Coverage across Oxfordshire
Coverage for break-out escape route doors extends across all of Oxfordshire, including addresses some distance from the towns listed below. We are the contracting party, the engineers work under our management, and the price is agreed in writing first. If your town is not among the 6 we list, contact us anyway; the process and guide prices do not change.
Towns listed in Oxfordshire: Oxford, Banbury, Abingdon, Bicester, Didcot, Witney.
What to think about for break-out escape route doors in Oxfordshire
- Older entrances on high streets in Oxfordshire may have uneven thresholds or sloping pavements. Break-out leaves need a level floor and solid fixing for the bottom pivots, and correcting that can add a day to the work.
- Work on a busy entrance in Oxfordshire is often best done early in the morning, in the evening or over a weekend. Any out-of-hours working is agreed and priced in the written quote rather than added later.
- A break-out door needs a dedicated fused spur and, where the strategy relies on it opening without mains power, a battery unit. If there is no supply near the head of the door, an electrician will need to run one.
- Hospitals and clinics in Oxfordshire often want break-out entrances tied into the building management and fire alarm systems. Allow time for the alarm contractor to provide a signal and for the estates team to approve the interface.
- Get hold of the fire strategy, or ask your fire risk assessor, before the survey. Knowing whether the door must slide open on alarm, break out, or both, saves a second visit and a revised quote.
Break-out escape route doors in Oxfordshire: guide prices
The site survey is free, including the measured drawing and a fixed, itemised written quote. Guide price: from £7,995 ex VAT.
| Item | Guide price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Break-out sliding door set for an escape route | from £7,995 | installed, ex VAT; typically up to £16,995 |
| Converting an existing sliding door to break-out | Priced on survey | depends on the frame, leaves and operator |
| Battery backup for power-cut operation | £395 – £695 | per door, ex VAT |
| Touch-free switch or push pad, fitted | £145 – £395 | per switch, ex VAT |
Standards and rules in England
In England, fire safety law says sliding or revolving doors must not be used for exits specifically intended as emergency exits. Break-out sliding doors are used where an entrance also forms part of an escape route, as the fire strategy allows. Whether a break-out door is suitable is decided by the fire strategy for the building and the responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
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
- 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 break-out escape route doors and book a survey in Oxfordshire.
- 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.
Tell us about the building in Oxfordshire, its footfall and its fire alarm, and we will plan a break-out door around them, starting with a free site visit.
Break-out escape route doors in Oxfordshire: questions
We have an old sliding door in Oxfordshire. Do we have to replace all of it?
Not always. If the frame and operator can take break-out leaves and parts are still available, a conversion may be possible. If the door is older or its parts are unsupported, replacing the whole entrance is usually more reliable. The survey looks at both and the quote explains the difference.
What is the guide price for break-out escape route doors in Oxfordshire?
Our guide starts from £7,995 excluding VAT (per door set), the same guide price we use across the UK. The free site survey in Oxfordshire confirms the price as a fixed, itemised written quote, and the guide price tool gives you a range before anyone visits.
How long will our entrance in Oxfordshire be out of use?
Usually one to three days on site, depending on the size of the opening and any building or electrical work. Where the entrance is the only way in, we plan the sequence so a temporary door or a partly open entrance can be kept, and agree any out-of-hours working in the quote.
Do you install break-out sliding doors in Oxfordshire?
Yes. We arrange surveys and installations in Oxfordshire through specialist automatic door engineers working under our management. We supply the complete entrance, set it up to the fire strategy you give us, test it in every mode and hand over the records. The survey is free and the quote is fixed.
How are payments structured for work in Oxfordshire?
Payment stages are set out in the quote before you accept it. Larger or made-to-order jobs may involve a deposit and a balance on completion, while smaller jobs may be invoiced once the work is finished. Nothing is charged for the survey itself, and the terms you accept are the terms that apply.
What should I send before the survey in Oxfordshire?
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 break-out escape route doors together more easily.
Do businesses in Oxfordshire 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.