Coverage across County Durham
From large town centres to quiet villages, entrances across County Durham vary a great deal, and the right approach to automatic swing doors varies with them. A surgery door used by patients with walking frames needs different settings from a supermarket entrance, so the engineer looks at the actual door first. The towns we list in this area currently number 13.
Towns listed in County Durham: Darlington, Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, Chester-le-Street, Billingham, Stanley, Consett, Newton Aycliffe, Bishop Auckland, Seaham, Peterlee, Spennymoor.
What to think about for automatic swing doors in County Durham
- Doors on escape routes in County Durham usually open in the direction of escape. If the current door opens the other way, the survey will flag whether it should be changed before the operator is fitted.
- Toilet and changing room doors used by disabled people may suit a low-energy operator instead. The survey compares the options based on how busy the door is and who uses it.
- External swing doors facing the wind need stronger operators and careful set-up. On exposed sites across County Durham, consider whether a canopy or a sliding door would work better.
- Double doors with rebated meeting edges need operators that open and close in sequence. The engineer sets this up so the leaves never clash or leave a gap when closed.
- Office buildings in County Durham with access control can have doors that open automatically in working hours and only for card holders after hours, using a timer and the existing reader.
Automatic swing doors in County Durham: guide prices
The site survey is free, including the measured drawing and a fixed, itemised written quote. Guide price: from £2,495 ex VAT.
| Item | Guide price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full-energy operator on an existing single door, with safety sensors | £2,495 – £3,995 | installed, ex VAT |
| Operators on an existing pair of doors | £3,795 – £6,495 | installed, ex VAT |
| New single automatic swing door set (door, frame and operator) | £3,495 – £6,495 | installed, ex VAT |
| New double automatic swing door set | £7,995 – £9,995 | installed, ex VAT |
| Touch-free switch or push pad, fitted | £145 – £395 | per switch, ex VAT |
| Card or fob reader tied into the door | £795 – £2,495 | per door, ex VAT |
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.
Under the Equality Act 2010, service providers and employers must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, which can include altering a physical feature such as a heavy entrance door. New entrances and some alterations count as building work, so check with building control before the work is ordered.
How it works
- Tell us about the entrance. Send the address, a few photos and a rough size of the opening, and say how the door is used. That is enough for us to suggest options for automatic swing doors and book a survey in County Durham.
- Free site survey. A specialist engineer working under our management measures the opening, checks the frame, floor, head height and power, and talks through how people use the entrance. There is no charge and no obligation.
- Fixed written quote. You receive a fixed, itemised written quote with the specification, lead time, payment stages and warranty terms. The price does not change unless the scope does, and any change is agreed in writing first.
- Installation and handover. The door is fitted on the agreed dates, then set up, tested and documented with reference to BS EN 16005. You are shown the controls and the simple checks to make, and receive the handover paperwork.
Book a free survey in County Durham, and an engineer will check your doors, hinges and fire labels and recommend the right operator.
Automatic swing doors in County Durham: questions
Can our existing doors in County Durham be automated?
Usually, if the doors, hinges and frames are in good condition. The survey checks the door weight, the hinges, what the operator will fix to and what sits in the swing path. Where a door is too worn, we will say so and quote a new doorset with the operator fitted instead.
What do you charge for automatic swing doors in County Durham?
Our guide starts from £2,495 excluding VAT (per door), the same guide price we use across the UK. The free site survey in County Durham confirms the price as a fixed, itemised written quote, and the guide price tool gives you a range before anyone visits.
Do you fit low-energy operators in County Durham as well?
Yes. Where a door is quieter and used mainly by people who need help opening it, a low-energy operator may be the better choice, as long as a risk assessment shows it is suitable. We compare full-energy and low-energy at the survey and explain the difference in the quote.
What paperwork do we get for automated doors in County Durham?
You receive the test record, a site-specific risk assessment, user instructions and the conformity paperwork for each door. When an existing manual door is motorised, whoever does it may take on the manufacturer's duties for the finished door, so the Declaration of Conformity and instructions are handed over at the end of the job.
What should I send before the survey in County Durham?
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 swing doors together more easily.
Do you service doors in County Durham 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.
Do businesses in County Durham 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.