Automatic door questions

The cost depends mainly on the type of door and whether you replace the door or automate the one you have. As a guide, a new automatic sliding door is typically £4,495 to £12,995 ex VAT, an automatic swing door is from £2,495 ex VAT and automating a sound existing door is from £1,795 ex VAT (£2,154 inc VAT). Size, glass, safety devices, access control and building work all change the price. The price guide lists every item, and the guide price tool gives a range for your opening.

Yes, for install-type work: new doors, retrofits, drive unit replacement, refurbishment, safety and compliance upgrades, access control, hold-open devices and home door openers. There is no obligation, and you receive a fixed, itemised written quote. Repairs, servicing and safety inspections are paid visits, and we agree the price in writing before an engineer attends. See how it works for each step.

The quote is a fixed, itemised price for the work agreed at the survey. It lists the door or operator, safety sensors, activation devices, locks and access control, any electrical or building work, out-of-hours working if needed, the expected lead time and the warranty terms. If something can only be confirmed once work starts, the quote says so and explains how any change would be priced. Nothing starts until you accept it in writing. See how it works.

Commercial prices are shown excluding VAT, and prices for home door openers are shown including VAT. Some work and equipment for disabled people can qualify for VAT relief where HMRC's conditions are met. If we think relief may apply, we say so on the quote and explain the declaration HMRC asks for, but we cannot promise it, because HM Revenue and Customs sets the rules. The price guide shows the VAT basis for every item.

A repair visit is from £95 ex VAT (£114 inc VAT), and the visit price is agreed in writing before the engineer attends. Parts and further work are quoted before they are done, so the invoice matches what you agreed. We can sometimes price a repair from photos of the door and its make and model, and typical costs for sensors, belts, rollers and control boards are in the price guide.

Usually, yes. If the door, frame and hinges are sound, adding an operator costs far less than a new door set and causes less disruption. As a guide, automating an existing door is from £1,795 ex VAT (£2,154 inc VAT). It is not always possible: a weak frame, a worn or very heavy door or nothing solid to fix to can make a new door the better choice, and the survey tells you which. See automating an existing door.

A site survey is a visit to measure the opening and check everything the door depends on. The engineer looks at the structure the operator and track will fix to, the floor and threshold, the power supply, how many people use the door and who they are, whether it is on an escape route or linked to a fire alarm, and any security or accessibility needs. You then receive a fixed, itemised written quote. See how it works.

It depends on the door. An operator for an existing door is typically ready two to four weeks after you accept the quote, while complete door sets, curved glass and entrance lobbies take longer because they are made to measure. Your quote states the expected lead time. On site, most operator retrofits are fitted in a day, and complete door sets usually take one to three days. See how it works.

Usually, yes. We plan the work to keep a safe entrance open, phase work on pairs of doors or multiple entrances, and schedule noisy or disruptive tasks for quieter times. Evenings, weekends and closed days can be arranged where your building needs it, with any extra cost shown in the quote. How the opening is kept secure overnight is agreed with you before work starts. Our sector pages explain how this works in hospitals, schools, shops and other buildings.

Sometimes. Changing a shop front or external entrance can need planning permission, and listed buildings and conservation areas have extra controls. Building regulations apply to building work, including new entrances, and the details differ in each UK nation. Automating an existing door with little visible change often needs less, but your local authority decides. Our guide to automatic shop doors, planning and listed buildings explains what to check.

A powered door is treated as machinery, so a new or converted automatic door is handed over with a Declaration of Conformity, the correct conformity marking and instructions for use and maintenance. You also receive the safety test results, the site-specific risk assessment, guidance for simple daily checks and a recommended service interval. Keep these with your building records. The glossary explains each document.

BS EN 16005 is the standard for the safety in use of power-operated pedestrian doors. The current edition is BS EN 16005:2023+A1:2024. It covers how doors are designed, which safety devices they need and how they are tested, for sliding, swing, folding and revolving doors. BS 7036-0 is the UK code of practice for risk assessment used alongside it. We set up, test and document doors with reference to both. See BS EN 16005 explained.

No law sets a fixed service interval, but doors in workplaces must be kept maintained and in good working order under a suitable system of maintenance. Regular servicing and a written record are the usual way to show that. We recommend a trained engineer checks the safety functions at least once a year, with intervals set by the manufacturer's instructions and how heavily the door is used. See how often to service automatic doors.

No. Standards are not law in themselves and are not retrospective, so an older door does not become unlawful when a standard is updated. What matters is that the door is safe for the people using it and kept maintained. A safety inspection with a risk assessment shows whether any upgrades would sensibly reduce risk, such as adding presence sensors or side-screen protection, and we quote them separately.

The person or organisation in control of the building, usually the employer, owner, landlord or managing agent, is responsible for keeping the door safe and maintained. Separately, whoever motorises a manual door, or assembles an automatic door from separate parts, may take on the manufacturer's duties for it, including the conformity paperwork and marking. When we install or convert a door, the Declaration of Conformity and instructions are handed over with it. See BS EN 16005 explained.

A risk assessment is a site-specific check of who uses a door, how it is used and where someone could be crushed, struck, trapped or have a hand drawn into a gap. It records the safety measures in place and any that are needed, with particular attention to children, older people and disabled people. It follows BS 7036-0 alongside BS EN 16005. See what an automatic door risk assessment covers.

First make the area safe and check the simple things: the programme switch setting, whether the power is on, whether anything is blocking the door or its floor guide, and whether the sensors are dirty or covered. Do not force the leaves or open the operator cover. If that does not help, send us photos of the door and the operator cover and we will agree a visit price in writing. See automatic door not working.

Yes. We repair, service and inspect automatic doors of most makes, whoever installed them, including sliding, swing, folding and revolving doors. A photo of the operator cover and any label on the door helps us identify it before the visit. Parts for some older drive units can be hard to find, and where that is the case we explain the options and quote them before doing anything. See automatic door repairs.

A service visit is a planned check and adjustment of the whole door. The engineer tests the safety sensors and devices, checks and adjusts speeds and forces, inspects and cleans the track, rollers, belt and floor guides, checks locks, switches and any fire alarm link, and leaves a written service report. Repairs found during the visit are quoted before they are done. See automatic door servicing.

Service intervals are set by the manufacturer's instructions and how heavily the door is used, as no law sets a fixed interval. We recommend a trained engineer checks the safety functions at least once a year, and busy doors such as shop, hospital and office entrances are often serviced more often. Between visits, someone on site should carry out simple regular checks and keep a record. See how often to service automatic doors.

Yes. If a part has to be ordered, the engineer leaves the door in the safest state available, for example locked open, switched to manual, or locked shut where there is another way in and out, and explains what has been done. The cost of the part and the return visit is quoted before we go ahead. See automatic door repairs.

Yes. A service contract covers planned visits to one door or every automatic door in a building or portfolio, including doors of different makes. The contract price is agreed in writing before the first visit, each visit is recorded in a service report, and any repairs found are quoted before they are done. As a guide, a service visit is from £145 ex VAT (£174 inc VAT). See automatic door servicing.

Not as such. Service providers and employers have duties to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people under the Equality Act 2010 in England, Wales and Scotland, and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in Northern Ireland. An automatic door is a common adjustment at entrances. Building regulations guidance also calls for powered doors in some new buildings and building work, for example where an entrance door would otherwise be too heavy to open. See accessibility law and automatic doors.

A low-energy operator is a swing door operator that opens and closes the door slowly and with low force, usually from a push pad or touch-free switch. It is used where a risk assessment shows a low risk to vulnerable users, typically on doors that are not in frequent use, and the door can normally still be opened by hand. Busier doors suit a full-energy operator with safety sensors. See accessible door operators.

Yes. A home door opener is a small motor fitted above a front, back or internal door that opens and closes it from a button, fob, wristband or proximity tag, so a wheelchair user or someone with limited strength can come and go without help. The survey is free, the quote includes VAT, and as a guide one door is typically £1,495 to £2,995 inc VAT. See home door openers.

Sometimes. Disabled Facilities Grants in England, Wales and Northern Ireland can sometimes help pay for door openers in the home; your local council or housing authority decides, and in Northern Ireland grants are run through the Housing Executive. Scotland has no Disabled Facilities Grant, and councils help through their Scheme of Assistance. Help is means-tested, usually follows an occupational therapist's assessment and must be approved before work starts. See home automatic door openers.

A push pad should be easy to see and reach from a wheelchair, and placed so the door does not swing into the person pressing it. Building regulations guidance in England, Wales and Scotland places manual controls between 750 mm and 1000 mm above the floor and expects them to contrast with the wall behind. We mark proposed positions at the survey and agree them with you. See touch-free and push-button activation.

It depends on how the door is set up. Many automatic doors can be pushed or slid open by hand when the power is off, some open and stay open, and doors on escape routes are set up to give a safe way out. A battery backup can keep a door working, or let it open fully, for a limited time. We explain how your door behaves at handover. See power cuts and fire alarms.

The door does whatever the building's fire strategy requires. Doors on escape routes are usually set to open and stay open, or to break out, while doors that form part of fire or smoke compartments are set to close, and electric locks release where the strategy requires it. Fire doors that are held open must close automatically when the alarm operates. See fire door hold-open devices.

Only if it is designed and set up for it. Doors on escape routes must let people out safely in an emergency, so automatic doors on those routes are set up to open, break out or be openable by hand, as the fire strategy requires. In England and Wales, fire safety law also says sliding or revolving doors must not be used for exits specifically intended as emergency exits. See break-out escape route doors.

Yes, when they are set up for it. In night mode an automatic door closes and locks, usually with an electromechanical lock in the operator, and staff can open it with a key switch, keypad, card or fob. Access control and timers can change the mode automatically. Exit from the inside is arranged to suit the fire strategy, so nobody is locked in. See access control for automatic doors.

Yes, with equipment made for use on fire doors. A fire door can take a swing door operator, a hold-open device or a free-swing closer, provided it still closes when the fire alarm operates and the door, frame and hardware stay suitable for the door's fire rating. We check the door at the survey and agree the arrangement with whoever manages fire safety for the building. See fire door hold-open devices.