Ultimate Locker Buying Guide
Are you looking to kit out your workspace, classroom or gym with lockers but don’t know where to start? There is no better time to shop lockers at 3D Lockers with all kinds of locker styles, locker accessories, lock options and locker door colours to help infuse some personality into your environment.
Before investing in new storage lockers, it is important to take the time to research your options before buying. Wether you have a clear budget or you simply need ideas to help you make up your mind, our locker buying guide will make your choice a stress-free experience.
For all things lockers, 3D Lockers has you covered. You can find all you need in just the click of a button. From metal lockers to hard wearing laminate or wooden lockers, waterproof plastic lockers to charging laptop lockers, read our handy locker guide before you make your final decision.
Step 1 - Measuring Up
First things first, before you get into the nitty gritty of choosing a locker, it is important to look at the space you are intending to install lockers. Take into consideration the size of the room and if there are any height restrictions.
You will need to carefully measure along the wall or area you want to install lockers to check how many you can fit. Don’t forget to look out for obstructions such as pipes and skirting boards. Lockers come in all types of widths and depths so you will need to check you have enough space here too. Once you have a measurement you can divide this by the width of the locker to find out how many lockers will fit neatly together side by side.
If you are installing lockers opposite each other, then you need to make sure you allow enough room for the locker doors to open and that there is plenty of room in the aisle for people to walk through unhindered. You may also want to consider bench seating or cloakroom island seats to provide a sit down or additional shoe storage and hanging area.
Our tallest locker is 1800mm ideal for offices, secondary schools, staff rooms or gym changing rooms. If you are installing lockers for children in a school then you may need to consider a low height locker. We have a variety from 900mm to 1380mm some of which can sit easily under a window sill.
Lockers are a great way to re-organise your workspace even if you are limited on space. Quite often staff or pupils can have multiple personal items such as bags, coats, books, files etc. These can take up valuable floor or desk space. By introducing lockers, these items can easily be stored away out of sight and freeing up space for extra desks or seating. Further to this, lockers can inject a splash of colour and fun into your room to contribute towards a happier office or classroom.
Step 2 - How Many Locker Compartments Do I Need?
You need to decide how many compartments you need in total. How many people need a locker? Lockers come with different locker doors per unit. This goes from a single door locker to a sixteen door locker. The more doors there are in a locker unit, the overall height of each compartment decreases.
If you have staff who need to have hanging space for garments then a single or two door locker would be a great option. If you want to store a bag, coat, files or small personal items then a three or four door locker would be ideal. If you only want to store small personal effects such as wallets, keys or mobile phones then a six, eight or ten door locker would fit the bill. Or alternatively a Personal Item Locker would save on space.
You may want to provide a locker to store laptops or tablets. Our laptop locker range and tablet and iPad lockers come with 8, 10 or 15 compartments. You can have individual doors or a single door. These lockers are specially designed for locking away media devices in an office or school environment. All come as storage only units or with charging facilities with 3 pin sockets and the option of an additional USB port in each compartment.
Step 3 - Choosing A Door Type
Steel - Steel lockers are our most popular style of locker. A large amount of schools, gyms, offices factories and prisons choose steel lockers. This is due to the vast colour choices available and strong construction with anti-bacterial paint protection. Most importantly steel or metal lockers are the most cost effective type of locker. Metal lockers are suitable for all dry environments. If you are using them in an environment where the floor needs cleaning, all our metal lockers can be raised off the floor on locker stands.
Laminate – Laminate lockers can be used in wet or dry areas and come with a steel frame which is either mild steel or galvanised to suit the environment. Laminate doors give more longevity and will not rust or scratch. These laminate lockers are ideal for high usage areas that will take a lot of hammering day to day. Our most popular laminate door lockers come in the form of Shockbox Lockers and Buzzbox Lockers. There are lots of colour choices such as shiny white, anthracite or black and many lock options available to personalise your locker. The laminate doors can be either inset into the locker framework or can be a plant on version which fully covers the locker face. These plant on locker door arrangements provide a minimalistic and chic wall of doors making them an ideal choice for offices, museums and schools. Laminate doors are available in 18mm MDF versions or 12mm resin based solid grade laminate type which truly is the titan amongst locker doors in terms of durability and resilience.
Plastic – Plastic lockers offer an alternative to wet area laminate lockers with their fully waterproof composition. These lockers can be used both indoors as well as outdoors and can be stacked on top of each other to save on space. Popular with schools, sports clubs, sailing or rowing clubs or adventure parks. Made of tough polyethylene material, the plastic lockers have a full UVA protection and can be used under canopies to provide useful storage space in cark parks and playgrounds. The locks are fully waterproof too with special chlorine resistant locks available for swimming pool applications. The plastic lockers are anti-rust, anti-graffiti and the Probe Ultrabox range even has a special water-resistant seal to prevent water ingress into the compartment in the harshest of weather conditions.
Aluminium Lockers – Zenbox aluminium lockers are for use in swimming pools and wet changing areas. The lockers have a fully waterproof and strong aluminium body with solid grade laminate doors which not only stands up moisture and humidity, but also offers longevity and style. These aluminium lockers are perfect for more upmarket environments. Use in health clubs, spas, gyms, offices and golf clubs.
Timber/Wood Effect – Featuring a steel carcass with a MDF vinyl wrapped door. Available in a range of wood finishes such as beech, maple, walnut or oak. Timber effect lockers give a more upmarket and stylish feel. We also offer a range of lockers with wooden effect carcasses and doors which are ideal for primary school children where metal could be sharp for little fingers.
Wire Mesh Lockers – These lockers are designed for use in factories, construction sites, oil rigs and fisheries as well as schools and gyms. Suitable to store industrial equipment such as hard hats & tools. Excellent for all round visibility of contents and drying of damp clothing. Available as single door units complete with hat shelf and coat hook or rail, up to eight doors in the height of the locker. Wire mesh lockers are raised off the ground with in built legs which are 150mm high. All doors come with a hasp & staple locking device. Sloping tops are available too.
Mesh lockers are also available in multi compartment units with 12, 16 or 20 individual compartments and with or without doors. If you are requiring a mesh locker with a particularly high build quality ideal for the police, military or emergency services, we have a selection of industrial mesh lockers with a heavy duty 25mm framework. All wire mesh lockers are available in Electroplated Bright Zinc Plate (BZP) with the option of a coloured epoxy powder coating paint finish or stainless steel.
Fire Rated Lockers – For larger locker installations you need to consider fire rating, particularly in corridors or where there is a narrow escape route. We can offer safe fire rated products from some of our leading brands including Probe, Elite and QMP. Their metal lockers have been manufactured from materials which classifies of reaction to fire performance in accordance with EN 1351-1 or meets the BS Class ‘0’ Rating. Fire rated lockers imply means they are non-combustible and won’t burn during a fire. Some of Probes laminate SGL door lockers also have a fire rating.
Step 4 - Select Door Colour
Our locker range comes with a huge range of door colours to suit any interior. Storage lockers don’t need to be boring! We can offer pastel colours at a little extra cost on some of our metal lockers and Probe Lockers offer the popular ‘autumn colours’. Laminate door lockers come in a selection of attractive colours or wood tones.
Most schools, gyms or businesses like to match their locker colours to their corporate colours. This helps with identifying their brand. Or alternatively colours can be selected depending on the atmosphere you want to go for. Most of the lockers on offer can be made in chic white or bold black to create a minimalistic feel.
You don’t have to choose just one colour either. If you have a quantity of doors you can pick a few different colour options and create a random pattern or chequerboard effect. There is no extra cost to do this, just let us know which colours you would like and we will email you a layout for you to approve first.
Read more on this in our Guide To Choosing The Right Metal Locker Colours For Your School.
Step 5 - Locking Options
Locks can be a minefield with so many to choose from. It is important to put some thought into what lock option will best suit your application.
Camlocks – The camlock comes complete with 2 keys as standard and is always included in the price of your locker. This is the most popular choice of lock and a master key override is available to open all compartments if a key goes missing. Replacement keys and locks can easily be ordered if you need them. Simply twist the key so that the cam arm at the back of the lock moves up and down.
Hasp & Staple Locks – An alternative no cost locking option. Designed to fit a padlock but this is optional. Most schools choose this lock type to save the hassle of losing keys. The locker door can be closed but not secured. A padlock fits through the loop to secure the door. Gyms like to have hasp & staple locks and sell padlocks to their clients.
4 Digit Combination Lock – Easy to use lock with scrolling numbers. Button on the side sets the 4 digit code. Scramble numbers after each opening and closing. 10,000 possible combinations. This lock is a little more sophisticated than the previous two options and incurs an additional cost.
Digital Combination Lock – Ideal for keyless operation, this lock is great for multi-user applications. Use in gyms or hot desking offices. If the 4 digit code is forgotten then a master key or code will override it.
Coin Return Lock – Users insert a £1 coin or token to lock the door. To open the door the keys need to be inserted and rotated to release the coin or token. The keys remain captive until the coin I inserted. Includes 2 keys per lock.
Coin Retain Lock – A coin is inserted to release the key however the coin is not refunded on the users return. A box at the back of the lock collects the coins or tokens. This is a good option if you want to charge users to use the locker and make abit of extra revenue.
Step 6 - Locker Accessories
Once you have decided on the above there are also locker accessories to add into the mix. These are optional but they do help to personalise your locker.
Number Plates – A numbering system works well where there are multiple locker compartments in a high usage area such as schools or gyms. Choose from plastic numbers for metal locker or aluminium engraved numbers to go on laminate or timber effect doors.
Numbered Key Fobs – These are a great addition to the number plates, simply attach to the locker keys using a split ring.
Sloping Tops – Add a sloping top to any locker to prevent rubbish collecting above or bags being stored on top. You may want to consider this if you are buying lockers for a secondary school.
Locker Stands – Allow easy cleaning underneath lockers, mops can glide underneath easily. For wet areas we have galvanised stands so they will not rust or be damaged by cleaning fluids.
End Panels – If you are purchasing laminate, wooden or SGL door lockers then it may be worth investing in some end panels. These steel carcass lockers have exposed ends. Depending on where you are intending to install lockers, an end panel will finish off a run of lockers nicely to match your door colour.
Step 7 - Access & Delivery
When it comes to delivering your new locker, access to your building or premises is important. Most lockers are delivered on large 16 tonne vehicles. We need to know if for any reason there are any access restrictions. Generally, deliveries take place between 8am – 5pm Monday to Friday. Make sure that the delivery vehicle can pull right up to your entrance door. For larger quantities of lockers you will need to be really organised with your own helpers to assist in off loading the lockers and distribute them around your building.
Step 8 - Installation
For health & safety reasons it is important that the lockers you purchase are properly installed. The very nature of a locker means that it is tall and narrow which means it could potentially topple over. The lockers are pre-drilled in the sides and in the back of the locker. The lockers should be joined on site via nesting bolts and nuts which are provided either with your locker delivery or by post. The lockers should also be attached via the holes into a wall surface or wooden batten. For full installation instructions, please refer to our 3D Lockers Installation Guide.