We install wooden & metal gates for homeowners, landlords and commercial sites across Dalston, with regular work near Kingsland High Street. The right materials matter — softwood, iroko hardwood, oak all have their place depending on garden depth, ground levels and how exposed the boundary is.
We install wooden & metal gates for homeowners, landlords and commercial sites across Dalston, with regular work near Kingsland High Street. The right materials matter — softwood, iroko hardwood, oak all have their place depending on garden depth, ground levels and how exposed the boundary is.
Local and straightforward. We turn up when we say, price fairly, and don't subcontract the job — homes across Dalston are our day-to-day work.
Victorian terraces, ex-council estates and modern infill developments. The gardens behind them are small rear yards; several plots share boundaries with three neighbours.
That shapes the gates brief — every quote we write here factors in mixed-tenure streets mean landlord-grade closeboard runs are the most common ask.
A builders' compound holding plant, materials and fuel needs a higher standard of fencing than the general site hoarding, since compound contents are a specific theft target and are often left unattended overnight or over a weekend.
Anti-climb toppings, a single monitored access gate and lighting are more commonly justified on a compound than on the wider site perimeter, given the concentration of value inside a relatively small footprint.
A skip left on site suits a job generating waste steadily over several days and where there's a legal spot to place it, such as a driveway, but it needs a permit if it sits on the public highway.
A grab lorry collects loose spoil, rubble and old fencing directly without a skip being dropped and left, which suits a single big clearance visit and avoids occupying space on a narrow driveway or street for the whole job.
For a small domestic run, van-and-tip removal on the last day is often simpler than either option, and the right choice generally comes down to waste volume and how long the site can accommodate a static skip.
It's common for older title deeds to be entirely silent on which side owns a given boundary, especially on properties built before detailed conveyancing plans became standard practice.
In that situation there's no single automatic rule that applies in every case, and long-standing practical evidence — who has always maintained the fence, existing physical features — can carry real weight.
Where ownership genuinely isn't clear, we'd always suggest raising it with the neighbour and, if needed, a conveyancing solicitor, rather than assuming a default answer.
A drop bolt that no longer locates in its ground socket is often bent slightly from repeated contact rather than broken, and a bent bolt can sometimes be straightened rather than replaced if the bend is caught early.
Leaving a bent bolt in use accelerates wear on the socket edges as it forces its way in at an angle each time, which turns a simple bolt problem into a socket replacement too.
A fence over two metres generally needs planning permission unless a specific permitted development allowance applies, and that limit is especially relevant on an acoustic job where extra height is often what makes the barrier effective.
Where the required height for noise screening exceeds the permitted limit, a planning application addressing the acoustic justification is the usual route rather than building over height without consent.
Structural timber is graded into strength classes such as C16 or C24 based on visual inspection of defects like knots and slope of grain, or by machine stress grading that measures stiffness directly.
C24 timber has been graded to a higher strength and stiffness threshold than C16, and is specified where a structural calculation demands it, such as a longer unsupported gate post span, rather than chosen purely by appearance.
Fencing timber is rarely strength-graded in the same formal way as construction timber, which is one reason gate posts subject to real structural calculation sometimes specify a graded section rather than standard fencing stock.
Moving concrete, gravel boards and spoil across a lawn on a wet day can leave rutting that lasts the rest of the season, particularly on clay soils that compact easily underfoot.
Boards or trackway laid along the barrow route spread the load and are a cheap precaution compared with reinstating a churned-up lawn afterwards.
Planning the route to cross the lawn at its narrowest point, or using a hard surface where one exists, reduces the area affected without slowing the job down.
A capping rail along the top of an acoustic panel run protects the exposed end grain of the boards from rain, which otherwise draws moisture down into the panel core and shortens its working life.
A capping profile with a slight overhang and a drip groove on its underside sheds water clear of the face rather than letting it run down and re-wet the boards immediately below.
Old hinges, latches and, where a frame is beyond repair, the timber itself are removed and taken off site as part of the job, rather than left for the client to dispose of separately.
Where original ironmongery is salvageable and still serviceable, we reuse it rather than replacing parts that don't need it.
A gate installed beneath or near an overhead service cable needs its swing or opening path checked against that cable's height and any sag, particularly for a wider vehicle gate that might otherwise catch a low cable at its highest point of travel.
This is a straightforward site check to make before installation, since moving a gate's position after cables have been identified as a clearance problem is far more disruptive than checking beforehand.
A hedge over 2m tall made up mainly of evergreen or semi-evergreen species can be the subject of a formal 'high hedge' complaint to the local council under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, but only after direct attempts to resolve it with the neighbour have failed and a fee is paid.
The council can then issue a remedial notice requiring the hedge to be reduced to a specified height, enforceable in the same way as a planning enforcement notice, though it typically won't require complete removal.
This process is separate from ordinary fence or boundary work and doesn't apply to deciduous hedges or single ornamental trees, which fall under general nuisance and tree law instead.
We'll come back and put right any installation issue we're responsible for. Every Dalston job starts with a free site visit and a written quote so you know exactly what's included before we start.
On Victorian terraces streets in Dalston we usually try to match the existing line — height, style and finish — unless the brief is a deliberate change.
Yes — Dalston has a steady mix of rental properties, and we can invoice through agents and turn jobs around between tenancies.
Yes — small rear yards; several plots share boundaries with three neighbours. We concrete-set every post as standard, and where trees or services are in the way we work around them properly.
Most Dalston jobs are quoted within 48 hours of a site visit and booked in within one to two weeks. We cover E8 from a base that keeps response times tight.
Every Dalston job starts with an itemised written quote, so nothing is assumed.
Installing wooden & metal gates across Greater London.
No subcontracted labour on site.
Dalston gardens left clean at end of every day.
Within practical driving distance of Dalston via A10 Kingsland Road and A406 (15 min).
Our Dalston gates process: phone or message → free site visit (usually within a few days via A406 (15 min)) → itemised gates quote within 48 hours → booked in within 1–2 weeks → installed by our own crew → walk-round and aftercare. That's the whole thing.