Garage personnel doors
The side door is the cheapest option on the list and the one customers thank us for most often.
A personnel door is an ordinary hinged door fitted to the side or back of a garage, so you can walk in without opening the main door. It's sometimes called a side door or a garage back door. Nucrete fits them into the panel run as the building is made, in the position you specify.
If you are going to use the garage for anything other than parking, this is the option we'd tell you to add first.
Why fit a personnel door?
Because opening a full up and over door to fetch a spade is a nuisance, and after a few months people stop doing it. A garage you can't get into easily quietly turns into a garage you don't use.
There's a practical side too. If the garage is at the end of a drive with a car parked on it, the main door may be blocked half the time. A side door means the building stays usable regardless of what's on the drive. And in bad weather, a door you can open with one hand while carrying something matters more than you'd think.
Where should the personnel door go?
Ideally on the side nearest the path you actually walk from the house, and away from the boundary so the door has somewhere to swing. People often put it at the back corner, which keeps it out of sight from the road and lands you near the bench end of the building.
Tell us which side and roughly where along it when you order. As with windows, the opening is formed as the panels are made rather than cut afterwards, so this needs deciding before the building goes into production.
Does a side door make the garage less secure?
Not meaningfully, provided it's a decent door and it's locked. A personnel door has a proper lock and a frame fixed into the concrete structure, and it's a smaller, better-defended opening than the main door.
What does cause problems is leaving it on a latch because it's convenient, or fitting a glazed door on a blind side of the building where someone can work unobserved. If the door won't be overlooked, choose a solid one.
Can I add one to an existing garage?
To an existing Nucrete garage, sometimes — it depends on the panel run and where you want it. Call us free on 0800 849 9036 and describe the building and we'll tell you honestly whether it's practical.
It is always cheaper and cleaner to specify it at the point of order. Forming an opening in a panel that's already standing is a different job to making the panel with an opening in it.
Personnel door questions, answered
What is a personnel door on a garage?
It's a standard hinged door fitted to the side or rear of the garage so you can walk in without lifting the main door. Also called a side door or a garage back door.
Do I need a personnel door?
If the garage is purely for parking, no. If you'll use it as a workshop, for the mower and the bins, or if a parked car often blocks the main door, it's the option most owners are gladdest they added.
Which way should the door open?
Outwards is usual on a garage, because it frees the internal wall for shelving or a bench. We'll check the swing against your boundary and path when you tell us the position.
Can I have a window in the personnel door?
Glazed doors are available, but think about where the door sits first. On a side that isn't overlooked, a solid door is the better choice.
How much does a personnel door add to the price?
It's one of the smaller options on the list — size and roof style change the price far more. Request the price list to see the figures for your delivery area.
More options: up and over doors · garage windows · all garage options
Written and reviewed by the Nucrete team. Nucrete has manufactured concrete garages in its Bradford factory for over 45 years, installing more than 1,100 buildings a year with its own teams. Call free on 0800 849 9036.