As you’ll have seen from our series of blog posts, there’s a lot involved in finding the right door for your business. When you think that you have to take into account security and safety as well as many aesthetic and logistic considerations, choosing the right door can be a big decision.
Safety features
You need your door to provide a lot for you and your business. This is why a custom-built door, with safety in mind, is likely to be your best option. Even a standard security door, designed to protect the business from intruders, can be modified to protect the users too.
This can include integrating some panic hardware to create an emergency exit, installing anti-trap features to keep fingers safe from moving parts, including vision panels for visibility, and louvres to improve airflow, while at the same time keeping bad weather out.
Fire safety and fire exit doors
It’s good when choosing a door to make sure you are familiar with the difference between fire safety doors and fire exit doors.
Fire safety doors will often be internal doors and used to slow the spread of a fire throughout a building. These have to be kept closed and come with fire resistance ratings that indicate how long they will hold fire back for in case of an emergency.
Fire exit doors, however, are external doors. They are used for quick and easy exit from a building in case of an emergency. These can be left open, provided they are not propped open with a trip hazard, and they also do not need to be fire-resistant – although they can be.
As you’ll be aware, a fire exit needs to be easy to open, but should not compromise on security in any way. Make sure you find a solution with adequate locking systems, such as anti-pick and anti-snap locks.
Insurance-approved steel doors
It’s a horrible experience to arrive at your business premises to discover you have had a break-in. It’s even worse if you then discover that your insurance company will not cover you because of a condition in your policy, related to your style of door.
There are such things as insurance-approved security doors available. You will need to find a manufacturer who can supply them and make sure that you discuss your exact requirements with them.
Most door manufacturers will have a warehouse of stock steel doors ready to be installed the moment you call. These are often at a lower price point than bespoke doors so make sure you are getting everything you need from your door before ordering. Sometimes a bigger spend initially can mean that the door lasts you much longer and suits your needs better.
If you need any advice on which type of door is best for your business or you would like us to visit your premises to give you a quotation on keeping your business safe, please just get in touch.