Specifications & Testing Data
| Frame material | Welded raw-steel or stainless-steel frames, powder-coated in any RAL color, glazed with 3/8" tempered glass (1/4" or 3/16" in small divided lites) |
|---|---|
| Design pressure (DP) rating | Interior system, not DP-rated; all lites are tempered safety glazing per ASTM C1048, satisfying IRC R308 / IBC 2406 for glass in and adjacent to doors |
| AAMA performance class | Not an AAMA-rated fenestration product; welded steel frames are self-supporting and anchored to floor, wall and ceiling structure — heavier than aluminum, so anchorage is engineered per opening |
| Glass options | Clear, Low-iron, Bronze tint, Gray tint, Green tint, Frosted, Laser-cut and strip patterns |
| Available styles | Fixed steel-framed screens, Single swing door, Double (French) swing doors, Sliding door on exposed track, Bi-fold doors, Transom and sidelite combinations |
What It Actually Is
Think of a factory window from a 1920s mill — thin black steel muntins, a grid of small clear panes, a door that swings on a big hinge — and you have the picture Crystalia's steel partition system is built to deliver, without the drafts. Each unit is a welded steel frame, sized and gridded to your drawing, glazed with 3/8" tempered glass in the larger lites and 1/4" or 3/16" glass where the grid gets tight. Frames come in raw steel or stainless, and the finish is powder coat in any color on the RAL chart — which in practice means matte black nine times out of ten.
It is the heaviest and most expensive of Crystalia's four partition systems, sitting above the frameless line and the aluminum and Kompas systems. What you're paying for is the welded joint: no snap-together corners, no visible fasteners, and a frame stiff enough to carry a full-height French door pair on hold-open hinges.
Configurations, Glass and Hardware
Crystalia's shop drawings start with the grid. Three patterns cover most requests:
- Perimeter only — one big lite per panel, the frame as a picture frame. Cleanest and least costly.
- Horizontal bars — two to four crossbars per panel, the "modern loft" proportion.
- Full grid — the classic divided-lite look; the tighter the grid, the more welded steel and the higher the price.
Doors are where the system shines. Single swing doors and double French doors hang on hinges with a built-in hold-open function, so a door propped at 90 degrees stays there. Sliding doors on an exposed top track and bi-fold configurations show up in Crystalia's portfolio for wider openings. Transoms and sidelites let a door read as part of the wall rather than an interruption in it.
Glass runs clear, low-iron (the colorless upgrade), bronze, gray, or green tint, frosted for privacy, and — unusual in this category — patterned: strips or laser-cut shapes etched into the lite. Handles are welded steel bars or one of Crystalia's cast pulls: the Modena, the Ferrara, or the Venice diamond-cut, all in black.
Where It Fits in Idaho Homes and Offices
The steel system is drawn into custom homes before we ever see the plan. Boise-area architects specify it as the wall between a mudroom and a kitchen, the front of a wine room, or the door to a study off the entry — anywhere the design wants a real architectural element rather than a hollow-core door. The builders we're talking to about this line build exactly that kind of house, and a steel French pair is often the single most photographed detail in it.
On the remodel side, it suits 1990s and 2000s two-story homes in Eagle and Meridian where a formal living room nobody uses becomes an office. Frame the opening, hang a steel French door, and the room is separate without going dark.
Commercially, restaurants and wineries are the natural home — a steel-and-glass wall between a private dining room and the floor, or a tasting room front that shows the barrels. It's less common in general office work, where aluminum's price and acoustics win.
Where it isn't the right buy: budget-driven office fronts, wet areas unless you go stainless, and any opening to the weather. Steel partitions are interior glass. For an exterior French door, our French doors page covers the thermally broken products we install.
Codes, Safety Glazing and Installation
Glass in a door and within 24 inches of one is a "hazardous location" under Idaho's adopted IRC R308 and the IBC 2406 provisions commercial inspectors apply. Every Crystalia lite is tempered to ASTM C1048 and permanently marked, so a steel partition passes the glazing inspection on sight. Frosted and patterned lites are tempered before etching, as they must be.
The weight is the installation story. A gridded French door pair can approach several hundred pounds of steel and glass. We verify the header and jamb framing — or specify a steel jamb tube — before the frames are fabricated, shim the frame plumb in two planes, and anchor through the frame into structure. Level floors are rare in remodels; the frame gets built to the actual floor, which is why we measure before Crystalia cuts steel.
Wood Windows employees do all of it. Crystalia's dealer model is dealer-installed, and we don't subcontract glass.
Warranty and Service, Locally
Crystalia stands behind its steel systems with a manufacturer limited warranty; terms come with the quote and we review them with you before order. Service, though, is local: hinge adjustment, a hold-open that needs re-tensioning, a replacement lite — Wood Windows Inc handles it from Garden City with the crew that hung the door. That is the same arrangement we've kept with every brand we've carried over 46 years.
Have a plan with a steel-and-glass wall on it? Send it with the quote form on this page or call (208) 376-2200.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do Crystalia steel glass partitions cost installed?
Steel is the premium system in Crystalia's line. As a typical range, a fixed steel-framed screen with a single swing door runs roughly $9,000 to $18,000 installed in the Treasure Valley, and a French-style double door with sidelites and transom can move into the $20,000s. Six things drive the number: overall size, glass type, grid density (more small lites means more welded steel), hardware, raw versus stainless steel, and finish. We price all six line by line so you can trade one against another.
Steel or aluminum — which Crystalia partition should I pick?
Steel when the frame is the point: a loft or Parisian-atelier look, divided lites, a French door that swings on hold-open hinges. Aluminum when the goal is a cleaner, lighter, more affordable frame with a published sound rating and perimeter seals — most offices, most conference fronts. The aluminum system also goes taller in its Kompas configuration. If you're torn, we'll show both at the same opening size; the price gap is usually what decides it.
Can I use a Crystalia steel door as an exterior door?
Crystalia's steel partitions are built and published as interior systems — single tempered glass, no thermal break, no weatherstripping designed for Idaho winters. For an exterior steel-look door we'll quote a thermally broken product instead, or one of the clad-wood and fiberglass French doors on our doors page. Where we do use steel partitions near the exterior is a vestibule or sunroom that's already inside the thermal envelope.
Will the black powder coat chip or rust?
Powder coat over properly prepped steel is the most durable paint finish available and the one used on commercial storefront framing. Crystalia offers any RAL color; matte black and charcoal are the volume choices. Raw steel with a clear coat shows mill scale and will develop character — some clients want exactly that. Stainless frames cost more and are the answer for a wine room or a wet-area partition where condensation is part of the job.
Sources & Testing Data
Last reviewed 2026-09-10 by Wood Windows Inc — (208) 376-2200