Coverage across the Highlands
From large town centres to quiet villages, entrances across the Highlands vary a great deal, and the right approach to automating an existing door 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 6.
Towns listed in the Highlands: Inverness, Fort William, Nairn, Thurso, Wick, Portree.
What to think about for automating an existing door in the Highlands
- Doors facing the weather in exposed parts of the Highlands are pushed about by wind. The survey checks whether a low-energy operator will cope or a stronger unit is needed.
- Homes in the Highlands with uPVC or composite doors can usually be automated, but the multipoint lock needs to work smoothly first. A stiff lock is best fixed before fitting.
- Shop fronts on high streets in the Highlands often have narrow aluminium frames. The survey checks the transom can carry the operator without flexing, and whether it needs reinforcing.
- Think about how the door is locked. If it is locked by key every night, an electric lock or keep may be worth adding so the door can be secured without switching the operator off.
- Check how the door hangs now. A door that drops, rubs on the floor or needs a shoulder to close will need its hinges or frame sorted before an operator goes on.
Automating an existing door in the Highlands: guide prices
The site survey is free, including the measured drawing and a fixed, itemised written quote. Guide price: from £1,795 ex VAT (£2,154 inc VAT).
| Item | Guide price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Low-energy operator on an existing swing door | £1,795 – £2,995 | installed, ex VAT; homes £2,154 – £3,594 inc VAT |
| Full-energy operator on an existing swing door, with safety sensors | £2,495 – £3,995 | installed, ex VAT; homes £2,994 – £4,794 inc VAT |
| Operators on an existing pair of swing doors | £3,795 – £6,495 | installed, ex VAT; homes £4,554 – £7,794 inc VAT |
| Automating an existing manual sliding door or screen | £2,995 – £5,495 | installed, ex VAT; homes £3,594 – £6,594 inc VAT |
Standards and rules in Scotland
Under the Equality Act 2010, service providers and employers in Scotland must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, which can include altering a physical feature such as a heavy entrance door. Fitting an automatic door helps, but does not on its own guarantee those duties are met.
Scottish building standards guidance (the non-domestic Technical Handbook) expects an accessible entrance door to give a clear opening of at least 800 mm, says powered doors improve accessibility as long as they add no new hazard, and expects signage, sensors that hold the door open long enough, and guarding against collision or entrapment.
Whoever motorises a manual door, or builds an automatic door from separate parts, may take on the manufacturer’s legal duties for the finished door: a risk assessment, a technical file kept available for the authorities, a Declaration of Conformity, the conformity marking and instructions. You receive the Declaration of Conformity and the instructions at handover. 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.
How it works
- Describe what you need. Whether the job is automating an existing door for a busy entrance or for a single internal door, a brief description and some photos let us understand it and plan a survey visit in the Highlands.
- Free visit to the site. An engineer working under our management assesses the opening, the existing door and frame, the floor and the electrical supply, and notes any access, consent or timing issues to plan around.
- Your fixed quotation. The quote is fixed for the work it describes and lists each item, including any removal, making good and electrical work. It also states the lead time, the payment stages and the warranty terms.
- Fitting and sign-off. Work goes ahead on dates agreed with you. Once fitted, the door is adjusted and its safety functions are tested and recorded with reference to BS EN 16005, and you are shown how to use it.
Tell us about the door, how it is used and who uses it, and we will plan a retrofit for your building in the Highlands.
Automating an existing door in the Highlands: questions
Can you look after the door in the Highlands once it is automated?
Yes. We can arrange servicing at intervals that suit how much the door is used, with the operator, safety devices and hinges checked and a written record left. Each visit has its price confirmed in writing before an engineer attends.
Can you give me a price for automating an existing door in the Highlands?
Our guide starts from £1,795 excluding VAT (per door), the same guide price we use across the UK. For homes that is from £2,154 including VAT. The free site survey in the Highlands confirms the price as a fixed, itemised written quote, and the guide price tool gives you a range before anyone visits.
Can you automate the existing doors at our building in the Highlands?
In most cases, yes. We check each door at a free survey, including the hinges, frame, glass, locks and power, and then quote a fixed price. If a door is not a good candidate, we explain why and what it would take to fix it, or quote a replacement instead.
How long will our door in the Highlands be out of use?
Usually half a day to a day per door. Where hinges, locks or glass are being changed as well, it can take longer. We plan the work so the building stays usable, and agree any out-of-hours working in the quote.
Is there a warranty on automating an existing door?
Yes. The warranty terms for the equipment and the installation are set out in your written quote, so you can see exactly what is covered before you accept. Keeping the door serviced at the recommended intervals helps keep it in good order, and the quote explains any conditions that apply to the warranty.
What is the lead time for automating an existing door in the Highlands?
Lead times depend on the door type and what has to be made to order. As a guide, operators and accessible door kits are typically two to four weeks from order, and complete sliding entrances typically four to eight weeks from drawing approval. Curved, revolving and hermetic doors usually take longer. The expected lead time is stated in your quote.
Who is responsible for automatic doors on escape routes in the Highlands?
The person responsible for fire safety under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 for those premises. Scottish guidance allows automatic doors on escape routes only where they fail safely to outward opening or have a monitored fail-safe system that opens them on power failure, sensor failure and fire alarm.