Covering Portsmouth and nearby
Our coverage of Portsmouth takes in the PO1, PO2, PO3, PO4, PO5 and PO6 postcode districts and the neighbouring parts of Hampshire. If your address sits close to a boundary, it is still covered: send the postcode with your enquiry about automatic entrance lobbies and we will confirm the arrangements and the price in writing.
Older civic and commercial buildings often sit alongside modern blocks in Portsmouth and the surrounding parts of Hampshire. Where a listed building or a conservation area is involved, the owner may need consent from the planning authority before work on the entrance starts.
Nearby towns we also list for automatic entrance lobbies (straight-line distance): Gosport (1.7 miles), Fareham (5.3 miles), Havant (6.1 miles), Waterlooville (6.2 miles), Emsworth (7.5 miles), Hedge End (12.0 miles).
What to think about for automatic entrance lobbies in Portsmouth
- Plan for a recessed matting well across the lobby floor. Wet shoes on a hard floor are a slip risk, and loose mats can trip people or upset floor-level sensors.
- 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.
- Two operators mean two power supplies, or one supply sized for both. Check whether there is a suitable supply at ceiling height, as cable runs across a finished foyer add cost.
- High street units in Portsmouth often have narrow, shallow shop fronts. An internal lobby may take sales space, so a glazed porch or a sliding outer set with a swing inner set can be a better fit.
Automatic entrance lobbies in Portsmouth: 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
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.
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.
How it works
- Get in touch. Call, email or use the form with the address and what you have in mind. If you are not sure which type of door suits, describe the entrance and we will suggest the options worth considering.
- Survey and advice. The survey costs nothing and carries no obligation. The engineer checks the site and explains which options suit the entrance, the people using it and the budget, before anything is priced.
- Quote in writing. You receive a fixed, itemised quote for automatic entrance lobbies in Portsmouth, covering equipment, installation, testing and handover, with the lead time and payment stages set out clearly.
- Install, test, explain. The engineer installs and commissions the door, tests the sensors, safety functions and emergency behaviour, and walks you through the controls. The handover pack records what was installed and tested.
Want a warmer, cleaner entrance in Portsmouth? Send us a few photos and the opening sizes, and we will arrange a site survey and a written quote.
Automatic entrance lobbies in Portsmouth: questions
How will a lobby cope with the weather in Portsmouth?
The survey looks at which way the entrance faces and how exposed it is. In windy or wet spots, a deeper lobby, a right-angle layout or doors with stronger seals and wind settings help. A good matting well deals with the water that still comes in on shoes.
What do you charge for automatic entrance lobbies in Portsmouth?
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 Portsmouth confirms the price as a fixed, itemised written quote, and the guide price tool gives you a range before anyone visits.
Will our entrance in Portsmouth have to close while the lobby is built?
Not for the whole job in most cases. We plan the order of work so one set of doors, or a temporary door, keeps the entrance usable, and agree any out-of-hours working in the quote. A short closure may be needed when the final set is commissioned.
Will an automatic lobby in Portsmouth 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.
Do you service doors in Portsmouth after installing them?
Yes. We recommend a trained engineer checks the safety functions at least once a year, with service intervals set by the manufacturer's instructions and how heavily the door is used; busy doors are often serviced more often. Servicing can follow on from the installation, with the price agreed in writing and a record left after every visit.
What happens once the installation in Portsmouth is finished?
The engineer tests every function, including the safety sensors and the behaviour on power loss, and sets the door up with reference to BS EN 16005. You are shown how to use the controls and which simple checks to make, and you receive the handover documents, including the test record and any conformity paperwork that applies to the work.
Which building regulations apply to a new automatic entrance in Portsmouth?
In England the guidance is Approved Document M (Volume 2) for access, Approved Document B for fire safety and escape routes, and Approved Document K for glazing and powered doors. A new entrance can count as building work, so building control should be involved before it is ordered.