How to Measure for an Automatic Sliding-Door Shopfront

Measuring an automatic sliding door accurately is the first step to a clean, safe installation.

Measuring an automatic sliding door correctly is the first step to a shopfront that fits. See our operator sizing guide and automatic door range before you order.

A good automatic sliding-door quotation starts with a handful of measurements. None of them require special tools — but each one influences the design, so it is worth understanding what they are for.

The measurements that matter

Overall opening width and height define the structural opening the shopfront must fill — measure the actual builder’s opening, not the existing frame. The required clear opening is the unobstructed walk-through width you need when the doors are fully open; it drives the leaf and sidelight sizing more than any other number. Available stacking space on each side determines whether a single sliding or bi-parting layout fits. Finally, note the header depth available above the opening — the operator and track need a coordinated allowance, and a transom may be used to close the height above the doors.

What happens with your numbers

Approximate site measurements are enough for a quotation — final manufacturing dimensions are confirmed before production. From your numbers, the designer sizes sliding leaves and fixed sidelights together so the entrance actually achieves the clear opening you asked for, allows for the operator and floor guides, and selects safety glass for the panels. That is the process behind every custom automatic sliding doors quotation at Coetz™, whether the project is shopfront-only, a MC-125 automatic sliding-door operator on its own, or a complete package.

A note on measuring for replacements

If you are replacing an existing automatic door, photographs of the current installation — track, leaves and header — are as valuable as the tape measure. They let the project team assess operator compatibility early. For hinged entrances being automated instead, see automatic swing doors.

Getting the measurements right

Measuring an automatic sliding door starts with the structural opening, not the old door. Record the clear width and height, the wall space each side for the panels to park, and the header depth available for the operator. For a bi-parting layout the panels park on both sides, so you need room left and right; for a single slider, all the parking is on one side. The same care around automatic door technology safety zones applies once the door is fitted.

Always measure at several points, since openings are rarely perfectly square, and note the finished floor level because the track and threshold depend on it. When in doubt, we offer a free site measure so the door is made to fit the first time.

What do I need for measuring an automatic sliding door?

The clear opening width and height, the wall space for the panels to park, and the header depth for the operator.

Should I measure the opening or the old door?

Always the structural opening, measured at several points, plus the finished floor level.

Questions about measuring an automatic sliding door? Call 010 412 0062 or WhatsApp 076 613 4418 and our team will help. Before quoting measuring an automatic sliding door, we check the opening, the power supply and the traffic, then give a fixed price.

For measuring an automatic sliding door, MC Automations, our parent company, handles installation and servicing, with installation included in Gauteng. We hold genuine spares locally for measuring an automatic sliding door, so repairs do not wait on imported parts.

What we check before quoting How to Measure for an automatic sliding-Door shopfront

The structural opening decides most of the specification, so we measure that rather than any existing frame. We then check whether the head is level and can carry an operator, what sits above the opening — a bulkhead, sprinkler line or services void all dictate where the header can physically go — and whether there is power at the head. Getting those three right before anything is ordered is what keeps How to Measure for an automatic Sliding-Door shopfront on programme.

Power, load-shedding and access control

Decide up front whether the door should fail open for escape or fail secure for stock, and whether a battery backup should keep it running through a load-shedding slot or simply park it safely. Whichever you choose, staff need to be shown the manual release. Access control belongs in the same conversation: card readers, push buttons, intercoms and time clocks are far cheaper specified with the door than cabled in afterwards through a finished ceiling.

Choosing the right configuration

A single sliding leaf suits a shop door or a reception; a bi-parting pair moves the same opening in half the travel, which is why malls, supermarkets and hospital corridors use it. Where the wall beside the opening is too short for the leaves to park, a telescopic arrangement stacks them. Hinged doors are automated instead with a swing operator.

• MC-125 sliding: up to 150 kg single leaf or 2 × 120 kg bi-parting, 1450–5000 mm clear opening.
• MCW-100 swing: fits an existing hinged door up to 1,200 mm and 150 kg (interdependent), push-arm or pull-arm.
• Both are tested to one million operating cycles and carry a 2-year manufacturer warranty on the operator.

What happens when the power goes off?

With the optional battery backup the door keeps running through a slot. Without it, the door parks in the fail-open or fail-secure state you chose, and can be released by hand.

Can an existing hinged door be automated?

Usually yes. The MCW-100 swing operator fits an existing hinged door up to 1,200 mm and 150 kg (interdependent), with push-arm and pull-arm options.

What to send us for a quote

A useful quotation needs very little: the structural opening width and height, a photograph of the doorway taken square-on, a note of what is above the opening, and a rough idea of daily traffic. Tell us whether access control or a battery backup is wanted and the quote comes back complete rather than caveated.

• Structural opening width and height in millimetres.
• A square-on photograph of the doorway and what sits above it.
• Rough daily traffic, including deliveries.
• Whether access control, intercom or battery backup is wanted.
• Any deadline the entrance has to meet.

Accessibility and everyday use

A powered entrance is the most reliable way to make a doorway usable by somebody with a pram, a wheelchair, crutches or an armful of shopping. Hold-open time is set so that a slower user is through before the door begins to close, and presence detection keeps it open for anyone who stops in the opening. Those settings are chosen for the people who actually use the building rather than left at factory defaults.

Sizing against real use

Before anything is ordered we work out roughly how many cycles the doorway will see in a day. That figure drives the operator choice, the sensor layout and the service interval. It is also the honest way to compare quotations: two prices for the same opening mean very little if one was specified for light use and the other for constant public traffic.

Can the hold-open time be changed?

Yes — it is adjustable at commissioning and afterwards, which is how sites run a longer hold during deliveries and a shorter one at quiet times.

What glass comes as standard?

6.38 mm clear laminated safety glass, with tinted and performance options, quoted separately, where solar gain or privacy matters.

Measuring an automatic sliding door in short

If you are pricing measuring an automatic sliding door, send the structural opening sizes and a photograph and we will specify the system, the sensors and the glass against the traffic the doorway really carries. Measuring an automatic sliding door are supplied, installed and serviced by one team, with spares held locally.

Ask us about measuring an automatic sliding door and we will confirm the opening, the power supply and the traffic flow before quoting a fixed price.

Measuring an automatic sliding door at a glance

• Pricing for measuring an automatic sliding door follows the opening width, the glass and the sensor layout.
• Ask us to confirm the opening before ordering measuring an automatic sliding door.
• Every enquiry about measuring an automatic sliding door gets a written specification, not a verbal estimate.

Getting it right with Coetz

When it comes to measuring an automatic sliding door, the details decide the outcome – the operator rating, the sensor package, the glass and a clean installation. Coetz specifies each entrance to its real traffic and building rather than a one-size-fits-all kit, so the door opens smoothly and closes safely from the first day.

Coetz has years of experience with automatic entrances across South Africa, from single shopfronts to multi-door developments. We install to standard, commission every safety function, and back the entrance with service and genuine spare parts, so it keeps working long after the invoice is paid.

Planning early is the simplest way to keep a project on budget and on time. Getting the power supply, the opening and the safety package right up front avoids rework and return visits later.

Ready to move ahead? Tell us your opening size and traffic level, and we will recommend the best option and a clear, itemised price.