Shop Front Doors: Choosing the right shop front

Shop front doors are one of those things that whenever you notice them, probably it’s because you’re bothered by them. As much as they seem almost invisible, they’re able to separate rooms (permanently or not), provide comfort and safety to your clients and natural lighting to your space.

So, with all this being said, it’s important to incorporate a door system that is simple, efficient, that tends to your business’ needs and that doesn’t require expensive maintenance. Here are a few options. 

Option 1: Automatic Shop Front Doors

Automatic doors are the best option for places in which there’s a heavy flow of customers because they allow the clients to flow in and out of the building without any hassle or retention.

They’re a good idea for businesses like supermarkets or major hardware stores as well. Why? Because usually customers coming out of a business like these are either pushing a shopping cart or carrying many shopping bags. So, if there are automatic doors on their way, this means they won’t need to push the doors for themselves when they’re already loaded.

Automatic shop front doors are a simple way to give your clients a little comfort. In addition, they also offer barrier sensors that avoid hurting any person passing by and an operating system that works in case of an emergency power blackout. 

Automatic Sliding Doors

These shop front doors are perfect to create a smooth transition between indoor and outdoor, allowing two-way traffic. But, unfortunately, they’re not suitable for every space: since the doors need room to slide towards the sizes, only wider entrances are able to fit them. 

Automatic Swinging Doors

The swinging shop front doors are also made of a double-door system, but instead of sliding to the sides, they move inwardly and outwardly. This means that they also allow two-way traffic and, much like the sliding doors, require room to operate.

Although these shop front doors can be a very good call for department stores, maybe using them as an exit straight to a street is not a good idea, since they’re gonna block part of the sidewalk.

Option 2: Bi-folding Doors

These shop front doors are able to open up an inside space and bring natural light in, making it look brighter and more beautiful. They also allow an easy transition from indoor to outdoor spaces, for those businesses with open-air areas. They work wonders in environments like coworking, offices, hotel lobbies and restaurants.

 

Bi-folding doors are made of stainless steel rollers, 2 to 6 pieces of slim aluminium frames (depending on the width of your opening) and are available in many colours and finishes. 

Internal bi-folding doors

These shop front doors are all connected to each other in a way that they can be sledge to the shape of a concertina. This flexibility makes them the perfect way to separate one room from another and still allows both spaces to become one single room when needed. You just have to fold the doors.

The internal bi-folding doors work well for open-space offices where you want to have a meeting room or a separate room for a manager, for an example. Also, in a store, they can be used to divide spaces to sell different products. This is a product that suits both commercial spaces, business centres and private homes.

External bi-folding doors

These shop front doors are very practical to connect indoor spaces with the outdoors and they also occupy less space than normal doors because of its accordion opening. This product’s best features are its ability to let the outdoors in and how much it increases natural lighting, which is always good for smaller spaces.

Also called patio doors, sliding doors or concertina doors, the external bi-folding doors are ideal for restaurants that have access to a patio or garden, hotels, spas and many other types of businesses.

 

At Huxley & Co. we have years of experience as suppliers and installers of shop front doors. We can customise any kind of door to your requirements and add all the essential security features needed. Get in touch and learn more about our portfolio!