- Location
- Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
- Main postcode district
- PE1
- Nearby (straight line)
- Stamford (11 miles), March (14 miles) and Spalding (15 miles)
- Survey and quote
- Free, with a fixed written quote
A PVC strip curtain is a row of flexible, overlapping plastic strips hung from a rail across a doorway, so that people and vehicles can pass through while the strips fall back to close the gap behind them. At loading bays they hang behind the main door or across internal openings, reducing draughts, dust and temperature loss for much less than the cost of a powered door.
Where does this fit at a dock in Peterborough?
Goods-in areas in Peterborough that leave the main door open during long unloading sessions can use a strip curtain to hold back draughts and dust. Wind-driven rain and leaves blowing into an open dock are a familiar nuisance, and a heavy-duty strip curtain is one simple response for sites in Peterborough.
Food and packaging businesses in Peterborough can choose strip grades suited to regular cleaning, helping to separate dispatch areas from production.
Here is what happens after you contact us about a site in Peterborough. We arrange a free survey, measure up and send a fixed written quote. If you go ahead, we manage the whole job, including ordering, delivery and coordination with your site team. Specialist installation engineers working under our management do the fitting, at times built around your loading schedule, with out-of-hours work by arrangement. Testing and handover documents close the job.
A note on the freight picture around Peterborough and beyond: large distribution parks sit close to the A1(M) and the A47. Whatever traffic your own site handles, specify the dock to suit it.
How are strip curtains fitted to a loading bay opening?
Strip curtains are fitted by fixing a rail across the head of the opening and hanging the strips from it, a job that usually takes an hour or two per opening and needs no power supply.
- Fixed rails: bolted to the lintel or wall above the opening, with strips hooked or clamped on.
- Sliding rails: let the whole curtain be pushed to one side for wide loads or warmer months.
- Swing-away rails: hinge back against the wall, useful where a door track runs close to the head of the opening.
At a dock the curtain usually sits just inside the main door, so we check it will not snag the door's bottom edge, the leveller lip or any tracks. From you we need the opening clear for the visit and agreement on whether strips should reach the floor or stop just above it. Strips that drag on the floor wear quickly and can catch on pallet trucks.
Do strip curtains count towards building energy rules?
A strip curtain does not replace the need for a compliant door: where a new or replacement external loading bay door is fitted, it is the door that has to meet the energy rules.
- England: Approved Document L (2021) Volume 2 sets a limiting U-value of 1.3 W/m²K for vehicle access and similar large doors in new and replacement work.
- Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: each nation has its own energy rules, through Approved Document L for Wales, Section 6 of the Scottish Building Standards Technical Handbook, and Technical Booklet F2 in Northern Ireland. We confirm what applies to your nation and project.
What a strip curtain does well is reduce the air moving through an opening while the door is open for loading. That helps a heated or chilled building, even though the curtain is not the door.
Workplace safety still applies around the curtain: strips should stay clear enough for drivers and pedestrians to see each other. HSE is the regulator in Great Britain and HSENI in Northern Ireland.
The same published guide range applies across England; access, out-of-hours working and site conditions are confirmed at the free survey.
What we look at on site
- Bumper position and wear or damage on the dock face
- Scope to convert ground-level doors into docks or add lift tables
- How often each door cycles during a typical shift
- Forklift and pallet truck loads crossing the leveller platform
- Wall and steel structure for door, shelter and bumper fixings
- Working hours, shift patterns and windows for out-of-hours work
Options to discuss
Standard clear strips
Clear flexible PVC for ambient warehouses and goods-in areas, giving good visibility and draught control at pedestrian and forklift openings.
Sliding or swing-away rail
A rail that lets the whole curtain be moved clear of the opening for wide loads, cleaning or seasonal removal without taking the strips down.
Regulations and approvals in England
Workplace safety in England is regulated by HSE. For a loading bay in Peterborough, that means doors meeting regulation 18 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, equipment maintained under PUWER and suitable safeguards against vehicles driving away too early. We check what applies at survey and design the bay accordingly.
Questions about PVC strip curtains in Peterborough
How long does installation take at a site in Peterborough?
It depends on the equipment, the number of bays, the condition of the dock and whether any building or electrical work is needed. We agree a programme with you after the survey, setting out which bays are out of use and when. Larger jobs are usually phased so that part of the dock stays open, and out-of-hours working can be arranged.
Do you remove and dispose of the old equipment?
Yes, where it is part of the scope. When we replace doors, levellers, shelters or seals at a site in Peterborough, removal and disposal of the old equipment can be included and is itemised in the quote, so it is clear what is covered. If anything should be kept, such as a frame or motor that is still serviceable, we agree that at survey.
Can you work outside our normal operating hours in Peterborough?
Yes, by arrangement. Evening, night and weekend working can be planned so the installation causes as little disruption as possible to your loading schedule. Out-of-hours work can affect the price, so mention it at the survey and we will include it in the written quote. The agreed times are confirmed in the programme before the job starts.
Should the strips touch the floor?
Strips usually stop just above the floor so they do not drag, wear or catch on pallet trucks. Where draughts or pests are a concern they can be set closer to the floor, and we agree the finished height with you before fitting so it suits the traffic through the opening.
Can strips be replaced individually?
Yes, individual strips can be unhooked or unclamped and replaced without taking down the whole curtain. Keeping a few spare strips on site lets your team swap damaged ones as soon as they appear, which keeps visibility and sealing consistent across the opening.
PVC strip curtains near Peterborough
Businesses outside Peterborough may find their nearest town in this list: Stamford (11 miles), March (14 miles) and Spalding (15 miles). Each page covers doors, docks, repairs and servicing.
Other loading bay services in Peterborough
Full guide to PVC strip curtains · Everything we do in Peterborough
Ready to talk about a loading bay in Peterborough? Call us, or send the details through the quote form.