Coverage across Essex
Enquiries about automatic entrance lobbies come to us from right across Essex, and each one is handled the same way. Specialist automatic door engineers working under our management travel to the address, and we remain your contracting party throughout. The 24 towns we list below are a starting point, not a boundary: villages, business parks and rural sites in between are covered as well.
Towns listed in Essex: Southend-on-Sea, Basildon, Colchester, Chelmsford, Harlow, Grays, Braintree, Brentwood, Clacton-on-Sea, Benfleet, Canvey Island, Billericay, Rayleigh, Stanford-le-Hope, Loughton, Wickford, Leigh-on-Sea, Witham, Maldon, Waltham Abbey, South Ockendon, Harwich, Hadleigh, Walton-on-the-Naze.
What to think about for automatic entrance lobbies in Essex
- Surgeries and clinics in Essex need lobbies wide and deep enough for wheelchairs, mobility scooters and people with walking frames. Avoid interlocks at public entrances unless there is a strong security reason for them.
- If the lobby is on an escape route, the fire strategy decides what both door sets do on alarm. Sequencing and interlocks must release so nothing stops people leaving.
- Measure the depth you can give the lobby before settling on a layout. A lobby that is too shallow lets both sets open together and loses most of its benefit.
- Where an over-door heater is fitted, check its settings once the lobby is working. Many buildings find the heater can run at a lower setting afterwards.
- Office buildings on business parks in Essex often have a reception desk close to the entrance. Keeping the desk out of line with the doors, and making the lobby deep enough, keeps the receptionist out of the draught.
Automatic entrance lobbies in Essex: guide prices
The site survey is free, including the measured drawing and a fixed, itemised written quote. Guide price: typically £14,995 to £34,995 ex VAT.
| Item | Guide price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Draught lobby: two sets of automatic sliding doors and glazed screens | £14,995 – £34,995 | doors and screens, installed, ex VAT |
| Lobby with curtain walling or building work | Priced on survey | larger public-sector lobbies have cost £50,000 or more |
| Card or fob reader tied into the door | £795 – £2,495 | per door, ex VAT |
| Battery backup for power-cut operation | £395 – £695 | per door, ex VAT |
Lobby prices cover the doors and glazed screens. Building work, flooring, heating and curtain walling are priced on survey.
Standards and rules in England
Building regulations guidance in England (Approved Document M, Volume 2) says a powered opening system should be used where a self-closing entrance door would need more than 30 N at the leading edge to open, or more than 22.5 N between 30° and 60°, and expects external doors used by the public in new buildings to give at least 1000 mm of effective clear width.
In Great Britain a new or converted powered door must meet the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 before it is first used, and can carry the UKCA or the CE marking. Workplace law (the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992) expects powered doors to have suitable and effective features to stop them trapping anyone and, where needed for safety, to open by hand unless they open automatically if the power fails. Doors at work must also be kept in efficient working order under a suitable system of maintenance.
Under the Equality Act 2010, service providers and employers must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, which can include altering a physical feature such as a heavy entrance door. New entrances and some alterations count as building work, so check with building control before the work is ordered.
How it works
- Describe what you need. Whether the job is automatic entrance lobbies for a busy entrance or for a single internal door, a brief description and some photos let us understand it and plan a survey visit in Essex.
- Free visit to the site. An engineer working under our management assesses the opening, the existing door and frame, the floor and the electrical supply, and notes any access, consent or timing issues to plan around.
- Your fixed quotation. The quote is fixed for the work it describes and lists each item, including any removal, making good and electrical work. It also states the lead time, the payment stages and the warranty terms.
- Fitting and sign-off. Work goes ahead on dates agreed with you. Once fitted, the door is adjusted and its safety functions are tested and recorded with reference to BS EN 16005, and you are shown how to use it.
Book a free survey of your entrance in Essex and we will suggest a lobby layout, then send a fixed quote for both door sets and the screens.
Automatic entrance lobbies in Essex: questions
Will an automatic lobby in Essex need planning permission?
An internal lobby often leaves the outside of the building unchanged, but a glazed porch or new frontage may need planning permission, and a listed building may need consent for either. We point out likely approvals at survey so they can be sorted before anything is ordered.
What will automatic entrance lobbies in Essex cost?
Our guide is £14,995 to £34,995 excluding VAT (per lobby, doors and screens), the same guide prices we use across the UK. The free site survey in Essex confirms the price as a fixed, itemised written quote, and the guide price tool gives you a range before anyone visits.
Can you look after the lobby doors in Essex after installation?
We can arrange planned servicing for both door sets, checking sequencing, safety sensors and alarm releases at each visit and leaving a written record. Servicing is charged per visit, and the price is confirmed in writing before an engineer comes out.
Do you design lobbies for new buildings in Essex?
Yes. We can work from the architect's drawings, suggest door types and depth, and quote the doors, screens and controls as one package for the main contractor or the client. Designing the lobby in at the start is usually simpler and cheaper than adding it later.
Will the building stay secure while the entrance is being changed?
We plan to keep the entrance usable or secure throughout. Where a door has to come out, the work is sequenced so the opening is closed up before the engineer leaves, or a temporary door or hoarding is arranged when a longer gap cannot be avoided. How this is handled for your site in Essex is agreed before work starts.
What happens to the old door when a new one is fitted in Essex?
If the work replaces an existing door, frame or operator, removal and disposal are listed in the quote. The old door comes out only when the new one is ready to go in, so the opening is not left empty for longer than necessary. Making good to the surrounding wall, floor or ceiling is included where the quote says so.
Who is responsible for automatic doors on escape routes in Essex?
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 the responsible person for the premises must make sure escape routes work and fire safety equipment is maintained. Automatic doors on an escape route need fail-safe opening or break-out, set by the fire strategy.