How to choose a garden gate

Most people choose a gate by looking at pictures. Then the installer arrives, measures the driveway, and explains why the picture is not possible. Work the other way round. Start with the site, and the shortlist writes itself.

Step one: measure what you actually have

Four numbers decide almost everything.

• Opening width. How wide is the gap the gate has to close? For comfortable car passage, plan for 3.0 to 3.5 metres, and more for delivery or mixed traffic.

• Space beside the opening. Is there a clear run at least as long as the opening, along the boundary? A sliding gate needs the gate width plus roughly 20 to 30 percent, and on many plots that does not exist.

• Space in front of and behind the opening. A swing gate needs clearance for the wings, and a car has to be able to wait without blocking the pavement.

• Gradient. Does the driveway rise or fall? Rails cannot climb, and swing wings have to clear rising ground.

Step two: understand what each gate type costs you

Swing gates. The traditional choice and the cheapest to install. They cost you the clearance the wings sweep, and they struggle on slopes because the wing travels at a constant height over ground that does not.

Sliding gates. Good throughput, no swept arc, but they need a run-off zone along the boundary and travel on a ground rail that fills with grit, water, leaves and ice. In snow, the rail is cleared before the gate opens.

Retractable underground gates. The panel descends vertically into a concrete chamber. No swept arc, no run-off zone, no ground rail. Slopes up to 20 degrees are handled without levelling. Snow does not stop it. The honest trade-off is that it needs a chamber and drainage, so it is a groundworks decision, not just a gate decision.

Step three: match the type to your constraints

If the driveway is short, or the plot is narrow, or the boundary has no spare run alongside the opening, a sliding gate is out and a swing gate will eat space you do not have. That is exactly where a retractable system exists. If the approach slopes, ask hard questions of any rail based system. If your winters are real, ask what happens in February, because a rail on the ground is a rail full of ice. And if the entrance is architecturally important, remember that a swing or sliding gate is visible even when open, while a retractable one is not.

Step four: get the details right

Set infill density by street condition: standard 100 mm spacing keeps the view, semi-solid adds privacy, solid screens completely. Choose the material for the setting, from steel to aluminium, Corten, glass or wood. Decide who needs to get in and how, before choosing automation. And always ask how the gate opens when the power is out. On a retractable system, manually, through the service hatch in the central cover.

Step five: look at it before you buy it

Panel height, infill density and finish look completely different in reality than in a specification. Building the combination for your actual opening in the gate configurator is a better use of ten minutes than any amount of scrolling through photographs.

Frequently asked questions

Which gate type is best for a narrow driveway?

A retractable underground gate, because it needs no swept arc and no run-off zone alongside the opening.

Can I have an automatic gate on a slope?

Yes. A vertically retracting panel handles slopes up to 20 degrees without levelling. Rail based systems struggle here.

Do automatic gates work in snow?

Sliding gates on ground rails often do not until the rail is cleared. A retractable gate has no surface rails and operates after snowfall.