For businesses of any size in Kent and the surrounding area, having safe and suitable premises for the size, current operations, and growth potential of your company are essential. This is true whether you’re choosing an office location, furnishing interiors to reflect a corporate identity, or renovating commercial spaces when you’re scaling up.
Some aspects that are often overlooked are the external garages and parking facilities of a business. From a garage door to safeguard vehicles to the spaces you allocate for staff or customers, this article offers some helpful tips.
Ensure business garages are secure
The most important factor for any business premises and external areas is the safety of anyone visiting your company, whatever industry you’re in or the type of commercial property you’re operating from. As a business owner, you might use a garage as a converted office for remote work or run your own business entirely from home. Whatever its purpose, security is essential and the right garage door can be integral to this to keep your company property and belongings safe.
Employees will want to feel reassured, for example, if they need to leave their vehicle or a company car there overnight. Having the right garage for your business is a worthwhile investment and it’s important to choose a durable door from specialists like Wessex Garage Doors for either a new installation or an upgrade. You’ll want to be confident you’re investing in a secure garage with high specifications that align with your company’s long-term needs.
Invest in a reliable garage door
The first step to finding a reputable garage door company is to look at their previous work and case studies of commercial properties similar to yours. This will give you an idea of the standard of work you can expect. If they’re reluctant to show you these examples, that could be a red flag that their quality of workmanship is not very good.
Some garage companies will install the door and that’s all—but if you run into a problem, this can leave you in a difficult position. The world of garage doors offers more variety than you might think. You can choose from automated or manual, wooden, steel or GRP, and added features like hardware or windows for the garage door. Consider functionality, security or styles, so the aesthetics also tie in with your premises and match in with the type of business property you own or let.
Maintain exterior areas and parking bays
Like your office interiors, the external areas of business premises need to be regularly checked. Parking bays, garages and facilities at businesses must be maintained and safe, allowing for heavy vehicle usage and all passing traffic, which applies to cars, cyclists, and pedestrians alike.
You’ll also want exterior garage doors and property walls to look presentable and professional. Be aware of any ongoing maintenance and repairs they might need. With this in mind, ask garage installers about any warranties they provide, to safeguard your initial purchase. While wear and tear over time is to be expected, you want to know that a business will take responsibility for any other faults.
Prioritise available spots and accessible spaces
While the practical choice of the garage you choose, the doors you opt for, or the number of designated spaces all matter, think about planning vehicle storage and parking around your garages and across the business premises. Think about where any vehicles will be positioned and whether you have the right entry points, enough room for maneuvering, and that you have accessible parking spaces.
If you provide parking as part of your business operations you should make sure to mark one space as a disabled priority spot. If you have a small car park or just a couple of parking spots then you can put signage to indicate it should be considered a priority spot, so it may be used by those without a disability as well. Make it clear to customers on your website or with signs in your business that you can reserve the spot for people with a disability if they want to call ahead.
Choosing a company to work with can be daunting because you’re investing your time and money into their products and services. Thorough research and asking plenty of questions is the key to ensuring that the garage you choose for your business is the right one for your staff, customers and any passing traffic. If you’d like to promote your Kent business, make an announcement, or share your news, please contact us today.