Entrance Mat-Well Frames

Custom frames for recessed entrance mats and scraper grilles, fabricated to the insert you specify and the floor levels on your drawing.

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Frame, insert, assembly

TrussMetal is a metal fabrication shop in North Vancouver that works across Metro Vancouver. This page is for architects, interior designers, general contractors and strata or property managers planning a recessed mat or scraper grille at a building entrance or vestibule. A mat well is the recess in the floor that the mat or grille sits in; the frame is the metal edge that lines it.

What we make is the frame. The walking-surface insert is bought in from its maker, and the slab recess, drainage and the floor finishes around the well are by the concrete contractor, the plumber and the flooring trade. The quote names who does each.

Frame, Insert and Installed Assembly

The frame

The metal edge that lines the recess and holds the insert. This is what TrussMetal fabricates, sized to the insert maker’s dimensions and the floor levels on the drawing.

The insert

The walking surface: entrance matting, a scraper grille or a grille-and-mat system. It is bought in from the maker you or your designer specify and comes with that maker’s published data and installation instructions.

The installed assembly

Frame, insert, the support under it, the slab recess, the drainage and the installation together. How it performs is confirmed for each project by the designer, with the engineer where one is needed.

Concept drawingMat well with frame and insert (section)Section through a recessed mat well: a fabricated frame lines the edges of the slab recess and is anchored with lugs; the walking-surface insert is bought in from the maker you specify, and the recess and the floor finishes are by others. Concept only; depths and levels follow the insert maker’s requirements and the designer’s floor levels.Floor finish by othersInsert from themaker you specifyFrame andanchor lugsSlab recess byconcrete contractorSection
Concept drawingMat well inside an entrance (plan)Plan of a mat well at a door line: a fabricated perimeter frame, with the walking-surface insert supplied in sections by its maker. Concept only; sizes and joints follow the insert maker’s dimensions.Door lineFrameInsert sections from the makerPlan
Concept drawingFrame, insert and installed assemblyDiagram of three parts: the frame is fabricated by TrussMetal; the insert is supplied by its maker with the maker’s published data; the installed assembly is confirmed for each project by the designer. A rating for one component does not rate the installed assembly.FrameTrussMetalInsertIts makerInstalled assemblyDesignerWho confirms whatComponent ratings do not rate the assembly
Conceptual drawing for planning only. Not a photograph or record of completed TrussMetal work; final detailing is drawn for each project.

The Frame

Size and shape
Taken from the insert maker’s dimensions for the exact product and from the recess as drawn or measured. Frames can be notched around door frames and mullions, and large wells are made in sections that can be handled, with the joints detailed for the project.
Profile and levels
An angle or channel profile chosen for the insert’s depth and the floor finish, so the insert and frame meet the finished floor at the levels the designer has set. Level transitions at the entrance are the designer’s to set and check; we build to them.
Material and finish
Stainless steel, or steel galvanized or coated by a specialist applicator, chosen for wet shoes, de-icing salt and the cleaning products used. Aluminum where the designer or insert maker specifies it. The quote states the material, the finish and who applies it.
Anchoring
Anchor lugs or fixing tabs for casting into the slab before the pour or fixing into a formed recess afterwards. The method is agreed with the concrete contractor before fabrication.
Insert first
The insert is selected before fabrication. From its maker’s data, the quote confirms the insert’s actual dimensions, the support it needs underneath, the recess depth, how the insert and frame meet the finished floor, how the frame is fixed, and how the insert lifts out so the well can be cleaned. A budget price can be given on a stated assumption; fabrication starts once the insert is chosen.

Ratings: Component Data and the Installed Entrance

Entrance grilles and mats are often sold with load classes, slip-resistance figures or rolling-load guidance. Those figures belong to the insert as tested by its maker, under the conditions the maker states. A rating for one component does not rate the installed entrance. How the finished assembly performs depends on the frame, how the insert is supported across its span, the slab recess, the drainage and the installation, and that is confirmed for each project by the designer, with the engineer of record where one is needed, against the maker’s requirements.

TrussMetal doesn’t publish a load class, slip rating or accessibility rating for frames or for installed entrances. Where the entrance takes carts, pallet jacks or vehicles, the designer gives us the loads and the frame and any support are detailed to them, with engineering arranged for that project where it is needed.

Recess, Drainage and Installation

Slab recess
Formed by the concrete contractor to the depth and size from the insert maker and the frame drawing, with the flat, level base or the support the maker requires.
Drainage
Whether the well drains, and the floor drain and its connection, are designed by the mechanical designer or plumber. Where a drain sits in the well, the frame and insert layout are coordinated with it.
Floor finishes
Tile, stone, concrete topping or resilient flooring around the well, and the joint to the frame, are by the flooring trade.
Setting the frame
The opening is prepared by others: the recess is formed by the concrete contractor, or cut into an existing slab by a concrete cutting contractor. The frame is installed by the concrete contractor or general contractor at the right stage of the pour or floor build-up, unless setting by TrussMetal is included in the quote.
Existing wells
For a replacement frame, send photos and the measurements you can take of the existing well and insert. Cutting a new recess into an existing slab is by a concrete cutting contractor.

Not part of this page: trench drains and their grates (see trench drain grates and frames), boot scrapers and boot-cleaning stations, and loose mats laid on the floor. Door frames and thresholds are covered under commercial metal fabrication. Umbrella stands and boot trays for the same entrance are on umbrella stands and boot trays.

Who Does What

Responsibilities that affect the quote

TrussMetal: the frame, its anchor lugs or fixing tabs, joints for sectional frames, and the finish through a specialist applicator where the steel is galvanized or coated. Setting the frame only where the quote includes it.

Insert maker: the mat, grille or grille-and-mat insert, its published data and its installation instructions.

Designer or architect: the insert selection, floor levels and transitions, loads, and confirming the installed assembly for the project, with the engineer of record where one is needed.

Concrete contractor or general contractor: preparing the opening (forming or cutting the recess) and installing the frame, unless the quote includes setting by TrussMetal.

Plumber and flooring trade: any drain and its connection, and the floor finishes and joints around the well.

Related Work

See commercial metal fabrication and metalwork for strata and property managers. For the material, see stainless steel.

Questions

Do you supply the mat or grille?

No. The insert is bought in from the maker you or your designer specify. We make the frame to that maker’s dimensions and requirements.

Is the finished entrance rated?

We don’t publish a rating for frames or installed entrances. The insert’s published data is its maker’s, and the installed assembly is confirmed for each project by the designer, with the engineer where needed.

Can you make a frame for an existing well?

Yes, from photos and measurements of the existing well and insert. If the recess itself has to change, that is done by a concrete cutting contractor.

When does the frame need to be on site?

That depends on whether it is cast in before the pour or fixed into a formed recess afterwards. Tell us the construction sequence and the date it is needed.

Do you work from our drawings?

Yes. Send the plan and sections with the floor levels and the insert maker’s data. If the insert isn’t chosen yet, we can give a budget price on a stated assumption, but the frame is fabricated only once the insert is selected.

Request a Quote

Send the drawings and the insert you plan to use.

What to include in your message

  • Plan of the entrance with the well size and shape, and any door frames or mullions it meets
  • Sections showing the floor finish and the levels
  • The insert maker and product, with its data and installation instructions (needed before fabrication)
  • Cast-in or fixed into a formed recess, the construction sequence, and who prepares the opening and sets the frame
  • Whether the well drains, and where the drain is
  • Material and finish preference, indoor or exposed entrance
  • Any carts, pallet jacks or vehicles crossing it, the quantity and your timing

The form starts blank: in “What do you need?”, select Other Custom Metalwork.

Request a Quote

Sending photos of your pet? After submitting, email 3–6 clear photos — front, side, three-quarter, full body and a close-up of the face — to sales@trussmetal.com with your name in the subject line. Photo tips

Have photos or drawings? Email them to sales@trussmetal.com after submitting this form. A photo of the site is the single most useful thing you can send.

Prefer to talk it through? Call (778) 805-5333, Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 5:00.