On an industrial site the most-used small building is usually the one at the gate: security, weighbridge, dispatch. Those cabins have requirements nothing else on the site shares — they need to see in every direction, they are occupied continuously, and they sit in the open with vehicles passing within a metre.
A cabin that has to see in every direction
A gate office exists to watch what comes and goes, so it usually needs glazing on three or four sides rather than one.
That conflicts with everything else: heat, security and structural support all want solid wall.
So the resolution is glass above desk height on the sides that need sightlines and solid below, which also protects the vulnerable part. That combination gives a seated person a clear view and keeps the cabin from being a glass box on a hot open site.
Glazing a metre from moving vehicles
Vehicles pass gate cabins closely and occasionally touch them, and toughened glass is vulnerable at its edges rather than its face.
So the exposed corner nearest the traffic is the point that fails.
We protect that specifically with a kerb or a bollard rather than specifying heavier glass throughout. It costs a fraction of the panel it protects, and on a gate that sees trucks daily it is the difference between glass that lasts and glass that is replaced annually.
A cabin occupied around the clock
A gate office is manned continuously, often by one person through the night, and that changes what it needs.
It wants a door that latches properly from inside, a window that opens for speaking without opening the door, and glazing that does not mirror at night so somebody inside can still see out.
That last one is the commonly missed detail: a brightly lit cabin at night becomes a mirror from the inside, and the person in it can see nothing. Lighting placement solves it, and it has to be thought about.
How the job works
- Tell us about the jobSend a few photos, rough sizes and what you need. Use WhatsApp or the form. For a repair, a short video of the door moving helps a lot.
- We call you back in about 2 minutesWe confirm what you need and a time to visit. Where we can, we give you a rough price on the call.
- We come and measureWe measure the opening and check the walls, floor and ceiling around it. Anything made to size is made to these measurements, so they must be right.
- You get a written priceIt lists each item, with GST as its own line. If anything about the job changes, we tell you before we go ahead.
- We fit itYou approve the price and pay the advance. Our own team fits the work, checks that every door and window opens and closes properly, and clears up. Most jobs are done in 3 to 4 days.
