lines up with another's. Ask each supplier for a section drawing and compare the width of visible frame where two panels meet.
U-values and Part L
In England, Approved Document L, Volume 1 (2021 edition incorporating 2023 amendments) sets the limit for new or replacement doors in an existing home, extensions included. Table 4.2 gives a maximum U-value of 1.4 W/m²K, or a Doorset Energy Rating of Band C for doors with more than 60% of the internal face glazed. What counts is the whole-door figure, frame included, not the centre-pane glass figure.
- Cortizo Bifold: from 1.5 W/m²K double glazed (Ug 1.0) and 1.1 W/m²K triple glazed. If your building control body wants 1.4 W/m²K, specify triple glazing, or use the Doorset Energy Rating route for a door more than 60% glazed.
- Origin: U-values as low as 0.78 W/m²K on the OB36+, which Origin calls its most energy-efficient door, and 1.1 W/m²K for the OB49 and OB72 (its comparison table gives one figure across both). Origin doesn't state the glass specification beside these figures on the pages we checked.
A U-value without the glass beside it can't be compared fairly with one that has it. Whole-door U-values also change with the size of the door. Ask each supplier for a calculated figure for your size and your glass, in writing, before you compare.
Weather testing
The Cortizo Bifold system has been tested to European standards, on a 2,700mm by 2,530mm three-panel sample:
- Air permeability Class 4 (EN 12207)
- Water tightness Class 9A (EN 12208), watertight to 600 Pa
- Wind resistance Class A3 (EN 12210), tested at 1,200 Pa
Origin's threshold FAQs say its bifolds have withstood water test pressure of up to 600 Pa. Origin doesn't publish an air or wind class on the pages we checked. On an exposed site, such as a coastal or hilltop home, ask for the wind class and the test pressure before you order.
Security
The Cortizo bifold system has passed PAS 24 testing, the usual UK security benchmark for doorsets. Our Cortizo bifolds come with multi-point locking, shoot bolts on the intermediate panels, anti-lift blocks and internal glazing beads as standard, and a 3-star anti-snap cylinder upgrade is available.
Origin says all three of its door systems meet PAS 24, and describes linear bolts and 25mm security hooks on its locking.
Thresholds and opening options
- Cortizo: a standard 55mm threshold, a low 20mm threshold, or low with a rebate at 40mm overall. Cills from 90mm to 230mm. Doors can open in or out, fold direction is set panel by panel, and a traffic door can be added to any configuration.
- Origin: a weathered (rebated) threshold that can be sunk to leave a 14mm upstand, a non-weathered threshold that can sit flush with the floor, and a mobility threshold on single and French doors. Doors can open in or out.
A flush or near-flush threshold does less to hold back driving rain than one with an upstand. Whichever system you choose, agree the inside and outside floor levels and the drainage before the doors are ordered.
Bifold doors side by side
"Not published" means we couldn't find the figure on Origin's own pages, not that the system fails it.
| Cortizo Bifold (made by Mazuli) | Origin OB36+, OB49, OB72 | |
|---|---|---|
| Who makes the door | Mazuli, in Leeds, from Cortizo profile | Origin, in High Wycombe |
| Maximum panel | 1,200 × 3,000mm, 120kg | 1,200 × 3,000mm; taller with a narrower width |
| Panel count | 2 to 7 (up to about 8,400mm) | Up to 10 and beyond |
| Sightline | Ask for a section drawing | 36mm, 49mm or 72mm, by system |
| Whole-door U-value (W/m²K) | From 1.5 double glazed (Ug 1.0); 1.1 triple glazed | As low as 0.78 (OB36+); 1.1 (OB49, OB72); glass not stated |
| Air / water / wind | Class 4 / Class 9A / Class A3 | Water tested to 600 Pa; air and wind not published |
| Security | System has passed PAS 24 testing | All systems meet PAS 24 |
| Low or flush threshold | Low 20mm, or 40mm with rebate | Weathered to 14mm upstand, or non-weathered flush |
| Opening | In or out; traffic door on any configuration | In or out |
For a wider view, our guide to aluminium bifold door systems compared puts Cortizo and Origin alongside Schüco, Smart Systems, AluK and Reynaers.
How do Cortizo and Origin French doors compare?
Fewer figures are published for French doors than for bifolds, on both sides, so this comparison is shorter.
Origin French and single doors
Origin makes its French and single doors on the same OB36+, OB49 and OB72 systems as its bifolds. Its French door page says the doors can open inwards or outwards, can have fixed frames to the side or above, and come in over 150 RAL colours with dual-colour options. It gives U-values as low as 0.78 W/m²K, again without the glass stated, and describes multi-point locking. Its single doors offer weathered, mobility and non-weathered thresholds. Origin also offers three looks across its doors, which it calls Soho, Gallery and Georgian.
Mazuli French doors
We make our aluminium French doors on Cortizo aluminium in Leeds. They come with multi-point locking and internally beaded glazing as standard, so the glass can't be removed from outside, and a 3-star anti-snap cylinder upgrade is available. Thresholds are standard, low 20mm, or low 40mm with a rebate, and cills come in 90mm, 150mm, 180mm and 230mm. Georgian bars and trickle vents are available as add-ons.
French doors come in our seven stock colours (White, Agate Grey, Anthracite Grey, Black, Agate Grey on White, Grey on White and Black on White), any RAL colour, and woodgrain finishes. In stock colours they take 2 to 10 working days.
If you want a steel-look door for a period home, we also make heritage-style doors on the AluK Heritage system: single doors from 600 × 1,800mm to 1,000 × 2,300mm and pairs from 1,200 × 1,800mm to 2,000 × 2,300mm, double glazed only, in 3 to 4 weeks.
For a French or single door, ask either supplier for the whole-door U-value for your size and glass, and for the security test report on the doorset itself.
How does the buying route affect lead time and choice?
Choice of supplier
Because Cortizo is a system company, you can buy a Cortizo door from more than one fabricator and compare them on price, lead time and service while keeping the same system. Ask each one whether it makes the doors itself, which Cortizo system it uses, and whether it supplies glazed, unglazed or both.
With Origin, every door comes from the same factory, and you choose who you buy it through.
Lead time
With a system brand, the lead time depends on the fabricator. Most UK aluminium fabricators quote 3 to 6 weeks. We make Cortizo doors in-house in Leeds and deliver on our own fleet, so ours are shorter:
- Unglazed, stock colour: 2 to 5 working days
- Glazed, stock colour: 6 to 10 working days
- RAL colours: around 2 weeks
- Woodgrain finishes: 4 to 6 weeks
You get a delivery date when you order, and mainland UK delivery is included. Ask any supplier, of either brand, for a lead time and delivery date in writing before you book your installer. Our guide to aluminium door lead times explains what sits behind those numbers.
Glazed or unglazed
We never deliver doors with the glass fitted. Either way, the frames arrive fully assembled with their hardware and locking, and your installer fits the glass on site. A glazed order includes sealed glass units made to size by our glass supplier, delivered with the frames. An unglazed order is the frames only, and your installer sources the glass. Unglazed is our fastest route, which is why many trade customers choose it.
Who fits the doors
We supply and deliver. We don't install, so you or your installer confirm the sizes and fit the doors. Retail customers use their own builder or installer, who also handles Building Regulations sign-off.
Why do we recommend Cortizo?
We chose Cortizo to build our business on, so we aren't neutral. These are the reasons we'd give a customer, and each one is a published figure you can check:
- Tested security. The Cortizo bifold system has passed PAS 24 testing, and our bifolds come with multi-point locking, shoot bolts, anti-lift blocks and internal glazing beads as standard.
- Published weather classes. Air permeability Class 4, water tightness Class 9A and wind resistance Class A3, so you can compare like for like.
- Large panels. Up to 1,200mm wide and 3,000mm tall, in up to 7 panels, for openings up to about 8,400mm.
- U-values with the glass stated. From 1.5 W/m²K double glazed with Ug 1.0 and 1.1 W/m²K triple glazed, so you know what to specify for Part L.
- A durable finish. Cortizo's QUALICOAT-certified powder coating, which we guarantee for 10 years against discolouration, flaking and UV fading.
- A short, direct route. We make Cortizo doors to order in Leeds, in 2 to 5 working days unglazed and 6 to 10 glazed in stock colours, and deliver them on our own fleet. Trade and retail customers buy from us directly.
None of that makes Origin a poor choice. It publishes strengths of its own, and the right door depends on the project.
Which suits which project?
- Cortizo: our pick for most UK homes and extensions, where you want 1,200mm by 3,000mm panels, published air, water and wind classes, PAS 24 testing, a clear route to Part L, and a short lead time from a UK fabricator you can buy from directly.
- Origin: consider it if you want the company that designs the system to make the door too, if you want the 36mm sightline of the OB36+, if you need a set of more than 7 panels, or if you want a mobility threshold on a single or French door.
Whichever you choose, get the whole-door U-value for your size and glass in writing, check the test results, and agree the threshold and floor levels before you order. Our complete guide to aluminium bifold doors covers sizing, Part L and preparing the opening in more detail.
Mazuli Cortizo doors
Mazuli is a fully accredited Cortizo manufacturer and one of the largest Cortizo-certified manufacturers in the UK. We fabricate Cortizo bifold, French and sliding doors and windows in Leeds and supply them glazed or unglazed to installers, builders and homeowners across the UK mainland. Factory visits are welcome by appointment, Monday to Friday.
See specifications and colours on our aluminium bifold doors and French and heritage doors pages, or request a quote. Installers and builders can open a trade account with no minimum order value. You can also call 0113 827 5596 or email sales@mazuli.co.uk.
