Covering Margate and nearby
If your building is in Margate, or anywhere in the CT8 and CT9 postcode districts, 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.
Supermarkets and larger stores in and around Margate often trade long hours, so work on their entrances is usually planned for early mornings or late evenings. Where a store has more than one entrance, keeping one in use while the other is worked on is part of the plan.
Nearby towns we also list for automatic entrance lobbies (straight-line distance): Broadstairs (2.9 miles), Ramsgate (3.4 miles), Deal (11.0 miles), Herne Bay (11.1 miles), Canterbury (15.0 miles), Whitstable (15.6 miles).
What to think about for automatic entrance lobbies in Margate
- 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 Margate 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.
- If the lobby is on an escape route, the fire strategy decides what both door sets do on alarm. Sequencing and interlocks must release so nothing stops people leaving.
- High street units in Margate 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.
- Listed buildings and conservation areas in Margate may limit changes to the frontage. An internal lobby behind the existing doors often keeps the street view unchanged, though consent may still be needed.
Automatic entrance lobbies in Margate: 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 Margate 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.
Planning a refit or a new entrance in Margate? Get in touch early and we will quote the lobby as one package with the rest of the entrance.
Automatic entrance lobbies in Margate: questions
Is a revolving door a better option than a lobby in Margate?
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 is the guide price for automatic entrance lobbies in Margate?
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 Margate 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 Margate 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 Margate?
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 do you make sure the door works for disabled visitors in Margate?
We look at who uses the entrance: wheelchair users, people with walking aids, parents with buggies and older visitors. That shapes the opening width, the opening speed, the hold-open time and where push pads or sensors go. Service providers and employers have duties to make reasonable adjustments under equality and accessibility law, and an automatic door is a common one.
What happens to the old door when a new one is fitted in Margate?
If the work replaces an existing door, frame or operator, removal and disposal are listed in the quote. The old door comes out only when the new one is ready to go in, so the opening is not left empty for longer than necessary. Making good to the surrounding wall, floor or ceiling is included where the quote says so.
Who is responsible for automatic doors on escape routes in Margate?
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 the responsible person for the premises must make sure escape routes work and fire safety equipment is maintained. Automatic doors on an escape route need fail-safe opening or break-out, set by the fire strategy.