Covering Harpenden and nearby
If your building is in Harpenden, or anywhere in the AL5 postcode district, we can arrange automatic entrance lobbies. Visits are booked with you in advance, timed around opening hours where that matters, and carried out by engineers who work under our management.
Small offices, community centres and village halls around Harpenden tend to have one main entrance, often used by visitors who need level access without steps. Automating the existing door, rather than replacing it, is frequently the most practical and affordable route.
Nearby towns we also list for automatic entrance lobbies (straight-line distance): St Albans (4.7 miles), Luton (5.0 miles), Hemel Hempstead (5.9 miles), Welwyn Garden City (6.5 miles), Hatfield (6.8 miles), Dunstable (8.5 miles).
What to think about for automatic entrance lobbies in Harpenden
- 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 Harpenden 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.
- High street units in Harpenden 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.
- Work on a lobby in Harpenden takes longer than a door swap. Ask for the programme in writing, including which entrance stays usable each day and any out-of-hours working.
- Entrances in Harpenden that face the prevailing wind lose the most heat and take the most rain. A deeper lobby, or a right-angle layout that turns the inner doors away from the wind, makes the biggest difference there.
Automatic entrance lobbies in Harpenden: 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.
How it works
- Start with a short enquiry. Use the form, phone or email. Tell us whether the work is a new door, an upgrade or an opener for a home, and we arrange the next step for your site in Harpenden.
- Measured survey. The free survey confirms what will fit and what the entrance needs: opening width, door type, activation, safety sensors and behaviour on power loss or fire alarm, matched to how the building is used.
- Written price, no surprises. A fixed, itemised quote sets out the specification, the work involved, the expected lead time and the warranty terms. You can ask questions or change the specification before accepting it.
- Installed and commissioned. The door is installed with as little disruption as possible, then set up and tested for its hazard zones. Before leaving, the engineer explains the controls and hands over the documents for your records.
If the front of your building in Harpenden is cold and draughty, start with a free survey. Nothing is ordered until you accept the written quote.
Automatic entrance lobbies in Harpenden: questions
How will a lobby cope with the weather in Harpenden?
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 price range should I expect for automatic entrance lobbies in Harpenden?
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 Harpenden confirms the price as a fixed, itemised written quote, and the guide price tool gives you a range before anyone visits.
Is a revolving door a better option than a lobby in Harpenden?
It can be where space is tight and traffic is steady, because a revolving door seals the entrance at every turn. A revolving door is not accessible on its own, though, so an accessible powered sliding or swing door is needed alongside it. We can price both at survey.
Can you add a lobby to our existing entrance in Harpenden?
Usually, if there is enough depth inside the existing doors or room for a glazed porch outside. We check the space, the floor and the power at the free survey, then quote either an inner set to pair with your current doors or a complete new lobby.
How are payments structured for work in Harpenden?
Payment stages are set out in the quote before you accept it. Larger or made-to-order jobs may involve a deposit and a balance on completion, while smaller jobs may be invoiced once the work is finished. Nothing is charged for the survey itself, and the terms you accept are the terms that apply.
Do I need permission from a landlord or the council before work in Harpenden?
It depends on the building. Tenants usually need the landlord's written consent before changing an entrance, and some changes to a shopfront or external door need planning permission. The survey notes anything that may need consent. We can supply drawings and product details to support an application, but the owner or tenant makes it.
Do businesses in Harpenden have to fit automatic doors?
No law says every building must have automatic doors. Under the Equality Act 2010, service providers and employers must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, and building regulations guidance in England calls for a powered door where an entrance door would otherwise be too heavy to open. An automatic door is often the simplest way to meet both.