Garden Gates

[garrymum]

Hi

I'm in a bit of a quandary regarding what to do regarding gates.

Right, detached house with access to the rear via both sides of the house. We were burgled the other week so we are looking to gate off the accesses.

Not sure whether to go timber gates or metal gates. Would prefer timber for the privacy aspect, but would also like metal for the security.

Had a guy round last night to look and quoted the following (for metal gates)

Right hand side path (approx 3 ft wide):-

Full height metal gate, dome top with spikes. Fully galvanised and painted. Would have to build a frame which is bolted to the path to house the gate as our neighbours wooden fence is not very secure (can be pushed about 3 inch so the lock would be no good).

Left hand Side (approx 4.5 ft wide):-

Same style gate although no frame required. To fill the gap, a fence would also be installed in iron to make up the difference between the gate and the existing fence running down the left hand side boundary.

Both gates would have 5 lever locks installed.

All ironwork is galvanised and ready painted. Price I got quoted was £700 (this includes all the fitting).

Is this a good price?


I am sure a wooden gate / fence would be no more than £200, would give me more privacy but not so sure about the security.

I know there is no way to stop any unwanted visits but as a deterrent what do you think is best?

 

[breezer]

i made a wooden gate for much less, but also its smaller.

i think steel gates do look very nice ( il ike ones with "spikes" on the top, painted gold colour and the rest black)

only problem is as they are metal, as you mentioned no privacy and also lets leaves blow through (specialy this time of year) but i also guess it depends on where they can be seen from

 

[garrymum]

i made a wooden gate for much less, but also its smaller.

i think steel gates do look very nice ( il ike ones with "spikes" on the top, painted gold colour and the rest black)

only problem is as they are metal, as you mentioned no privacy and also lets leaves blow through (specialy this time of year) but i also guess it depends on where they can be seen from

Thanks for the reply. The gates I have been looking at do have spikes on the top and some of it's painted gold. They do look very nice.

Thing is, I also like the look of good quality wooden gates.

Decisions decisions...

 

[Deluks]

There's no reason why timber can't be as strong as a front door, with a good lock and hinges.
If fitting a wooden gate with a timber strut across the top of the frame, bang in some timber connectors (dog washers) across the top, and screw them down with one way screws (clutch heads). No one will want to climb over that.

 

[Thermo]

sounds about right for metalwork, from what our fabricator would charge to supply and fit.

I agree about timber, but its a toss up over the security from strength and the security from not giving them somewhere to hideaway with a solid gate. If you make it harder for them to climb over ie round top gate, then its just as secure

 

[bob-the-builder]

 

[JamesA]

I bought wooden gate kits from Wickes and the metal work from Screwfix.
I also bought the bolts for attaching the wooden gate post to the side of my house from Screwfix.
You leave boards out from the gate to adjust the width.

It was all fairly inexpensive but it does add up when you add the fixings, paint etc.
I've got 3 bolts and 3 hinges to avoid the gate rattling in the future.