Covering Herne Bay and nearby
If your building is in Herne Bay, or anywhere in the CT6 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.
In Herne Bay, automatic door needs often centre on the high street: independent shops, pharmacies, banks, cafés and estate agents. Frontages are often narrow, so the choice is usually between a compact sliding door, a folding door or a swing operator on the existing door.
Nearby towns we also list for automatic entrance lobbies (straight-line distance): Whitstable (4.5 miles), Canterbury (6.8 miles), Faversham (11.1 miles), Margate (11.1 miles), Ramsgate (12.8 miles), Broadstairs (13.6 miles).
What to think about for automatic entrance lobbies in Herne Bay
- 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.
- Surgeries and clinics in Herne Bay 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.
- Entrances in Herne Bay 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Automatic entrance lobbies in Herne Bay: 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
- 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 Herne Bay.
- 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.
Want a warmer, cleaner entrance in Herne Bay? Send us a few photos and the opening sizes, and we will arrange a site survey and a written quote.
Automatic entrance lobbies in Herne Bay: questions
Will our entrance in Herne Bay 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.
How much should I budget for automatic entrance lobbies in Herne Bay?
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 Herne Bay 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 Herne Bay?
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.
How will a lobby cope with the weather in Herne Bay?
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.
Do you service doors in Herne Bay 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.
Can installation in Herne Bay 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.
Which building regulations apply to a new automatic entrance in Herne Bay?
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.