Houston Commercial Construction: Choosing the Right Doors

When starting your Houston commercial construction project, you’re probably thinking about a lot of different things, from layouts and materials to deadlines and budgets. It surprises many people how early on door selection comes up in the design process. Your commercial doors are important, so be sure to find the ones that are perfect for your facility!

What Phase of Houston Commercial Construction Includes Choosing Doors?

Blueprint and partial building model for Houston commercial construction

Knowing which doors you want for your building helps us create the right openings in the design for your Houston commercial construction project.

Now, doors might be the least of your concerns when it comes to your Houston commercial construction project. However, the problem is you must choose your exterior doors during the design process. 

Why is this? Because door size affects design documents and drawings. Our specialists must ensure that we make openings tall and wide enough to fit the doors you choose. 

Therefore, we recommend at least picking out exterior doors early on in the process. You can look at interior doors during this time or do it a little later. Just keep in mind that the longer you wait to choose different elements, there’s a potential that your project could end up on hold while waiting for building materials like interior doors to arrive.

You might be thinking, “isn’t there just a standard size you can use and then choose the exact doors later?” The problem is that doors in commercial buildings can vary by size by quite a lot. 

The International Building Code determines commercial door size. Most commercial buildings must use doors that are between 32 and 48 inches wide and at least 80 inches tall. While your average commercial door is typically 36 by 80 inches, this isn’t exactly a “standard size.” Therefore, it’s best to choose your doors early so you’re not limited later on in the Houston design build process by the opening size.

Types of Doors to Consider for your Commercial Building

Our Houston commercial construction contractor can help you find the perfect doors for your building. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. 

Some things you should consider before choosing exterior doors for your new commercial building are security, safety, durability, cost, and look. 

Naturally, exterior doors are one of the first things people see for your building, so they need to look attractive and professional. 

However, perhaps more importantly, they also need to be safe and secure. Doors are some of the most underrated and important pieces of maintaining commercial security. They help keep unwanted people out! They also let people out of your building during an emergency, so you also want to make sure they’re safe. 

Don’t forget to factor in durability and cost. You want doors that can stand up to a lot of use, last a long time, and fit your budget

There are a few different common door types to use in Houston commercial construction. For example, roll up steel doors are common for industrial facilities and warehouses, because they offer a large opening to accommodate equipment like forklifts. By contrast, retail stores typically choose glass and metal doors that let people see inside to help pull them in to make a purchase. 

Door material is an important choice. Metal doors offer extra durability, security, and are often fire rated. They also tend to be quite cost-effective. 

However, if you don’t have high security needs, glass is an attractive option. Glass doors are usually made of security glass. This helps reduce the risk of breakage.

Wood doors aren’t typically used for commercial buildings because they tend to be less secure and may not withstand heavy use in a commercial building.

Premier Houston Design Build Firm for Commercial and Industrial Construction Services

Need a new building? We’re a leading construction contractor with turnkey solutions for you! Our team at GRA – Gulf Coast Construction helps with every phase of your project, from land acquisition and building design to project completion. We’ve completed countless projects, from concrete tilt-wall construction to Houston metal building construction. No matter what type of project, we can help! Your complete satisfaction is our goal and commitment. Call us now at (713) 934-7797 to schedule a free consultation with our experts!

This entry was posted in Commercial Construction, Design Build, Houston Construction Services. Bookmark the permalink.