How wide should a driveway gate be?

Two and a half metres is tight for a modern car, three metres is comfortable, and anything over four is usually a pair or a slider. We measure the actual opening and the approach angle, because a straight on entry and a tight turn in need different widths.

Why did my old gates start dragging?

Nearly always the posts rather than the gates. A timber post moves in the ground and a leaf that is a hundred kilos amplifies a few millimetres of lean into a gate that catches. That is why we size and concrete steel posts to the leaf.

Can you automate the gates?

We build gates prepared for automation, including the post sizing and ducting, and we work alongside your automation installer. We do not carry out the electrical installation ourselves and we would rather say that than pretend otherwise.

Should I have swing gates or a sliding gate?

Swing if you have level ground and space in front to open into. Slide if the drive is short, meets the pavement, or slopes. A sliding leaf needs a clear run alongside the opening, so the deciding factor is usually what is beside the drive rather than in front of it.

Can new metal gates match my existing railings?

Yes. Where there is an existing railing run we match the bar centres, the head detail and the powder coat colour so the gate reads as part of the boundary rather than as a later addition.

What do most Watford customers ask you for on this?

Victorian terraces around the centre, 1930s semis in Oxhey, and large detached homes in Cassiobury shape most of it, so the common brief here is a run measured to an existing boundary rather than an off the shelf size. Tree-root heave is common near Cassiobury and Whippendell Wood, and that shows up in the post work more than in the steel above it.

Driveway gates in Watford

Metal Driveway Gates in Watford

Metal driveway gates made to the opening, hung on posts that can carry them, swinging or sliding to suit the ground.

A driveway gate is the heaviest single thing most people ever hang on their house, and almost every failure we are called to is the same failure: a good gate on posts that were never sized to carry it.

The first decision is not the pattern, it is swing or slide. A swing pair needs room to open and reasonably level ground. A sliding gate needs a clear run alongside the opening but almost no space in front, which is what makes it the answer on a short drive that meets the pavement.

Everything after that is measurement. The opening is surveyed, the fall across it is checked, and the leaves are made to those figures rather than trimmed from a stock pair on the morning of the fit.

How we build it

1. Survey the opening
Width, the fall across the opening, the pavement line and where a car actually stops are all measured, because those four figures decide the configuration.
2. Posts first
Posts are sized to the finished leaf weight and concreted, and where automation is planned we set the ducting at this stage rather than digging the drive up twice.
3. Hang and adjust
Leaves hung, drop bolts and stops set, and the swing checked through its full arc with the gate loaded, not empty.

How it is specified

Configurations: Single leaf, double swing pair, or sliding on a track or cantilever
Typical width: Two and a half to five metres for a domestic drive, wider as a sliding leaf
Posts: Steel posts sized to the leaf weight and concreted deep, not bolted to a slab edge
Ironmongery: Galvanised heavy duty hinges, adjustable where the ground is uneven, drop bolts on a pair
Automation: We build gates prepared for automation and work alongside your automation installer. We do not carry out the electrical installation ourselves.

Ironmongery is where cheap gates give themselves away. Hinges, drop bolts and keeps are galvanised throughout, because a rusted hinge pin on a heavy leaf is not a cosmetic problem.

What is different about Watford

Tree-root heave is common near Cassiobury and Whippendell Wood, and that is a post problem before it is a gate problem. Gate posts here are sized to the finished leaf weight and concreted deep, because a leaf that heavy will find any weakness in a foundation within a season.

Where a gate opens onto a busy stretch off A411 / A4008 we look at pedestrian visibility and whether an outward swing is sensible at all. On those frontages a sliding leaf is often the safer specification and we will say so before quoting.

Across Watford Borough Council we fit matching gate and railing sets more often than gates alone, because on WD17 frontages a gate that does not relate to the boundary either side always looks like an afterthought.

Driveway Gates, Sliding and Swing fitted in Watford, WD17 (1)

Driveway Gates, Sliding and Swing fitted in Watford, WD17 (2)

Driveway Gates, Sliding and Swing fitted in Watford, WD17 (3)

Where this is the right answer

Drives where the frontage needs closing off and the ground is level enough to swing a pair
Short drives that meet the pavement, where a sliding leaf avoids swinging over a public footway
Frontages already carrying railings, where a matching gate makes the line continuous
Replacing a timber pair that has dropped and dragged for years

If the drive slopes up sharply from the pavement, a swinging pair will ground before it is halfway open and no hinge fixes that. Either the ground gets levelled, the gate opens outward with the visibility implications that carries, or it slides. We will tell you which on the visit rather than after installation.

Common questions

How wide should a driveway gate be?: Two and a half metres is tight for a modern car, three metres is comfortable, and anything over four is usually a pair or a slider. We measure the actual opening and the approach angle, because a straight on entry and a tight turn in need different widths.
Why did my old gates start dragging?: Nearly always the posts rather than the gates. A timber post moves in the ground and a leaf that is a hundred kilos amplifies a few millimetres of lean into a gate that catches. That is why we size and concrete steel posts to the leaf.
Can you automate the gates?: We build gates prepared for automation, including the post sizing and ducting, and we work alongside your automation installer. We do not carry out the electrical installation ourselves and we would rather say that than pretend otherwise.
Should I have swing gates or a sliding gate?: Swing if you have level ground and space in front to open into. Slide if the drive is short, meets the pavement, or slopes. A sliding leaf needs a clear run alongside the opening, so the deciding factor is usually what is beside the drive rather than in front of it.
Can new metal gates match my existing railings?: Yes. Where there is an existing railing run we match the bar centres, the head detail and the powder coat colour so the gate reads as part of the boundary rather than as a later addition.
What do most Watford customers ask you for on this?: Victorian terraces around the centre, 1930s semis in Oxhey, and large detached homes in Cassiobury shape most of it, so the common brief here is a run measured to an existing boundary rather than an off the shelf size. Tree-root heave is common near Cassiobury and Whippendell Wood, and that shows up in the post work more than in the steel above it.

Driveway gates measured on site in Watford

We measure the opening, the fall and the approach, then quote the leaves, the posts and the ironmongery separately. Free site visit, written quote, and cards accepted once the price is agreed.

Related metal work: Bow top fencing, Vertical bar fencing, Palisade fencing. Main hub: metal fencing and gates.

Nearby: Driveway gates in Bushey, Driveway gates in Borehamwood, Driveway gates in St Albans.

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