Covering Folkestone and nearby
Addresses anywhere in the CT19 and CT20 postcode districts can book automatic entrance lobbies through us. The engineer who attends works under our management and travels to the site. There is no branch in Folkestone, so the price, the booking and the paperwork all come from one place.
Around Folkestone there is usually a mix of retail parks, business parks and town-centre shops, each with different door needs. A retail park unit may need a wide bi-parting door for trolleys, while a town-centre shop often has a narrow frontage better suited to a single slider or a folding door.
Nearby towns we also list for automatic entrance lobbies (straight-line distance): Dover (7.0 miles), Ashford (13.5 miles), Deal (14.1 miles), Canterbury (14.2 miles), Faversham (20.1 miles), Herne Bay (20.2 miles).
What to think about for automatic entrance lobbies in Folkestone
- 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.
- 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.
- High street units in Folkestone 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.
- 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.
Automatic entrance lobbies in Folkestone: 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
- Send photos and the address. A few pictures of the door from both sides, the address in Folkestone and a note of who uses the entrance help us understand the job before anyone visits the site.
- No-cost survey on site. We arrange a survey at a time that suits the building. The engineer records measurements, fixings and power, plus any constraints such as listed status, opening hours or access for deliveries.
- Itemised quote to approve. We price every element of the work on automatic entrance lobbies separately in a written quote that you can check, share and approve. Lead time and payment stages are stated, and nothing is ordered until you accept.
- Fit, test and hand over. On the agreed dates the engineer installs the equipment, commissions the operator and tests each safety function. You get a demonstration, the test record and any conformity paperwork that applies to the work.
Book a free survey of your entrance in Folkestone and we will suggest a lobby layout, then send a fixed quote for both door sets and the screens.
Automatic entrance lobbies in Folkestone: questions
Can the lobby doors in Folkestone be locked at night?
Yes. The outer set is usually locked out of hours, and the inner set can be locked too. Locks and any access control are wired to release on the fire alarm where the fire strategy requires, and the settings are recorded at handover.
What do you charge for automatic entrance lobbies in Folkestone?
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 Folkestone confirms the price as a fixed, itemised written quote, and the guide price tool gives you a range before anyone visits.
How will a lobby cope with the weather in Folkestone?
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.
Will an automatic lobby in Folkestone 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.
Can installation in Folkestone happen outside opening hours?
Yes. Many shops, surgeries and offices prefer work early in the morning, in the evening or at weekends, when the entrance is quietest. Tell us your constraints when you enquire and they are built into the plan. Any extra cost for out-of-hours work is shown in the written quote rather than added afterwards.
What should I send before the survey in Folkestone?
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.
Do businesses in Folkestone 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.