Every day, a gate will be opened, used in the rain, and sometimes people can be in a hurry and end up leaving a gate half-open, or the latch is stiff and the post shifts, so people leave it open for months. Many people chose their kitchen tap after researching and spending a lot of time on it, but choose their gates in a hurry with little thought and wonder why it looks worn after three years. The choice of material, fixing and operation all have long lasting consequences and some can be very expensive to redo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main options for gates would be timber, wood, and wrought iron, aluminum and for driveways, automatic sliding or swing. These would work for different properties and different levels of maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wooden Gates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wood is the most common material used for garden gates, and for many domestic applications, it is still a reasonable gate material choice. It works with different period and contemporary properties. It is paint and stainable and a good joiner will be able to make a wooden gate to whatever size you need. Smaller garden gates made from softwood will be the cheaper option whereas wooden gates made from hardwood will be the more expensive option but will last longer if you take care of it.The honest question about maintenance is fair. A hardwood gate that is left untreated will deteriorate faster than a softwood gate that is treated every year. Annual treatments, good hinges, and posts concreted at least 600mm down are the things that separate the gates that will still be solid in 15 years from the gates that will be sagging in 5 years. Miss any of that, and the gate will let you know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Metal and Aluminium Gates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Timber can\u2019t compete with the visual weight and durability that steel and wrought iron can provide. A galvanised or powder-coated metal gate will outlast most other options once it is properly installed. The period style suits older properties well, though the cost is higher and in the case of heavier design gates, more thought is needed at the posts and hinge end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aluminium is the answer for low maintenance. It will not rust, and it is lighter than steel. Modern aluminium gates are made to very close tolerances. The finish will hold up well. For those wanting a warm aesthetic timber gate it will not be for you, however for those wanting a clean metal gate without the weight or the maintenance, it is the most practical option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Automated and Cantilvered Gates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cantilevered sliding gates work best when standard swing gates are not practical due to sloping ground, limited driveway space, or for example, gravel surfaces. Gates that use ground wheels are affected by uneven surfaces, but gates that run on track wheels without ground wheels are not. This is an important distinction when considering how one ground wheel supported gate survives one bad winter after another on gravel driveways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The technology to automate gates is very simple, however, the quality and detection of the motor housing is very important for long-term reliability. Gates that are opened numerous times a day are a good candidate for automation and thus should be considered. For added convenience, technology is available to integrate automation with video intercoms, and phones. For security purposes, LPS 1175 is the rating to look for when considering automated gates. In terms of safety, there is a documentation that an automated gate must comply with in terms of directive machinery when automating gates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gate installations begin with a survey that is just as important as the installation, and often times more important. This is when ground condition, routed power supplies, and specified posts are assessed prior to the ordering of any materials. Each of the articles in this section addresses one specific gate type, and the questions that should be addressed to each gate type prior to committing to any gate type.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every day, a gate will be opened, used in the rain, and sometimes people can be in a hurry and end up leaving a gate half-open, or the latch is stiff and the post shifts, so people leave it open for months. Many people chose their kitchen tap after researching and spending a lot of … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-436","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decorativegardenproducts.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decorativegardenproducts.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decorativegardenproducts.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decorativegardenproducts.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decorativegardenproducts.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=436"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.decorativegardenproducts.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":440,"href":"https:\/\/www.decorativegardenproducts.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/436\/revisions\/440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decorativegardenproducts.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}