What to consider when buying gates for your driveway or garden
Do you want a gate for your driveway or garden? The main purpose of installing a gate is to maintain the privacy and security of your property. A driveway gate is meant to protect the entrance of your property by preventing vehicles and people from passing through it. A garden gate is mainly for decoration, but also to keep out animals and pests from ruining the plants and crops.  Below are the top 4 considerations to make when buying gates for your driveway or garden. 1) The Height The height of your gates should be the top consideration. If you’re trying to keep out people, then you need a gate that is high enough to serve this purpose. It should also be high enough to prevent a person from climbing over, or at least high enough to make it difficult for the average person to do so. If you want to stop animals from getting in or stop your dog from escaping we would highly recommend having dog bars. These are additional vertical bars in the bottom section of the gate that make the gaps narrower.  The standard spacing of vertical bars in most gates is 100mm (10cm or 4 inches) but by adding dog bars the spacing can be reduced to around 50mm. It should be noted however that you may not be able to stop smaller animals from gaining entry. They may be able to slip between the dog bars or underneath the gate which has a gap at the bottom in order to clear the ground. 2) The Railheads Railheads or finials give your gate two things. First, they give your gate some wonderful aesthetic appeal. You’ll find a lot of different styles and designs for the railheads that are available out there. For example, if security is a priority you may want to choose a pointed or sharper style railhead. This should deter anyone who tries to climb over and trespass onto your property. 3) Wrought Iron or Wood? Do you want a wrought iron gate or a wooden gate? You may be attracted to a wooden gate because they’re cheaper to purchase. But you must realise that wooden gates require an extra amount of maintenance in comparison to wrought iron gates. For instance, wooden gates can swell and contract in different weather conditions causing them to stick or the timber to split. Also, it’s worth noting that wooden gates are hung using T style hinges which have no adjustment to counteract the issue of sticking. Wrought iron gates, however, can be hung using fully adjustable hinges. On top of that, wooden gates are not as strong and durable as wrought iron gates. If you’re trying to protect your property, then you might find it worth the extra money to purchase a wrought iron gate which will outlast the average wooden gate by many years. 4) The Width How wide is your gate going to be? Do you have sturdy walls or pillars that will take the weight of your gates? You may need wrought iron gate posts. If so this will reduce the width of your gate because the dimensions of the posts need to be factored into the overall space available. It is important that you figure out the width of the gate required as this will affect the cost. 5)  The Finish The type of finish you choose will influence the price and the extent of maintenance required to keep your gate looking its best. We offer a range of different finishes, described fully on our website. This enables potential customers to make like for like comparisons when shopping around. It is important to note that there are various types of galvanizing so make sure you know the difference between them. Galvanizing is a coating that will protect your gates from rusting. The cheaper galvanizing is sprayed on and will degrade after 10 years or less. We only offer hot dip galvanizing because greater durability is guaranteed. This method involves immersing the whole gate in a vat of molten zinc so every part is covered and provides rustproof protection for 50+ years. Furthermore, our galvanizing complies with British Standards BS EN ISO 1461. The natural colour of galvanizing has a bright silver appearance. Paint provides the finished colour for your gate. As with galvanizing it is important to understand the difference between the various types and methods of application. Some suppliers use tins of spray paint designed for wrought iron gates but this is not as durable as dry powder coating. The latter is applied electrostatically then cured by baking in a high-temperature oven. This process provides a much thicker coating than any other method of painting. With an average thickness of 80 microns, our powder coating exceeds the industry standard of 60 microns and complies with British Standards BS EN ISO 13438. Finally, take some time to think about the colour too. Remember that you are not restricted to black if you opt for powder coating. If a bit of colour takes your fancy, whether bold or subtle, we would highly recommend ordering a RAL chart to get a true likeness of the many options available.