Measuring for a made to measure driveway gate

Measure the finished clear opening between pier faces, not the gate leaf. Send the raw top, middle and bottom readings without deducting a generic fitting gap. The workshop derives the leaf size only after hinges, latch, centre gap and any operator details are selected. Include finishes not yet applied, because render on both piers reduces the final opening. Start with the gate type in gates and fencing.

Decide the type first

Type changes every other measurement, so settle it first.

Single swing leaf

One hinge post, one closing point, simplest to make. It costs space: the leaf sweeps a quarter circle the full width of the opening, ground included, and a wide leaf loads the hinge post hard.

Double swing leaves

Two leaves halve the swing radius. In exchange you need a drop bolt where they meet, a firm point in the surface for it to land in, and a closing point that stays level.

Sliding, tracked or cantilever

No swing, so a rising or cramped driveway stops being the problem. Instead the gate needs a clear run-back alongside the opening, along the fence line, free of hedge, bin store, downpipe or step, on a level load bearing base. A tracked gate needs a run-back at least as long as the opening, a cantilever more again, because a counterweight tail runs behind the leaf. As an example only, an opening of 3000 mm (about 9 ft 10 in) on a frontage of 3600 mm leaves the leaf nowhere to sit.

Photograph the site before measuring

Take a square-on view from the road, the same view from inside and side-context views along both the swing path and sliding run-back. Include full pier height, ground, unfinished faces, leaning masonry, nearby obstacles and a visible scale. Photographs support the dimensions but do not replace them.

How to measure the opening

1. Measure the clear opening between the finished pier faces at the top, at mid height and at the bottom. Send all three and work to the smallest: that is what the leaf must pass.
2. Check both piers for plumb, on both faces, and note which way each leans and by how much over the pier height.
3. Record the ground level at each post position and at the centre of the opening, then the fall across the opening: the height difference in mm between the two post positions.
4. Walk the swing arc and record every obstruction: a drive rising inwards, a wall or step, a downpipe, a manhole cover, a threshold, the parked car.

Do not subtract a universal fitting allowance. Report the raw finished-opening readings. Hardware and the approved arrangement determine hinge, latch and centre clearances.

Separate crossfall from a rise through the swing arc

Crossfall is the height difference across the closed gate line. A stepped or raked bottom rail can follow that closed profile when specifically drawn. It does not automatically clear ground that rises as the leaf travels.

A rise through the swing arc needs a separate profile from the hinge face to the fully open position on each side. The chosen response may involve ground clearance, rising hardware, direction or another gate type, subject to the selected hardware and local rules. Send the profile in millimetres and do not treat a raked rail as a universal cure.

Height, ground gap and pier height

Gate height is quoted as leaf height: the steel itself, bottom rail to top of frame. What you see is leaf height plus ground gap. A leaf ordered at the height of the fence beside it, then hung with a gap under it, stands proud of the fence line by exactly that gap. Decide the visible top line, subtract the ground gap, order the leaf to what is left. A leaf taller than its pier looks unfinished, and a hinge near a pier top has little masonry above it.

Which way it opens and which side is hinged

Left is meaningless without a reference. Use one fixed reference in writing: viewed from the road, looking in. Then state hinges on the left or right pier, opening inwards or outwards, as a full sentence. "Hinges on the right, opens inwards, viewed from the road" cannot be misread; "left hand gate" can be. Many road authorities do not allow a gate to swing over a public footway or road, so check locally before you commit.

If the gate will be automated

Declare the selected or intended operator before the leaf is designed. Sections, reinforcement, hinge arrangement, attachment detail, cable routes and motor space must be selected for its actions; this does not mean thicker steel everywhere. The approved scope must state who supplies, fits and commissions the operator, so no automation service is assumed.

Record the operator information with the other gate structure inputs even if automation is planned later.

Posts and piers

Hinges do not hold up a gate, the post does. A long steel leaf on two hinges puts a large overturning moment on the hinge post: the weight acts at the far end and tries to rotate the post out of the ground or the fixing out of the pier. A masonry pier needs an adequate foundation and must resist a horizontal pull, which a thin skin around a hollow core will not. A steel post concreted in is predictable; an old timber fence post is not. Tell the workshop what the piers are and whether the foundation is known. A fabricated post instead of masonry is ordinary steel structures work.

Wind

An infilled or boarded gate is a sail. Solid sheet or close slats catch wind that an open bar gate lets through, and that load goes into the hinges, post and foundation, in gusts, both ways. On an exposed site, choose an infill with some porosity or build the posts and hinges for the load, as with railings and balustrades.

What to send the workshop

Send the table with the square-on and side-context photographs. The enquiry should distinguish finished opening, derived leaf dimensions and the approved delivery form.