Coverage across the Highlands
Multi-site organisations in the Highlands, such as councils, housing providers, schools and health providers, can arrange automatic entrance lobbies for every building through one contact. Each site gets its own written price and its own record. Smaller customers, from corner shops to private homes, follow exactly the same process. The towns we list here, 6 in all, appear below.
Towns listed in the Highlands: Inverness, Fort William, Nairn, Thurso, Wick, Portree.
What to think about for automatic entrance lobbies in the Highlands
- Consider deliveries and bulky items. If trolleys or stock come through the front entrance, a switch that holds both sets open for short periods saves staff waiting on the sequencing.
- 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.
- Entrances in the Highlands 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.
- High street units in the Highlands 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.
- 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.
Automatic entrance lobbies in the Highlands: 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 Scotland
Scottish building standards guidance (the non-domestic Technical Handbook) expects an accessible entrance door to give a clear opening of at least 800 mm, says powered doors improve accessibility as long as they add no new hazard, and expects signage, sensors that hold the door open long enough, and guarding against collision or entrapment.
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 in Scotland must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, which can include altering a physical feature such as a heavy entrance door. Most building work in Scotland needs a building warrant before it starts, so new entrances are checked with the local authority verifier first.
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 the Highlands.
- 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.
Planning a refit or a new entrance in the Highlands? Get in touch early and we will quote the lobby as one package with the rest of the entrance.
Automatic entrance lobbies in the Highlands: questions
Is a revolving door a better option than a lobby in the Highlands?
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.
What will automatic entrance lobbies in the Highlands 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 the Highlands 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 the Highlands 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.
Can you add a lobby to our existing entrance in the Highlands?
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.
What do you need from us for parking and access in the Highlands?
Somewhere for the engineer's van as close to the entrance as possible, and a clear working area around the door. If parking is restricted, loading rules apply or the site has security procedures, tell us when you book. Those details go into the plan so the visit is not held up on the day.
What should I send before the survey in the Highlands?
A few photos of the door from inside and outside, rough measurements of the opening, the address and a note of how the entrance is used. If the door already has an operator, a photo of any label on it helps. With that, the engineer arrives prepared, the survey takes less of your time and we can put the quote for automatic entrance lobbies together more easily.
Is a building warrant needed for a new automatic entrance in the Highlands?
Often, yes. Most building work in Scotland needs a building warrant before it starts, and the non-domestic Technical Handbook sets out what an accessible entrance should provide, including a clear opening of at least 800 mm. We tell you at the survey if your job is likely to need one.