Nuffield Health Swimming Pool/SPA

We were recently approached by a customer who undertakes all of the building/shopfitting works for the Nuffield Health Chain of Gym’s and Spa’s. They were looking for a purpose made heavy duty steel set of double fire exit doors that offered excellent levels of security and was also able to offer the protection they needed in the environment it was installed in (next to the swimming pool).

After looking over the specification from Nuffield health it was apparent that neither our stock grey powder coated finish nor the additional powder coating service was going to be suitable for the chlorine rich environment around the poolside. After consultation with our expert powder coaters it was decided we needed to offer a ‘marine grade’ powder coated finish and we needed to purchase the ‘Qualicoat 2 Super Durable powder.’

The next part of the specification that we had to find a solution for is what panic furniture could we supply that would offer excellent levels of security, but would also be durable enough to survive in the poolside environment. As a long standing customer of Exidor, we called in their specification team to look over the products they offered and what solutions we could offer the client.

The basic furniture we supply (the Exidor 200 series panic furniture) contained parts which would corrode quickly in the harsh environment and didn’t offer the upgraded security features Nuffield Health were looking for. The next product range we looked over was the Exidor 700 series panic hardware, this offered the extra security features the client was looking for but again contained parts and components that would corrode in the harsh environment. To give them what they need it was suggested we use the 700 series panic furniture, but have it produced in a high-grade stainless steel finish so it would be able to deal with the environment and offer the longevity the customer would expect, while also offering the security features they needed. All of the small components and fixtures and fittings would also need to be supplied in high grade stainless steel.
 
Once all of the made to order 700 series stainless steel panic furniture was delivered to us via Exidor we started the process of building the door. We produced the double door to the bespoke size the client requested (1700 x 2115mm) and then one of our highly experienced technicians went to work on mounting the hardware onto the door. Once the hardware was fitted and we had tested its operation, it was dismantled and taken to our powder coaters for painting. We used the Qualicoat 2 Super Durable powder in a marine grade finish to RAL 7038 and each component was individually painted and treated.
 
Once painted, the door set was bought back to our factory and the 700 series stainless steel panic furniture was re-mounted onto the door, tested and checked by our Quality department. It was then wrapped and palletised for delivery and our expert next day courier collected the goods and delivered to the Nuffield Health site in Kent.
 
Our customer who undertakes the building and shopfitting work for Nuffield Health fitted the double doors on their site (next to the swimming pool) and had the job signed off by the client. After the success of this order, it has been suggested that over the next 12 – 18 months we will be rolling out a programme to install this style of door on all new Nuffield health sites.
Please see some images of the door going through the production process and also the final pictures of the installation sent in from the client.