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How To Fit Wall And Door Protectors

Doors and wall can easily become damaged by the constant movement of people and trolleys in busy buildings such as hotels, schools, hospitals, banks, supermarkets, airports, offices, postal offices and call centers.

Damage can and will be caused to the inside of buildings and owners, managers and designers are increasingly aware of the risks. Wall and door damage can be a major problems and steps should be taken to eradicate by taking preventative action.

The interior design of your building can be improved by fitting a wall or door protector in addition to being protected from damage. Maintenance budgets can be significantly reduced and the hassle of needing to close a building removed entirely.

The key components of an interior building protection system are door protectors, push plates and kick plates which are used in varying quantities. It is important to carefully select your door and wall protector and ensure that it is fitted in the position where most damage occurs. Different kinds of vehicles will potentially cause damage in different places depending on the width of the passageway and the height of the trolley. To counter this problem it is wise to allow for this by fitting panels that are extra wide.

People can be guided by using different colours in different parts of the building. The partially sighted, in particular, can be greatly helped in this regard. The Contrasting the colours of ends and corners with the rails can help determine doorways and changes of direction. Door furniture such as handles can be highlighted using door plates.

uPVC is ideal for areas such as corridors where traffic may brush against the panels, but rubber is better for areas likely to experience major impact. Rubber provides the additional benefit when compared to metal that the vehicle is protected as well as the building following impact. Fire safety standards must also be adhered to when selecting your material to protect your building from impact and abrasion.

Which wall or door protector to specify may not be immediately evident so, if you are unsure which application is best suited for your needs, please contact an expert.

Correct installation is probably as important as selection of the wall and door protection itself. A badly fitted system will let you down eventually.

How to Install

Carefully position the wall and door protector at the correct height and draw a line on the surface which should be clean, dry, free from grease and dirt and primed.

Wallpapers, where fitted, should be cut back and the wall surface primed to ensure adhesion. Measure and trim the strip to the correct size, chamfer the rough edge, remove the backing paper and carefully apply pressure across the entire surface to fix.

If a surface is in disrepair then adhesive mastic may be a good alternative to double sided tape.