The Schüco ASE 60 is the system most Hertfordshire homeowners end up looking at once they decide a wall of glass is the goal rather than a folding stack. It is an aluminium lift-and-slide door built around a 60 mm construction depth, which is where the name comes from. That depth is the sweet spot for domestic work: slim enough to keep interior sightlines tight, deep enough to carry large, heavy glass panels and hit sensible thermal figures.
What ASE 60 actually is
ASE stands for Aluminium Sliding Element. The 60 is a thermally broken frame with a lift-and-slide mechanism — you turn the handle, the sash lifts a few millimetres off its seals and glides on rollers, then drops back down to compress the gaskets when closed. That lift action is why a 300 kg leaf can move with one hand and still seal tightly against weather. It is a different animal from a cheap inline patio door, where the sash drags along the track the whole time.
- Construction depth
- 60 mm
- Max leaf weight
- up to 300 kg
- Typical Uw
- from ~1.4 W/m²K (glass dependent)
- Mechanism
- manual or powered lift-and-slide
- Sightline (interlock)
- ≈ 30 mm slim option
Sightlines and glass area
The reason people specify sliding over folding is the glass-to-frame ratio. On a two-panel ASE 60 you can push the visible frame down dramatically compared with a bifold, where every leaf carries its own stiles. If uninterrupted views matter more than opening the whole aperture, sliding wins. If you want the entire opening clear in summer, read our comparison of bifold versus sliding doors before you commit.
ASE 60 vs ASE 80
The 80 is the bigger sibling — deeper frame, heavier glass capacity, better thermal numbers and a triple-track option. For most two- or three-panel domestic openings the 60 is the correct, cost-sensible choice; the 80 earns its keep on very large or Passivhaus-leaning projects. We break the decision down in ASE 80 vs ASE 60.
Getting it installed properly
A sliding door is only as good as its threshold detail and its structural head. Get the levelling wrong and the lift-and-slide will bind; get the head deflection wrong on a wide opening and the door will jam within a season. This is genuinely specialist fitting — see what Schüco door installation involves. In the Hertfordshire area the ASE range is stocked and fitted by specialist aluminium sliding door suppliers, and it is worth seeing a panel move in person before you order. Technical datasheets for the current ASE generation are published by Schüco UK.