5 Tips for Choosing the Perfect Access Door to Gain the Most Benefits

Every access door offers numerous benefits. However, you must buy the best access doors to utilize and maximize these benefits. Here are five tips to determine the right access panel for your commercial space.

Tip#1 – Determine the Access Door’s Purpose

More than five types of access doors are available in the market now. Some are for general purposes, while others have specific functions and follow particular codes and guidelines. Thus, before buying an access door, you must determine how and where to use it. Are you looking for an access door to hide essential documents, wiring, or HVAC units and systems? Does it need to have certifications such as LEED and NFPA? It would help if you determined their primary purpose and functionalities to guarantee that the selected access door is perfect for your needs.

For example, you want a fire-rated room in your building and have installed fire-rated walls and doors. In this case, you must have ire-rated access doors, not general-purpose access panels.

Tip #2 – Consider your Business’ Nature and Location

The nature of your business also plays a vital role in choosing the best access door for your building, as they need protection from any unauthorized access and electrical and fire accidents.

For example, if you have a restaurant business running 24/7, you must ensure proper ventilation and fire protection. Restaurants are prone to getting fire due to the heat, smoke, and other combustible materials found in the kitchen. The oil and grease build-up can also affect your restaurant's safety. They are significant hazards that can quickly turn into fire and spread once they reach their boiling temperature.

Apart from that, you also need to consider the location of the building. What other establishments are surrounding it? Can it get natural ventilation, or do you need to add roof hatches for natural light and air to get in? By answering these questions, you can quickly determine the type of access door you need, whether it is a roof hatch, fire-rated, or drywall access panel.

Tip #3 – Check the Access Door’s Materials

Most access doors nowadays have materials and designs distinct from each other. Some models are steel-made, while others have plastic or drywall as their primary material. Picking suitable materials ensure their longevity. In addition to that, there are access panels that promote 100% sustainability and safety. Thus, as much as possible, select those access panels that not only conceal the inside components but also keep your building from excessive repair bookings and fire emergencies for years.

Tip #4 – Check for Alternatives

Undoubtedly, access doors and panels are great investments. They can conceal important things, serves as an additional storage area, and protects cables and units from the weather, people, and rodents. However, their features and benefits are expensive, especially those that fall into specific categories that strictly follow the NFPA codes and LEED guidelines. Thus, only purchase what your commercial space needs: general-purpose doors in areas that simply need quick access to your HVAC system.

Buy fire-rated if the site requires fire-rated access doors. Install a PFI fire-rated insulated access door with a flange if your commercial building needs a fire-rated access door to meet local and national requirements. It's a certified standard fire-rated access panel that can prevent the spread of fire for up to 3 hours.

Utilize insulated access panels to reduce the noise from your systems and machines, such as generators. Or, if you are renovating your space and adding different wall surfaces, use a DW drywall panel, an easy-install access panel that best fits to hide valuables, cables, wirings, and other components essential to the building.

Tip#5 – Know Where to Buy

After knowing the tips on how to choose the perfect access door, the next thing that you must do is check the suppliers, which is very crucial to the process. If you fail to get a reliable supplier, your business establishment might end up with low-quality and undependable access panels instead of enjoying the benefits of access doors. Thus, only place an order to suppliers with proven track records in the construction industry, especially in providing access doors with high-quality materials.

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Access Doors and Panels boast a vast collection of trusted brands from superior quality and engineered-for-longevity access doors and panels! We offer customization and other safety enhancements on almost all our products upon request!

On top of that, our handy product experts, whose hands-on experience, industry knowledge, and years of experience in the market, are ready to answer your questions.

Call us at 1-(800) 609-2917. Do you still have any questions but are still trying to decide what to ask first? Visit our blog page.