What jams at Tasta is not what jams in the old village centre
In the developments delivered over the past few years at Tasta and Ausone, the flat door is almost always a shielded multipoint lock: a cover conceals the rod linkage, the weather seal is still supple and the clearance between the door leaf and the frame is measured in fractions of a millimetre. A door simply pulled shut behind you therefore cannot be treated like an old leaf, and the inspection begins with the cover, the position of the handle and the condition of the seal rather than with the lock itself.
In the old village centre and around Petit Bruges the picture changes completely. Detached houses have a gate, sometimes a side gate, a garage door and a rear entrance onto the garden: before anything else we walk round the plot, because a service door left unlocked settles the situation without touching a thing. The timber here has moved with the seasons, the frames are old, and the same job can call for more care than in a recent home.
Getting into the building before getting into your home
Most residential blocks in Bruges run on communal access control: badge, Vigik, entryphone. To work on your door we first have to get through the lobby, and that step is prepared over the phone. Tell us whether a neighbour can let us in, whether the building has a caretaker, whether the car park gate can be operated from the inside. What belongs to the private home and what belongs to the communal areas managed by the syndic are handled quite differently.
Many residents have arrived recently, since whole neighbourhoods have been built in the commune: it is not unusual to have no post in your name yet. Get together whatever you do have — identity document, tenancy agreement or deed of purchase, home insurance certificate, rent receipt — and tell us on the phone if everything is shut behind the door, because other items can be accepted. A detailed quote is presented to you before the work, and an invoice is issued every time.
How does this service work?
Techniques, typical situations, standards and things to watch out for: it is all on our door opening page. This page focuses on what the service involves in Bruges.