Determining the best type of Gate to Use.
What to do if there is limited space, uneven or sloping driveway.
Situations where a Sliding Gate could be chosen over a Swing Gate are:
- The driveway slopes up from the road and the gate is on the front boundary.
- The driveway length is limited and you wish to park a car close to the gate and still be able to open it.
- You want a fully clad gate for privacy but your property is prone to strong winds.
- The gate way is wider than 5 metres.
... more about how Sliding Gates Work
Sliding or Rolling Gate
The advantage of sliding gates is they take up very little of your driveway space, are effected very little by a driveway sloping up from the road and can be on a driveway that slopes across (camber).
... more about Sliding Gates on Sloping Driveways
Sliding gates do need side room for the gate to open, normally this would be the space between posts + 400mm.
... more about Space required for Sliding Gates
Sliding Gates may open to the left or right
Telescopic Sliding Stacker Gates
If side room is limited for a sliding gate then two or three gate panels may slide one in front of each other stacked up in the open position requiring less side room. These are known as telescopic sliding gates and are the most popular solution when there's limited space because they require only one motor. They can even be used on driveways that slope across. The general rule of thumb is for a two panel telescopic gate the amount of side room is half the gate opening + 40mm + width of a motor.
... more about Telescopic Gates
Bi-Parting Sliding Gates
If there isn't enough side room on either side for a single panel sliding gate then a Bi-parting sliding gate may be a better solution, which requires only half the space between posts + 400mm on each side and th gate panels meet in the middle. Bi-Parting gates can have one side wider than the other if needed to make them fit, closing at different times.
... more about Bi-Parting Sliding Gates
Cantilevered Sliding Gate
If your driveway is gravel or uneven, it isn't suitable for a sliding gate with a track but you can have a sliding gate that requires no track across the driveway because it is cantilevered.
Curved and Round the Corner Sliding Gates
If the front boundary of your property is curved because you are at the end of a dead end street and you want a gate that is wide, then a curved sliding gate is a possibility where the entire gate, track etc... is made on a curve.
If the curve is not even or there isn't enough space for the gate to open then the gate can be made in sections that are hinged together so the curve of the gate can change as it opens. The gate may in fact go around a corner if need be although the path of the gate must be level and these do tend to require a lot more custom design and fabrication.
Sliding Gates in Front of the Fence/Wall
If the is not room for a sliding gate behind a fence it can go in front of the fence, the only issue being is if this ends up being on council land, so you would need to contact council and talk to them about it before starting of if you haven't built the fence yet just make is back from the boundary to allow room for the gate.
Hanging Sliding Gates
These are most useful for basement car parks where there is a drain right where the gate is to go so the gate can hang from the roof of the car park. There would be a special track fitted to the roof of the car park and hanging rollers with the guide rollers and keeper at the bottom. The motor could also be at the bottom as per usual.
Pedestrian Gates with Sliding Gates
A sliding gate can pass a pedestrian gate but it is a good idea to put self closing hinges on the pedestrian gate so it isn't left open. You do end up with a track running across the walk way, which isn't always desirable so you need to weigh this up with the practicality of it all. From our experience having a sliding gate running past a pedestrian gate has never been a problem.
Swinging or Hinged Gates
Situations where a Swing Gate could be chosen over a Sliding Gate are:
- The driveway slopes down from the road and is long so a swing gate would be more economic to install.
- The driveway has no side room for a sliding gate to open.
- The driveway is very uneven or has a large drain.
- If you could have both a swing or a sliding gate, generally a swing gate is simpler to install and you don't have to worry about keeping the track clear.
... more about how swing gates work
A double swing gate takes up less driveway space than a single gate, is effected less by the wind and causes less stress on a gate motor(s), posts and hinges so will last longer but does require a cable across the driveway if automated
... more about installing low voltage cabling
If a driveway has slope across it (camber) then a swing gate made be raked to fit the contour of the driveway.
... more about Swing Gates on Sloping Driveways
Trackless Bi-folding Gates
Are swing gates that hinge together to fold up like a concertina, bi-folding gates can replace a double swing gate allowing clearance on one side like a single swing gate but take up half the space or can be a double bi-folding requiring only 1/4 of the space of a single gate or 1/2 the space of a double gate.
... more about Bi-folding gates
Hinges behind Post to take up less driveway Width
Swing Gates can have the hinge inside the Gateway so the gate is in the middle of the post or it can be around the back of the post so the gate takes up none of the Gateway width or gate has a very wide opening angle.
Locking Swing Gate
Swing gates wider than 2m that are automatic should have an electric lock fitted, even though the motor will hold the gate closed reasonably well gates more than 2m wide can put undue stress on a motor if the gate is pushed by hand by someone trying to gain entry ... READ MORE
Outward Opening Gates
Swing gates normally open inwards but if a driveway is sloping up from the road then the gate may open outwards, although should be set back into a property enough so they don't open out onto a public thoroughfare.
... more about Outward Opening Gates
Swing Gates with Rising Hinges
If there is no room for a sliding gate to slide, the driveway is sloping up from the road, you don't want a large gap under the gate and it's not practical to open outwards then a swing gate with a rising hinge may work.
The disadvantage of a rising gate is the weight of the gate must be lifted when opening, which increases with the width of the gate and the more it rises. Also the gate kicks out when opening, which reduces the usable width of the driveway. The amount it kicks out increases with the rise and height of the gate although if the gate is mounted around the back of the posts this can be minimised
How can we help you?
We can offer free advice on the best solution for your gate if you email us some photos of the site or drawing of what you would like, dimensions are helpful too.
From here we can design the gate for you although will need accurate dimensions from you (we can show you how to measure up if need be) and will provide a full DIY Kit freighted anywhere in Australia or we can provide a full set of workshop drawings that a gate fabricator near you can use to make and install the gate. We can also supply any specialised hardware required to get the gate working such as the telescopic drive mechanism.