Clinic shopfronts have a different job from a shop window. Patients arrive unwell, on crutches, in wheelchairs or carrying children, and the entrance has to let them in easily, keep the waiting room cool and clean, and protect privacy behind the glass. Coetz™ makes aluminium and frameless shopfronts for clinics, day hospitals, pharmacies, dental and medical suites, physiotherapy rooms and veterinary practices at our workshop in Laser Park, Johannesburg, and MC Automations, our parent company, measures and installs them.
Outside Gauteng, MC Automations installs shopfronts in major cities and towns across South Africa, including Cape Town, Durban, Gqeberha, Bloemfontein, East London, Polokwane, Nelspruit, Pietermaritzburg, Richards Bay, George, Rustenburg, Kimberley, Witbank, Klerksdorp, Potchefstroom, Mthatha, Port Shepstone, Newcastle, Secunda, Tzaneen, Welkom, Upington, Mahikeng, Middelburg, Ermelo, Ladysmith, Kokstad, Queenstown, Oudtshoorn, Worcester, Hermanus, Mossel Bay, Musina, Bethlehem, Kroonstad, Harrismith, Vryheid, Graaff-Reinet, Paarl, Thohoyandou, Lephalale, Bela-Bela, Vryburg. In the Vaal Triangle, see aluminium shopfronts Vereeniging.
MC Automations already installs and services automatic doors in hospitals, including theatre and ward doors at Life Wilgeheuwel Hospital, so the same team that understands hospital traffic fits your frontage. You can price a framed frontage yourself in the online estimator.
In this guide
What clinic shopfronts must do
- Open without hands: an automatic entrance means patients never touch a handle, which helps infection control and lets someone on crutches walk straight in.
- Give a wide clear opening: wheelchairs, walking frames, prams and the occasional stretcher all need room. Plan at least a double-leaf opening at the main entrance.
- Clean easily: powder-coated aluminium wipes down with mild detergent and has no grain or paint to trap dirt.
- Stay safe: 6.38 mm laminated safety glass holds together if broken; toughened glass is used where the design specifies it.
- Protect privacy: obscure or frosted glass in the panes in front of consulting rooms, with clear glass at the reception so the practice still looks open.
- Keep working: the MC-125 automatic sliding door has battery backup, so the entrance still opens during load shedding.
Entrance doors for clinics and pharmacies
The door choice for clinic shopfronts matters more than anywhere else, because the people coming through are often the least able to push a heavy door.
Automatic sliding doors
The best main entrance for clinic shopfronts is an automatic sliding door. It opens in a second, needs no swing space, and closes behind patients to keep the air-conditioning in and the dust out. We build the frontage around the MC-125 automatic sliding door system, R27 590 excluding VAT, which includes sensors, remotes, battery backup and an electric lock, for openings 1 600 to 6 000 mm wide and 1 800 to 3 500 mm high. The lock means the practice is secured the moment the last patient leaves.
Automatic swing doors
Inside the practice, or where a frontage is too narrow for a sliding door, a hinged door can be automated with the MCW-100 automatic swing door operator, from R15 900 excluding VAT. It suits consulting-room corridors, side entrances and pharmacy dispensaries, and can be set to open on a push button or a sensor.
Pivot doors
A pivot door gives a smaller private practice, such as a dental or cosmetic clinic, a calm, upmarket entrance. Our aluminium pivot doors start at R10 494 excluding VAT in 1 200 and 1 500 mm widths; frameless glass pivot doors are quoted per project.
Hinged doors
Single and double aluminium hinged doors are the economical choice for staff entrances, store rooms and practices with light traffic. Double doors open wide when equipment needs to come in.
Clinic shopfronts prices
Framed clinic shopfronts are priced per square metre for the aluminium and glass in the estimator, at the same rate in any powder-coat colour, with hinged doors included in the area. Examples, excluding VAT:
| Shopfront | Area | Price, excl. VAT |
|---|---|---|
| 2 400 × 2 400 mm, single hinged door | 5.76 m² | R10 658 |
| 3 000 × 2 400 mm, single hinged door | 7.20 m² | R13 323 |
| 4 000 × 2 700 mm, double hinged doors | 10.80 m² | R19 984 |
| 4 000 × 2 400 mm, MC-125 automatic sliding door | 9.60 m² | R17 763 + R27 590 operator = R45 353 |
Installation is quoted after MC Automations has measured the site. Obscure glass, toughened glass, frameless sections and pivot doors are quoted per project. If the practice is in a medical centre, send the landlord’s requirements with your enquiry so the quote matches them from the start.
Pharmacy shopfronts
A pharmacy is half shop, half clinic: it needs display glass for the front-of-shop products and the open, welcoming look of a store, but it also serves people who are ill and in a hurry. An automatic sliding door at the main entrance is almost always worth it. Clear glass at the front lets passers-by see the brand and the stock; obscure glass in front of the consulting or vaccination room gives privacy. A transom over the door gives a clean band for the green cross sign. Pharmacies in malls follow the centre’s design rules, and the estimator drawing helps with that approval.
Day hospitals and medical centres
Bigger buildings bring bigger entrances. A day hospital or medical centre usually needs a wide bi-parting automatic sliding door at the main entrance, automatic swing doors on the corridors, and sometimes hermetic sliding doors at theatres. MC Automations supplies and installs all of these, and the frontage around them is designed as one package. See automatic doors for hospitals for the operators, aluminium windows for hospitals for the rest of the building, and our guide to hospital entrance doors for which door goes where.
Glass, hygiene and compliance
All our clinic shopfronts are glazed with safety glass, as SANS 10400-N requires for glazing at entrances and low level; the standard is published by the SABS. Laminated glass is our standard because it stays in the frame if it cracks, so the practice stays closed to the weather and to intruders until the pane is replaced. For hygiene, choose flush glazing beads and smooth powder-coated frames, and avoid deep ledges where dust collects. Our shopfront glazing requirements page covers the rules in more detail.
Accessible clinic shopfronts
Clinic shopfronts should let everyone in on their own. Keep the threshold flush with the floor, give the door a wide clear opening, and fit an automatic operator so nobody has to push. Building access rules in South Africa are set out in SANS 10400-S, and the entrance should work for a wheelchair user arriving alone. An automatic sliding door with a safety sensor is the simplest way to meet that, and it does not slow down anyone else.
Dental, physio and veterinary practices
Smaller practices need clinic shopfronts that feel calm and trustworthy rather than clinical. A dental or cosmetic practice in a strip mall often chooses a Black or Charcoal frame with a pivot door for a boutique look. A physiotherapy practice needs the widest, easiest entrance it can get, because many of its patients are recovering from injuries, so an automatic sliding door earns its keep there. A veterinary clinic sees dogs pulling on leads and owners carrying cats in boxes, and benefits from a door that opens on its own and closes quickly behind them.
In each case the frontage does two jobs: it tells people walking past what the practice is, and it makes the first step inside easy. Clear glass at the reception, obscure glass where privacy matters, a sign band above the door and an entrance that opens without effort cover almost every brief we see for clinic shopfronts.
Security after hours
Medical practices keep medicines, equipment and patient records, so clinic shopfronts must lock up properly. Laminated glass resists a smash-and-grab far better than ordinary float glass because the interlayer holds the pane together. The MC-125 electric lock secures the automatic door as soon as it is switched to night mode, and hinged and pivot doors take commercial locks. Many practices add an alarm and a security gate from their own security provider; the frontage can be designed with room for both.
Design tips for clinic shopfronts
- Put the reception desk where staff can see the entrance, and keep that pane clear.
- Use obscure glass only where it is needed, so the practice still looks open and welcoming.
- Choose a light frame colour such as White or Natural Anodised in a bright, clinical interior, or Black for a premium practice.
- Plan a canopy or overhang over the entrance so patients are out of the rain while the door opens.
- Allow for a power supply at the door header from the start if you may automate the door later.
How clinic shopfronts are installed
- Price it: lay out the frontage in the estimator, or send us the architect’s drawing.
- Site measure: MC Automations checks the opening, the floor level and the power for any automatic door.
- Quote: one quote for the frontage, the doors, the operator and the installation.
- Manufacture: made to measure in Laser Park.
- Installation: planned around consulting hours, so the practice can keep seeing patients.
MC Automations installs clinic shopfronts across Gauteng; projects elsewhere in South Africa are quoted per project. Automatic operators carry a 24-month warranty on the operator, and MC recommends a service every six months, which matters in a clinic where the door must never fail. See automatic door maintenance.
Other shopfronts we build
We also build retail shopfronts for stores, shopfronts for shopping centres for mall units, commercial shopfronts for offices, restaurants and showrooms, and frameless shopfronts for a premium, almost all-glass entrance. For every type and the full design process, see custom shopfronts, or aluminium shopfronts Gauteng for local installation.
Clinic shopfronts: frequently asked questions
What are clinic shopfronts?
The glazed frontage of a clinic, pharmacy or medical suite: an aluminium or frameless glass front with an entrance door, designed for patients, hygiene and privacy.
What is the best entrance door for a clinic?
An automatic sliding door. It is hands-free, opens wide for wheelchairs and prams, and the MC-125 system has battery backup and an electric lock. It is R27 590 excluding VAT.
How much do clinic shopfronts cost?
Framed frontages are priced per square metre in the online estimator: a 2 400 × 2 400 mm frontage with a single hinged door is R10 658 excluding VAT for the aluminium and glass. Installation is quoted after a site measure.
Can you add privacy glass?
Yes. Obscure or frosted glass can go in any pane, and is quoted per project.
Do you install in medical centres and day hospitals?
Yes. MC Automations installs the frontage and the automatic doors, and services the doors every six months if you want a service contract.
Who installs clinic shopfronts?
MC Automations, our parent company, measures and installs every shopfront we make.
Coetz™, Unit 2, 84 Ridge Road, Laser Park, Johannesburg. Call 010 412 0062, WhatsApp 076 613 4418 or use our contact page.