How to Choose a Security Hut: Panel, GRP, Clad or Armoured

Choosing a security hut comes down to four questions: how much ground the pitch gives you, how long the cabin will stay, what the entrance needs to look like, and whether the person inside could be a target. Karmod makes five ranges that answer those questions differently, from a 100 kg insulated panel cabin to an armoured gatehouse weighing 10,500 kg. All prices below are per cabin and exclude VAT, delivery and offloading.

The five ranges side by side

Range	Construction	Sizes	Price range (smallest to largest size)	Best for
Insulated Panel Cabin	Steel-framed insulated sandwich panel	1.10 × 1.10 m to 2.60 × 2.60 m	£2,290 + VAT to £4,890 + VAT	Tight pitches, yards and construction entrances
GRP Cabin	Moulded one-piece glass reinforced polyester shell	1.50 × 1.50 m to 2.70 × 2.70 m	£3,890 + VAT to £6,390 + VAT	Exposed gates and posts that move with the site
MetroCity Modular Cabin	Betopan cladding over an insulated sandwich panel interior	1.40 × 1.40 m to 2.65 × 2.65 m	£5,595 + VAT to £9,890 + VAT	Long-term gatehouses at campuses, hospitals and managed estates
KompoCity Composite Cabin	Aluminium composite panel over an insulated sandwich panel shell	1.40 × 1.40 m to 2.65 × 2.65 m	£6,890 + VAT to £11,980 + VAT	Office, hotel and development frontages that need a matched finish
Bulletproof Security Cabin	Armour steel panels, bullet-resistant laminated glass, steel-framed high-security doors	1.50 × 1.50 m to 3.00 × 5.00 m	£39,900 + VAT to £84,900 + VAT	Posts where a risk assessment calls for ballistic protection

How each range is built, and what you give up

Insulated Panel Cabin: the smallest footprint

The Insulated Panel Cabin is a steel-framed sandwich panel cabin and the most economical cabin in the Karmod range. It is the only range that starts below 1.40 m, and it weighs just 100 kg to 380 kg. Every size is 2.35 m tall.

Trade-offs: the electrical pack (from £375 + VAT) and wall heater (from £225 + VAT) are extras, and air conditioning (£2,950 + VAT) is offered only on the two largest sizes. The wipe-clean cladding is practical rather than decorative.

GRP Cabin: light and weatherproof

The GRP Cabin is moulded glass reinforced polyester, a material often called fibreglass. It leaves the production floor as a one-piece shell with the windows, door and fittings in place, does not rust, and copes with snow and freezing conditions without extra cladding. Weights run from 280 kg to 650 kg. The moulded shell can be finished in your colours and refinished later if your branding changes.

Trade-offs: the smallest size is 1.50 m square, too big for the narrowest islands. The electrical pack (from £475 + VAT) and heater (from £225 + VAT) are extras, and air conditioning (£2,950 + VAT) is available on the two largest sizes only.

MetroCity Modular Cabin: a clad cabin for long postings

The MetroCity Modular Cabin is clad outside in Betopan and lined inside with insulating sandwich panel. The cladding keeps its appearance through sun, rain and wind and takes knocks, generous glazing keeps the approach in view, and the electrics, lighting and sockets are fitted at the factory. In Türkiye, MetroCity cabins hold the vehicle entrance to the Marmara University campus and give hospital staff a sheltered post in a hospital car park at Sariyer.

Trade-offs: at 700 kg to 1,400 kg, a MetroCity cabin weighs more than twice as much as a GRP cabin of similar size, which matters for the base and the lift. It is also 2.75 m tall.

KompoCity Composite Cabin: a finish for the frontage

The KompoCity Composite Cabin has an insulated sandwich panel shell clad in aluminium composite panel, giving straight lines and a smooth surface that avoids fading and rust. Colour and cladding details can be matched to your organisation's identity, with logos applied to the panels. Electrical installation, lighting, sockets and ventilation can be prepared before delivery.

Trade-offs: at 850 kg to 1,900 kg, it is the heaviest and highest-priced of the four non-armoured ranges. It earns its place where the cabin forms part of a building's frontage. At a yard gate where appearance matters less, compare it with a panel or GRP cabin first.

Bulletproof Security Cabin: protection for the occupant

The Bulletproof Security Cabin is built around an armoured shell rather than a standard cabin with plating added: armour steel panels, bullet-resistant laminated glass and steel-framed doors with high-security locking. The ballistic class is not fixed for the model. It is agreed for each project, so the level you need has to be set out when you order. Lighting, ventilation, air conditioning, power outlets and communications cabling can be built in before delivery.

Trade-offs: price and weight. The eight sizes weigh 3,000 kg to 10,500 kg and stand 3 m tall, so plan the lift and a base specified for that load.

Looking past the headline price

Weight, lifting and the base

Each cabin is set down by forklift or crane on a firm, level base, and the heavier the cabin, the more the base and the lift matter: a GRP cabin of 280 kg to 650 kg is a very different job from an armoured cabin of 3,000 kg to 10,500 kg. We advise on the base when we prepare your quote, and the formal quote confirms delivery to your postcode and the offload equipment needed. Lighter cabins are simpler to re-site when the layout changes, and taller ones are worth checking against canopies and overhead cables. Our guide to preparing your site for cabin delivery covers the groundwork.

What the listed price includes

Listed prices are not all like for like, because panel and GRP cabins list electrics as options. At the largest standard size of each non-armoured range:

• Insulated Panel Cabin, 2.60 m × 2.60 m: £4,890 + VAT, or £5,465 + VAT with the £575 + VAT electrical pack
• GRP Cabin, 2.70 m × 2.70 m: £6,390 + VAT, or £7,065 + VAT with the £675 + VAT electrical pack
• MetroCity Modular Cabin, 2.65 m × 2.65 m: £9,890 + VAT, with electrics, lighting and sockets fitted at the factory
• KompoCity Composite Cabin, 2.65 m × 2.65 m: £11,980 + VAT; electrical installation, lighting, sockets and ventilation can be prepared before delivery, so confirm in your quote which are included

Which security hut suits your situation?

A temporary gate on a construction site

Choose a panel or GRP cabin; both are light enough to move as the works progress. Pick panel for a very tight gateway or the lowest outlay, and GRP for a one-piece shell that copes with snow and frost and can be finished in your colours.

Temporary buildings needed for the length of building works are often covered by permitted development, but there are conditions and the rules differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Our guide to portable cabins on private land explains them; confirm with your local planning authority before you order.

A permanent car park booth

On a narrow island between lanes, a 1.10 m or 1.35 m square panel cabin (£2,290 + VAT or £2,690 + VAT) gives one attendant shelter and a clear view. Where the booth faces customers at a hospital, hotel or shopping centre, a MetroCity cabin adds a knock-resistant clad finish and wide glazing. A permanent booth cannot rely on the temporary construction rules above, so ask your local planning authority whether it needs permission.

A staffed office or campus entrance

Where the cabin greets visitors as well as checking them, choose MetroCity or KompoCity, at 2.15 m × 2.65 m or 2.65 m × 2.65 m if more than one person works there or visitors come to the window. At one office building, a KompoCity cabin sits at the front door, its deep roof overhang shading the guard without blocking the entrance.

A high-risk site

If a security assessment identifies a threat to the person on duty, for example at a cash centre, a court, critical infrastructure or a port control point, the armoured range is the one built to protect the occupant. Agree the protection level with your security adviser, because it has to be set out at the point of order; if it is not settled yet, say so when you ask for a price. If no assessment calls for ballistic protection, a GRP or clad cabin does the job for a fraction of the cost.

Before you request a quote

• Pitch dimensions, and which side faces the approach
• How many people work in the cabin, and for how long
• Options: electrical pack, sockets, heater, air conditioning or customised electrics
• The base, and access for the delivery vehicle and lifting equipment
• For armoured cabins, the ballistic resistance level required
• Any colour or logo requirements

We confirm the layout on a drawing before production, and sending a request does not commit you to anything. Browse the panel, GRP, MetroCity and KompoCity models in security huts, gatehouses and kiosks, then request a quote or call 0116 403 0143.