The Importance of Secure Doors in a Commercial Building
Guest post by Brian Jeffries
Although it may seem like common sense, having secure doors is an extremely important aspect of operating a commercial building. Unfortunately, this is a reminder that many building owners need to hear, as inadequate doors in some multi-million-dollar facilities make it far too easy for an incident to occur. Whatever facility type you currently have or are designing, keep reading as we highlight five of the top reasons for installing secure doors in a commercial building.
1. Safety of the Occupants
Secure doors keep occupants in your building safe from exterior threats. While it may seem obvious, the point can’t be reiterated enough in the wake of the myriad of tragedies that have been in the national news. Some potential ways that fortifying a commercial building with secure doors can improve your business include:
- The peace of mind that security allows occupants to focus more on their tasks
- A strong selling point when attempting to attract and retain either employees or tenants
- Increased resale value of the property
The safety of occupants is the #1 reason to invest in secure doors for your commercial facility, and it is critical to partner with an industry leading provider such as Hager Companies to provide first-rate door hardware and access control.
2. Deters Crime
Hand-in-hand with ensuring the safety of occupants is the power that secure doors can have in deterring people with harmful intentions. When plotting a crime, malefactors will often scope out a building weeks in advance in search of a potential breach. More often than not, their entry point is a door that they know to be weak, unlocked, or regularly propped open.
When they case the building and see nothing but solid steel doors with credentialed access, it can throw a serious wrench in their criminal designs. Not only will secure doors keep criminals from getting in, but also they will likely deter them from even trying.
3. Protects Against Natural Disasters
A close second in the national news to the tragedies transpiring across the country is the increase of unprecedented weather events. From massive flooding in Yellowstone to oppressive heat waves in the south to uncontainable wildfires throughout the southwest, it seems like there is some kind of devastating weather event happening somewhere in the world on a daily basis. While a secure door may not be able to protect the entire building when a force of nature strikes, such doors will definitely reinforce one of the building’s potential weak spots by strengthening the building envelope and making the facility more airtight and water resistant. This can mitigate overall damage caused by the severe weather event and help businesses remain operational once the weather abates.
4. Energy Efficiency
Heat will always follow the path of least resistance to move from areas of high temperature to areas of low temperature. In many cases, this path of least resistance can be found at the door and its framing, causing the air conditioning to run in the summer and the heat to go into overdrive in the winter. By replacing inferior exterior doors or updating the gasketing and thresholds, building owners can create a more airtight structure and reduce energy consumption and utility bills in the process.
5. Provide an Aesthetic Lift to the Building
Despite the improved safety, there is a tendency to assume that secure doors will give a building a cold, utilitarian appearance. While this may have been the case 20 years ago, the most innovative security doors today can be manufactured in a way that complements the exterior aspect of any building type. As a result, you can get all the elite safety benefits without sacrificing aesthetics in the process.
Five Critical Reasons to Install Secure Doors in a Commercial Building
Although all building owners would agree that secure doors are an important component of their facility, relatively few actually follow through on making secure doors a reality. However, a greater sense of urgency is needed in this regard. By improving the safety of the occupants, deterring criminals, protecting against fire and natural disasters, curbing energy consumption, and providing an aesthetic lift to the building, secure doors can have numerous transformative effects on a commercial property.
If you have been dragging your feet on upgrading your doors and hardware upgrade, contact the professionals at Hager Companies for a consultation today!
Brian Jeffries is the content director for the Innovative Building Materials blog and a content writer for the building materials industry. He is focused on helping fellow homeowners, contractors, and architects discover materials and methods of construction that save money, improve energy efficiency, and increase property value.
