What Does Your Facility Need?
If your facility is in need of an enclosure, it’s important to understand the difference between the products Shelters Direct supplies. If you don’t know what you need, the search can be daunting. Since 1993, Shelters Direct has distributed and installed buildings and booths of various shapes and sizes, so we are well-equipped to handle any and all questions you have. Do you need full coverage or partial coverage? Will your enclosure need features such as a bench, heating/air, or solar lighting? Before you call or request an E-Quote from our dedicated team, read below to learn the difference between guard booths and shelters.
Guard Booths:
Guard booths, otherwise known as buildings, are fully enclosed structures designed with a floor and a functioning door. The standard design materials for our guard booths are aluminum and carbon steel. Features, like the ones listed below, 
are available for every guard booth project*:
- Full perimeter (360 degree) tempered glass for complete visual views
- Sliding door assembly with heavy duty rollers and hook bolt lock mechanism
- Aluminum diamond tread plate flooring with cut out for electrical service connection
- Interior fluorescent lighting
- Insulated roof and walls
*To see a full list of guard booth features, click here
Customers who are in need of a guard booth are customers who need to keep their employees covered and secure. Some of the most popular applications for a standard guard booth include parking attendant booths, security booths, guard stations, access control points, and information kiosks. All of our guard booths are delivered to your site pre-fabricated for easy installation. They are permanent structures that are anchored to a concrete, but we are able to provide our customers trailer-mounted booths if needed.
To view Shelters Direct Guard Booth projects, click here
Shelters:
Shelters Direct typically defines a shelter as a structure where a concrete slab serves as the floor. The most typical applications for shelters are 
smoking shelters, transit shelters, ATM enclosures, and bicycle shelters. The vast majority of shelters are aluminum but we are able to offer steel as an option as well. When purchasing a shelter, you can choose from a variety of roof styles such as flat roof, half barrel vault, acrylic dome, and standing seam hip or gable. Shelters don’t typically come with doors, but can be designed that way. Some shelters features are listed below:
- Dark bronze aluminum framing
- ¼” clear tempered safety glass
- Bottom ventilation
- Flat roof
For a full list of Shelters features click here
What about Canopies?
Shelters Direct is capable of turning any guard booth or shelter project into a success, and that rings true for our canopy division as well. Canopy 
projects are usually much larger, but their features are more simplistic than your average guard booth or shelter. Canopies are structures with no doors or walls. They are pre-engineered structures which make them much more cost effective. Pre-engineered canopies are almost always turnkey for our customers and very little needs to be done during and after the installation process. Canopies can be utilized for the following applications:
- Access Control Point
- Military Entrance Gate
- Vehicle & Truck Inspection
- Fuel Island
- Toll Booth Plaza
- Perimeter Security
- Smoking
- Equipment Protection
Understanding the difference between a guard booth, shelter, and canopy can assist you when you’re ready to contact us. Because we are a nationwide distributor and installer, Shelters Direct can walk you through the entire process and help ensure that your facility is getting the best structure possible. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Shelters Direct has been a trusted source for the supplying and installation of canopies, shelters, and prefabricated guard booths for over 20 years. We work with a wide variety of clients throughout the United States and abroad to provide quality products and expert installation so you can be confident that we will get the job done right. Interested in learning more about how a smoking shelter could benefit your business? Contact us today! And don’t forget to keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn too.