We have a lot of products. Industrial shutters, commercial shutters, domestic shutters, fire-rated shutters, garage doors, security gates, strip curtains. When people call us for the first time, it can feel a bit overwhelming trying to work out what they actually need.
So over these two articles, we are going to take a proper look at four of our most popular and consistently well-regarded products, what they are made of, what they are genuinely good for, and the kind of situations where they tend to be the right answer. No marketing fluff. Just useful information.
We will start with two products that between them cover a huge range of applications.
The SecurityShield 38
This is our best seller, and it has been for a long time. There is a reason for that. The SecurityShield 38 is not the flashiest thing in our range, but it does what a roller shutter is supposed to do exceptionally well, and it does it at a price point that makes sense for most commercial and domestic applications.
The 38 refers to the lath profile width. Each slat in the curtain is 38mm wide, double-skinned aluminium, and the double-skin construction is the detail that matters most from a security standpoint. A single-skin lath is hollow. You can flex it. The double-skin profile is significantly more rigid, which means it resists the kind of pushing and flexing that someone trying to force a shutter will attempt.
The curtain laths interlock with each other, and the bottom rail is a reinforced box section, which is worth knowing about because the bottom rail is almost always the first thing that gets attacked. Crowbars, angle grinders, and brute force tend to be aimed at the bottom of the curtain. The SecurityShield 38 is built with this in mind.
What does SR2 actually mean?
The SecurityShield 38 is rated SR2 as standard. SR2 is a European standard for resistance to manual attack, and to achieve it the shutter has to withstand a sustained, determined attack using handheld tools in independently witnessed testing. It is not a marketing claim. It is a tested and certified rating.
For most shops, offices, storage facilities and domestic applications, SR2 is the appropriate level of security. It is meaningfully better than an unrated shutter, and it will deter and delay a typical opportunistic break-in attempt long enough that most people give up and move on.
If your insurer has told you that you need an insurance-approved shutter, you want the SecurityShield 3801 rather than the standard 38. The 3801 is the same fundamental product but tested and certified to the higher standard required by most UK insurance policies that specify a rated shutter. It also carries Secured by Design accreditation, which is the police-backed crime prevention scheme. If Secured by Design has been specified for your premises, whether by your insurer, your landlord or a planning condition, the 3801 covers that requirement.
How do you operate it?
The SecurityShield 38 is available with manual or electric operation. Manual versions use either a push-up mechanism or a spring-balanced one that reduces the effort required. Electric versions can be set up with a simple push button, a remote control, a key switch, or group control systems that allow multiple shutters to be operated from a single point. We also install RTS wireless systems for customers who want home or building automation integration.
Every SecurityShield 38 is manufactured to the exact dimensions of your opening. There are no standard sizes. We survey the opening, manufacture to those measurements, and the result is a shutter that fits perfectly rather than one that has been trimmed down from a standard size.
The SecurityVision 800
The SecurityVision 800 answers a question that comes up a lot, particularly from retail customers: can we have security without making the place look completely closed off?
It is a see-through roller shutter. The laths are perforated aluminium rather than solid, which means you can see through the closed curtain from both inside and outside. This sounds like it might compromise security, but in practice it does the opposite of that in several ways.
Firstly, anyone considering breaking in cannot be sure what is directly on the other side of the shutter. With a solid curtain, once you are through it you are in relative concealment. With the SecurityVision 800, you are visible from the street and from any cameras positioned inside the building while you are still at the shutter. That changes the risk calculation significantly for an opportunistic intruder.
Secondly, internal CCTV cameras require some level of light to produce usable footage. A solid shutter in a dark building makes internal cameras largely useless overnight. The SecurityVision 800 lets ambient street lighting into the space, which means your cameras keep working even when the shutter is down.
Where does it get used?
Shops, obviously, particularly those in covered shopping centres or pedestrianised areas where a solid shutter can feel oppressive and puts people off browsing close to the window. But also restaurants and bars that want to secure a service area without blocking it completely, schools that need to secure corridors or kitchen areas, and leisure facilities where visibility through the shutter is important for safety or supervision reasons.
It also allows air circulation, which as we discussed in our summer series, is a genuine practical benefit in warmer months.
In part two we will be looking at the SecurityShield 77, which is our insulated shutter for customers who need thermal performance as well as security, and the SeceuroGlide roller garage door, which is simply one of the best domestic garage doors available in the UK. Worth a read.
Any questions about either of the products covered here, give us a call on 0800 133 7044 or email sales@ddrollershutters.co.uk.
