Covering Barnstaple and nearby
If your building is in Barnstaple, or anywhere in the EX31 and EX32 postcode districts, we can arrange drive unit replacement. Visits are booked with you in advance, timed around opening hours where that matters, and carried out by engineers who work under our management.
Libraries, health centres and council buildings in Barnstaple still need accessible entrances, whatever their size. A single automatic door with a push pad or touch-free switch is often enough to give everyone easy access.
Nearby towns we also list for drive unit replacement (straight-line distance): Bideford (7.9 miles), Tiverton (27.5 miles).
What to think about for drive unit replacement in Barnstaple
- Busy retail entrances in Barnstaple may prefer the changeover after closing time or on a quiet trading day. Tell us your hours when you book the survey.
- Ask for the paperwork. A converted door should come with its risk assessment, Declaration of Conformity and user instructions, which belong with your building and maintenance records.
- Business parks and office blocks in Barnstaple with several identical doors can replace operators in phases, keeping at least one entrance open at all times.
- Hospitals and care homes in Barnstaple may need an alternative entrance during the changeover. Plan signs and step-free access for wheelchair users before work starts.
- Battery backup is easier to add with a new drive unit. It lets the door open or close safely in a power cut, which matters most on escape routes.
Drive unit replacement in Barnstaple: guide prices
The site survey is free, including the measured drawing and a fixed, itemised written quote. Guide price: typically £1,995 to £3,995 ex VAT.
| Item | Guide price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New drive unit on an existing automatic sliding door | £1,995 – £3,995 | existing leaves kept, installed, ex VAT |
| New operator on an existing automatic swing door | £1,795 – £3,995 | installed, ex VAT |
| Sensors replaced at the same time | £195 – £495 | per sensor, ex VAT |
Standards and rules in England
Standards are not retrospective, so an older door does not become unlawful when a standard is updated; a site-specific risk assessment shows whether any upgrades are sensible. BS EN 16005 is the current standard for the safety in use of powered pedestrian doors, and BS 7036-0:2014 is the British code of practice for risk assessment and risk reduction used alongside it. Standards are not law in themselves, but they are the recognised benchmark for showing an automatic door is safe to use, and we set up, test and document doors with reference to them.
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
- Get in touch. Call, email or use the form with the address and what you have in mind. If you are not sure which type of door suits, describe the entrance and we will suggest the options worth considering.
- Survey and advice. The survey costs nothing and carries no obligation. The engineer checks the site and explains which options suit the entrance, the people using it and the budget, before anything is priced.
- Quote in writing. You receive a fixed, itemised quote for drive unit replacement in Barnstaple, covering equipment, installation, testing and handover, with the lead time and payment stages set out clearly.
- Install, test, explain. The engineer installs and commissions the door, tests the sensors, safety functions and emergency behaviour, and walks you through the controls. The handover pack records what was installed and tested.
Send the make and model from the operator cover of your door in Barnstaple, and we will arrange a survey at no cost for a replacement drive unit.
Drive unit replacement in Barnstaple: questions
What if the frame of our door in Barnstaple is not worth keeping?
Then we will tell you. Damaged or corroded frames, glass that is not safety glass, or an opening that is too narrow for the people using it are all reasons to choose a new door instead. We can quote both options so you can compare them side by side.
Is there a guide price for drive unit replacement in Barnstaple?
Our guide is £1,995 to £3,995 excluding VAT (per door), the same guide prices we use across the UK. The free site survey in Barnstaple confirms the price as a fixed, itemised written quote, and the guide price tool gives you a range before anyone visits.
Do you provide paperwork for the converted door in Barnstaple?
Yes. When we fit a new drive unit we prepare the paperwork for the finished door, including the risk assessment, Declaration of Conformity and user instructions, and hand it over with the test results and settings. It belongs with your building records.
How long will our entrance in Barnstaple be closed for the changeover?
A standard sliding door changeover typically takes a day, and a swing operator often less. The work can be scheduled early, after closing or at a weekend so it causes less disruption. Your quote shows the planned date and how long the entrance will be out of use.
What should I send before the survey in Barnstaple?
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 drive unit replacement together more easily.
What is the lead time for drive unit replacement in Barnstaple?
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.
Do businesses in Barnstaple 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.