Door entry for flats and blocks
Audio and video door entry, fobs and app access for communal entrances, including upgrades from older handsets, quoted after a survey of the building.
Door entry that works for the block, not just for one flat
A communal entrance has a different job from a house doorbell. Visitors need to reach the right flat. Residents need to let themselves in without a call being placed. Managing agents need a system that can be maintained, with fobs that can be issued and withdrawn, and a clear record of what was fitted.
We install and upgrade door entry for flats, small developments and blocks across Essex, Thurrock and East London. That includes audio systems, video panels, app-based entry and access fobs, and it includes replacing older handsets where the building has outgrown them.
The work is quoted after a survey of the entrance, the risers and at least a sample flat. We will not promise that existing wiring can be reused until we have seen it. When it can, that is usually the cleaner, less disruptive option for residents.
Audio, video, apps and fobs on the same entrance
Most buildings need a mix, not a single gadget on the wall.
Audio and video entry
A traditional audio handset still suits some buildings. A video panel at the entrance, with a matching indoor monitor or an app, is the usual choice when residents want to see who is calling.
IP and app-based systems
A network-connected panel can place a call to a phone as well as to a handset in the flat. That only works if the building has a reliable network path to the entrance, which we plan as part of the job.
Access fobs and tags
Residents should be able to open the communal door without waiting for a call. Fobs, cards or tags sit alongside the intercom, and they can be issued or withdrawn when someone moves in or out.
Upgrades from old handsets
Many blocks still have an older audio or 4+n video system. We survey the risers and a sample flat, then tell you whether a modern panel can use the existing wiring or whether a new backbone is the honest recommendation.
The entrance you have, not a catalogue picture
Not every site is a large purpose-built block. We have fitted a WiFi-linked intercom for a small development in Grays, where a handful of dwellings share an entrance and the system needed to reach people on their phones as well as at home. The same survey questions apply: how many dwellings, who answers the call, and whether the network already reaches the door.
Older door-entry wiring can often be reused, but not always. Corrosion in a riser, a missing pair to one flat, or a panel that has been patched over the years can all change the plan. We would rather quote a small investigation properly than assume a like-for-like swap and discover the problem once the new panel is on the wall.
Some older systems still rely on a telephone line to reach a resident or a porter. The public telephone network is being switched over to digital, with Openreach’s move away from traditional lines due by 31 January 2027. If your block still depends on a copper line for door entry, that is a good reason to have the entrance surveyed now, rather than waiting for the line to stop behaving.
Residents, freeholders and managing agents
We work directly with freeholders and residents’ management companies, and we already look after door entry, fobs and shared gates for managing agents. There is a dedicated page for that: door entry and gates for managing agents. You get one point of contact and a written record of the visit.
The entrance often sits beside other work on the same building: a shared electric gate, a car park barrier, communal CCTV or an automatic door. We can quote those together. Links to gate automation, barriers, CCTV and automatic doors are all on this site.
If the new system needs a network in the riser or at the door, we plan that as part of the same job. See WiFi and networks and data cabling. House and gate intercoms, if that is really the entrance you have, are on the door entry hub and on UniFi intercoms.
Request a QuoteFlats and blocks questions
Upgrading old handsets, using apps and fobs, and how we work with managing agents.
Yes. Many blocks still have an older audio or video system with a handset in each flat. We can often reuse the existing wiring for a modern audio, video or app-based system, but we will only confirm that after we have seen the risers and a sample flat.
Either, or both. Some residents want to answer the door from their phone. Others prefer a handset on the wall. We can plan a system that supports both, so you are not forcing a single way of working on the building.
Yes. Fobs, cards or tags at the communal door are a usual part of a block installation, and they can sit alongside the intercom so a resident can let themselves in without a call being placed.
Yes. We already look after door entry, fobs and shared gates for managing agents, freeholders and residents’ management companies. There is a dedicated page for managing agents, and we can quote a single building or a small portfolio.
Yes. We have fitted a WiFi-linked intercom for a small development in Grays, as well as systems for larger blocks. The survey looks at the entrance, the number of dwellings and how residents want to answer a call.
It is quoted after a survey. The number of flats, the condition of the existing wiring and the type of panel all change the price, so we do not publish a “from” figure.
Need new door entry for a block or development?
Tell us about the entrance, the number of flats and the system you have now. We will arrange a survey and a written quote.