Jack Aluminium Systems: A Compatibility Guide for Installers

We fabricate on the Jack Aluminium system family. If you’re an installer working on a mixed-use scheme or a refurb that touches doors, windows, shopfronts and curtain walling all in one package, knowing which Jack systems integrate with which saves you an interface headache.

This isn’t a marketing post for the manufacturer. It’s the practical compatibility cheat-sheet our trade customers ask us for when they’re spec-ing a job that crosses product lines.

The system codes

Each Jack system has a numeric code and a product type. Quick map of the systems we regularly fabricate:

Profile depth and sightline govern what integrates cleanly. The 70mm door range (RD70, SD70) and the 60-70mm window range (SW60, TW70) are designed to work together visually on residential and light-commercial schemes. The 47mm shopfront range (JD47) and the 50mm curtain wall (JCW) are designed to integrate on commercial frontage and retail schemes. Mixing across the divide — putting an RD70 entrance into a JD47 shopfront, for instance — is possible but needs an interface detail and won’t share profile sightlines.

Common multi-system schemes and how they integrate

Scheme: high-street retail unit fit-out

Typical mix:

• JD47 shopfront doors (entrance and any fixed leaves)
• JCW curtain walling (display zone glazing and signage zone)
• TD68 if there’s a heavier secondary entrance (delivery door, fire escape with retail-grade specification)
• AVS50 if there’s a plant zone behind the unit needing ventilated panel doors

The JD47 and JCW are designed to integrate directly — the JCW transom and mullion profiles tie cleanly into the JD47 head and jamb. This is the cleanest sightline integration we offer, which is why we recommend the combined system for any complete shopfront where the architectural elevation needs visual continuity.

Scheme: build-to-rent residential block

Typical mix:

• RD70 entrance doors (front entrance, communal corridor doors)
• SW60 apartment windows
• JCW curtain walling at the ground-floor commercial level (if mixed-use)
• JD47 shopfronts at the ground-floor retail (if mixed-use)
• AVS50 louvre panels for plant rooms, refuse stores, bin bays

The RD70 and SW60 share the 70mm/60mm thermally broken design language and integrate visually on the upper levels. The ground-floor commercial mix (JCW + JD47) sits below as a separate visual band, which is usually the architectural intent.

Scheme: heritage or conservation conversion

Typical mix:

• SD70 heritage doors (where slim sightlines preserve period character)
• TW70 tilt-and-turn windows where the original windows had operable casements
• ID30 internal doors and screens for new partitioning behind a retained facade
• JD47 shopfronts where ground-floor retail is being introduced into a heritage building

The SD70 + TW70 are the slim-sightline pair for sensitive external glazing. ID30 covers the new internal partition strategy that conservation conversions usually need. JD47 covers ground-floor retail introduction.

Scheme: commercial office repositioning

Typical mix:

• JCW curtain walling (full facade)
• TD68 heavy-duty commercial entrance doors at the main lobby
• TW70 commercial tilt-and-turn windows where opening lights are in the JCW
• AVS50 plant room and BMU access doors
• ID30 internal partitions and meeting room screens

JCW + TD68 + TW70 is the commercial integration set. The TD68 entrance bays sit within JCW openings. TW70 inserts as opening units within JCW fixed glazing zones.

The interfaces that catch people out

Three interfaces we see go wrong most often:

1. JD47 shopfront door head into JCW curtain wall transom. The detail is straightforward when fabricated together as a complete shopfront kit. When ordered separately as door + curtain wall from different sources, the head profile alignment can be off by a few millimetres. Order both from the same fabricator on the same job to avoid it.
2. TD68 commercial entrance into JCW opening. The TD68 outer frame depth is 68mm; the JCW opening reveal needs to match. The standard tie-in detail accommodates the difference but requires a profile adapter that should be specified on the curtain wall order, not retrofitted on site.
3. SW60/TW70 windows into JCW spandrel zone. Windows inserting into curtain walling are essentially “framed openings within a frame”. The whole-system thermal performance depends on the insert seal detail. Specify the thermal break continuity at design stage.

Where the trade compatibility note matters

The Jack Aluminium family is broad enough that you can do almost any commercial scheme on Jack profiles alone. For installers, that’s an advantage — fewer suppliers, fewer interfaces, more consistent finish. For specifiers, it makes the schedule simpler too.

What the family doesn’t do is replace a specialist for every product type. If your scheme needs:

• Steel-look slim-frame glazing (Crittall-style) — Jack doesn’t replicate that aesthetic
• High-rise unitised curtain walling (typically 30+ storey) — JCW is stick-built and out of range
• Bullet-resistant or blast-rated doors — these are specialist systems, not a Jack standard

We’ll tell you on enquiry if the scheme is outside what Jack covers. Better to know up-front than to find out at fabrication.

How we use the family

We fabricate across the full Jack range we’ve listed above. Most of our trade orders sit in the JD47 + JCW + TD68 + AVS50 quad for commercial work, and the RD70 + SW60 + AVS50 trio for residential and BTR. ID30 picks up the internal partition work. SD70 and TW70 handle the heritage end.

If you’re spec-ing a job that crosses the family, send the brief and we’ll confirm which systems integrate cleanly and where the interface details need extra attention. Better five minutes on the phone before order than a remake on site.